Passport delays explained and how to get yours on time for a holiday

Australia officially holds one of the most powerful passports in the world - but it might also be one of the slowest to get your hands on.

While travellers in Brazil or Hong Kong can secure their travel docs in less than a week, Australians are being told to sit tight for at least six.

Despite the "revenge travel" surge of 2023 finally cooling off, the Australian Passport Office hasn't budged on its lengthy wait times.

From high-tech security chips to a shifting geopolitical landscape, here is why your ticket to the world is stuck in the slow lane.

Figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) show 2,109,709 passports were issued during the pre-pandemic financial year of 2018-2019, rising almost 50 per cent to 3,129,962 during the 2022-2023 financial year.

Around that time, the guidance rose from three to six weeks. The number of passports issued then settled down to 2,306,504 during 2024-2025, but the six-week timeframe stuck.

According to data compiled by Compare the Market for Explore, most other countries have an average passport processing time of three-and-a-half weeks.

Of the 20 countries analysed, the fastest processing times were in Brazil, which advises one to five working days, and Hong Kong which recommends five working days. Other speedy countries include Finland at eight working days, Malaysia at five to 10 working days and Kenya at 10 working days. Mexico had the longest, wait time, stretching out to eight weeks.

Other western countries processed their passports more quickly than Australia. The United Kingdom advised three weeks to process a passport, the United States advised four to six weeks, New Zealand recommended four weeks and in Canada it was 10 to 20 business days (not including mailing time).

Compare the Market's Chris Ford says a range of factors influence why Australians are waiting so long for this key travel document compared to other countries, including document accuracy checks, identity verification and peaks in demand.

"It's also important to note that Australian passports include technology that a lot of passports in other countries don't, which may impact processing times. For example, all Australian passports are ePassports, which contain electronic chips to verify identity and speed up entry times at airports," Ford says.

Of course, there are instances in which you can obtain a passport sooner, such as compassionate grounds or an urgent need to travel - if you're prepared to pay for it.

"If you're willing to fork out an additional $308 on top of the usual passport fee (which is currently $422 for 10 years), you can obtain a passport in as little as two business days. A fast-track option is also available for an extra $107, where your passport will be processed in five business days," Ford says.

His message to travellers? If you've got travel on the horizon, apply for your passport early, ensure you've submitted all relevant documentation with your application and "don't book flights until your passport is in hand".

Increased vigilance that governments - including Australia's - are now taking to vet passport applicants with additional layers of screening also add to processing times, Cheer says.

And with more passports, comes more complaints. A spokesperson for the Commonwealth Ombudsman told Explore from 2024 to 2025, the number of passport-related complaints increased by 16 per cent over the previous year.

And due to a "significant increase" in complaints post-Covid, the Ombudsman recommended DFAT should clarify that information published about timeframes "are an estimate only and actual processing times may be longer".

To apply for a passport, check prices or use the "Passport timeframe estimator", go to passports.gov.au

This article was originally published on Explore on March 25, 2026.