Passport Renewal / Application - Time Taken?

[MARTINE]

Australian passport renewal
Submit 17.01.24
Delivered 23.01.24

 

[Bundy Bear]

Passport Office mismanaged 'pent up demand' for travel documents, audit finds

The Passport Office will overhaul its passport application processes after an audit finds it knew there would be a surge in demand for passports after the pandemic, and should have planned for it.

www.abc.net.au

I guess we knew they weren’t organized

 

[flyingsal]

Passport Office mismanaged 'pent up demand' for travel documents, audit finds

The Passport Office will overhaul its passport application processes after an audit finds it knew there would be a surge in demand for passports after the pandemic, and should have planned for it.

www.abc.net.au

I guess we knew they weren’t organized

It is a pretty damming report. Processing times blew out with only 54% of passports meeting the 10 day turnaround in 2021-22.

 

[OZDUCK]

WE have just put our renewal in this morning. It will be interesting to see the turn around time.

 

[Babesofy]

Has anyone renewed a child's passport lately? How long did it take? Thanks!

 

[blackcat20]

We're going to be doing a kids one in April so hopefully the turnaround time is ok.

 

[OATEK]

As a follow up to this, I have just renewed my UK passport by post from Sydney and the key dates were;

9 January - applied online
10 January - posted old passport to UK using regular post
26 January - passport office acknowledges receipt
30 January - passport approved
31 January - passport printed and posted
5 February - passport received via DHL courier

So the biggest delay seems to be the postal service. Once the passport was received processing was pretty quick.

Did you have to send your AU passport as well or is that only for first time applicants?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Don't think the UK authorities will care about the AU/Aust passport.

 

[SydneySwan]

Did you have to send your AU passport as well or is that only for first time applicants?

No I never mentioned my AU passport.

 

[Peter D]

Did you have to send your AU passport as well or is that only for first time applicants?

I renewed my British passport in June 2023 and the online application asked me to send a photocopy of my Australian passport.

 

[SydneySwan]

I renewed my British passport in June 2023 and the online application asked me to send a photocopy of my Australian passport.

That is because you said you had one. On the other hand if you forget to mention it .......

 

[OZDUCK]

WE have just put our renewal in this morning. It will be interesting to see the turn around time.

Well I could hardly complain about the processing time. We received a notification this morning that our new passports have been posted. So a less than 6 working days turn-around.

 

[MattA]

As a follow up to this, I have just renewed my UK passport by post from Sydney and the key dates were;

9 January - applied online
10 January - posted old passport to UK using regular post
26 January - passport office acknowledges receipt
30 January - passport approved
31 January - passport printed and posted
5 February - passport received via DHL courier

So the biggest delay seems to be the postal service. Once the passport was received processing was pretty quick.

I think not just the post delay -- it's also the time it takes HMPO to match up your delivery with your application.

Just done my UK renewal. According to the Aus Post tracker it was delivered on Wed 7 Feb, but it took them a full week before they processed it--then I got the "we've received your documents" and "approved" messages within the space of a few hours yesterday (Wed 14th).

 

[OZDUCK]

Our passports arrived this morning,19/2, after the application was lodged on Thursday 8th Feb. I don't see how anyone could really complain too much about that turnaround time.

Our Passport Numbers begin with RA. For some reason I had not realised that each page now shows Australian landmarks.

My only problem is - who is that bald old man staring out from the various photographs?

 

[MARTINE]

Our passports arrived this morning,19/2, after the application was lodged on Thursday 8th Feb. I don't see how anyone could really complain too much about that turnaround time.

Our Passport Numbers begin with RA. For some reason I had not realised that each page now shows Australian landmarks.

My only problem is - who is that bald old man staring out from the various photographs?

Yes
Good service
And weirdly — all photos now look more B&W than color

 

[Ouabain]

Has anyone renewed a child's passport lately? How long did it take? Thanks!

Once paperwork was submitted properly (ie all the nit-picking squared away), it only took a couple of weeks. (despite being based in Alice Springs)

 

[Flyfrequently]

Yes
Good service
And weirdly — all photos now look more B&W than color

Slightly OT, I wonder if passports will go the way of driver licence renewal where they just use previous photo?
Have just renewed my licence till 2034 and I will still look about 60

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Auspost will want their nearly $15 for the 6 photos.
So, obstinately, they will say its DFaT rules, that passport photos must resemble the holder, so, it won't ever be the case of using former photos.

 

[OZDUCK]

Yes
Good service
And weirdly — all photos now look more B&W than color

I had a look and the reason for the B&W effect is because they are now "laser-engraved" rather than printed with inks. Apparently for increased security. I can remember that in Customs we had people who were trained in all sorts of methods to detect fake or tampered passports - UV light etc. This new method apparently makes it a lot harder to tamper with the photo.

Australia's innovative new passport

The 1 millionth new ‘R Series’ Australian passport rolled off the production line this week! If you’re applying for a new passport in 2023, you’re likely to get an R Series passport. As Australia’s next-generation passport, the R Series is packed with advanced security features designed to keep...

www.passports.gov.au

Why are ID Documents trending towards B&W ?

There is a clear trend that Governments all across the world is using Black & White pictures in their ID documents (Passports, National ID Cards, etc) . This trend started with Europe and is gaining popularity with several countries in Asia and even the United States.

www.linkedin.com

 

[Flashback]

A passport with so much innovation, the chip fails in the first 6 months Perhaps it is a feature...