Officials knew as early as December 2020 there would be ‘pent-up demand surge’ but additional staff were not engaged and trained in time, review says
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Government officials did not properly plan for a “pent-up demand surge” for new passports when Australia’s international borders reopened after Covid, causing major delays and long queues, according to a damning audit report.
In a report tabled in parliament on Wednesday, the auditor general found passport delivery by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) “has not been efficient”, with a quarter of applications after the 2022 change of government taking longer than six weeks.
Continue reading…Officials knew as early as December 2020 there would be ‘pent-up demand surge’ but additional staff were not engaged and trained in time, review saysFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastGovernment officials did not properly plan for a “pent-up demand surge” for new passports when Australia’s international borders reopened after Covid, causing major delays and long queues, according to a damning audit report.In a report tabled in parliament on Wednesday, the auditor general found passport delivery by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Dfat) “has not been efficient”, with a quarter of applications after the 2022 change of government taking longer than six weeks.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup Continue reading…