2.1.1 Consular services
Quality indicators
- Satisfaction of the public and travel industry with consular services
- Extent to which highly developed crisis management procedures are in place and tested
- Client satisfaction with the suitability and effectiveness of contingency plans at overseas posts
- Response time to consular issues
Quantity indicators
- Number of Australians assisted overseas, including the number of public inquiries handled, notarial acts performed and travel advisories issued
- Number of unexpected events or crises handled by the department, number of associated Departmental Emergency Task Force and Inter-Departmental Emergency Task Force meetings held, and the duration of Crisis Centre operations
Satisfaction of the public and the travel industry
The department monitored public feedback on our travel advice, including through independent research conducted as part of the smartraveller initiative. This research confirmed that the smartraveller campaign and the cooperative relationships we developed with the travel industry are motivating increasing numbers of Australians to access our travel advice before they depart Australia. The research conducted in 2004–05 indicated that:
- 95 per cent of travel agents are encouraging their customers to access the department's travel advice
- more than 70 per cent of the general community intend to access the department's travel advice before they next travel overseas
- the percentage of departing travellers who had personally accessed the smartraveller website increased from 25 to 32 per cent over the course of the year
- the majority of departing travellers who had used the travel advice were happy with the amount of the information it contained, with the safety and security information section considered to be the most useful.
In the five months from July to November 2004, we received 131 letters and emails from the public on consular issues. Eighty-four were general inquiries, 30 commented positively on services provided for particular consular cases and on our information service, and 17 expressed dissatisfaction about elements of the department's service.
To improve our level of service, in December 2004 we introduced a formal complaints mechanism to capture feedback on consular services. Since then, the department received 138 items of correspondence commenting positively on the consular service and a further 187 containing general inquiries. Forty-seven letters and emails provided negative feedback.
The bulk of complaints concerned the timeliness of updates to the website, while some users expressed difficulty with cancelling subscriptions to the department's email alert service. A small number of users reported difficulty accessing the smartraveller online registration service. The remaining items of negative correspondence expressed concern about response times for passport processing, staff attitudes and service received, the accuracy of information contained in brochures and the reliability of automated telephone services.
Of the annual total, 64 items of correspondence expressed dissatisfaction, with over 50 per cent of these relating to the department's travel advice. This compares with 168 items of positive correspondence, most of which concerned service delivery. In all instances, we responded to complaints after investigating the concerns and, where warranted, took corrective action.
The department consolidated relations with the travel industry through initiatives such as the Smartraveller Consultative Group (SCG) and the Charter for Safe Travel, aimed at promoting awareness and use of travel advisories.
The SCG held its inaugural meeting in November 2004. Following SCG consultations, two key airline reservation system providers agreed to include hyperlinks to the smartraveller website in reservation software used by travel agents. We secured agreement from travel insurance providers and travel agents to highlight key travel advice and consular service messages in their publicity material.
The department encouraged travel industry representatives to join the Charter for Safe Travel, with membership of the Charter doubling to 2200 in the past year. As a result, nearly 50 per cent of the travel industry organisations registered with the Travel Compensation Fund (the national licensing and regulatory body for travel agents) have committed to working with the department to promote safe travel. We will work to increase this number.
Recognising the importance of the travel industry in communicating our messages to the travelling public, the department participated in 32 travel industry expos, conferences and seminars across Australia (compared to 11 similar events in 2003– 04) to promote travel advice and consular services. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from event organisers and the public.
Crisis management procedures in place and tested
The department's crisis centre was activated for the following incidents during 2004–05:
- Defence training in July 2004 for five days
- Jakarta bombing in September 2004 for five days with two Inter-Departmental Emergency Taskforce (IDETF) meetings
- purported Iraq hostage incident in September 2004 for 12 days with 11 IDETF meetings
- tsunami crisis in December 2004 for 20 days with 22 IDETF meetings
- Iraq hostage incident in May 2005 for 47 days with 54 IDETF meetings
- Cambodia hostage in June 2005 for one day with one IDETF meeting.
The department responded to a number of major consular events including:
- a suicide bombing in Sri Lanka—July 2004
- a plane crash in Papua New Guinea—July 2004
- a train crash in Turkey—July 2004
- a yacht sinking in Noumea—July 2004
- a plane crash in Russia—August 2004
- a bus crash south of Salzburg, Austria—August 2004
- a bus crash in Los Angeles, USA—September 2004
- the unauthorised landing of a private plane in Bougainville—September 2004
- hurricane Ivan in Cayman Islands—September 2004
- a hostage situation in Iraq—September 2004
- explosions in Egypt—October 2004
- a bus crash in Cairo, Egypt—October 2004
- a hotel fire in Cairo, Egypt—October 2004
- civil unrest and riots in the Ivory Coast—November 2004
- a plane crash in Java, Indonesia—November 2004
- an earthquake in East Timor—November 2004
- seizure of a bus in Athens, Greece—December 2004
- petrol station explosions in Madrid, Spain—December 2004
- the Indian Ocean tsunami—December 2004
- a train crash in Bangkok, Thailand—January 2005
- civil unrest in Nepal—February 2005
- a car bomb in Beirut, Lebanon—February 2005
- a car crash in Mexico City, Mexico—February 2005
- a ferry sinking in Thailand—February 2005
- an earthquake in Nias, Indonesia—March 2005
- a train crash in Tokyo, Japan—April 2005
- a sinking vessel off the coast of Nias, Indonesia—April 2005
- a hostage situation in Iraq—May 2005
- a hostage situation in Cambodia—June 2005
- civil unrest in Bolivia—June 2005.
Suitability and effectiveness of contingency plans at overseas posts
The department evaluated 82 contingency plans held by our overseas missions and secured Austrade's agreement to participate in our contingency plan program for its posts.
The department developed event-specific contingency plans for three events where Australians were expected to gather in numbers: the Athens Olympics; the Aichi Expo in Japan; and Anzac Day commemorations in Turkey.
Building on work by the Department of Health and Ageing, we developed a generic contingency plan, to be rolled out soon, for posts in South-East Asia to respond to any outbreak of avian flu.
Client satisfaction with plans was consistently high:
- Contingency plans developed for both the Aichi Expo and Anzac Day were well received by other agencies involved in the planning.
- We received positive feedback from the Australian Olympic Committee for our joint work on consular contingency planning for the Athens Olympics.
Response time to consular issues
The department operates a 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre to respond to the consular needs of Australians overseas and as a point of advice on consular issues for Australian diplomatic and consular missions. To supplement this standing after-hours arrangement, we introduced an after-hours Watch Office with responsibility for monitoring international developments, including those likely to affect Australians, and for providing timely advice on passport issues to clients.
The department's significant consular workload, including in response to the attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, hostage taking in Iraq and the Indian Ocean tsunami, was demonstrated by the number of days of operation of our crisis centre and the number of IDETF meetings we convened and serviced (see table below).
Quantity information for output 2.1: consular services
| Indicator | 2004–05 | 2003–04 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Australians assisted overseas: | ||
| Consular cases1 | 25 731 | 12 946 |
| Public inquiries2 | 355 490 | 363 952 |
| Number of inquiries in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami (approx.)3 | 85 000 | |
| Notarial acts performed4 | 100 851 | 87 545 |
| Travel advice notices issued | 447 | 527 |
| Number of unexpected events or crises handled by the department | 33 | 26 |
| Number of associated Departmental Emergency Task Force and Inter-departmental Emergency Task Force meetings held | 90 | 0 |
| Duration of Crisis Centre operations | 90 days | 5 days |
- These statistics refer to inquiries about actual cases at posts and do not include general inquiries on non-case-related consular matters (eg travel advice). These are reported under public inquiries. The figure for 2004–05 includes 15 153 cases related to our response to the Indian Ocean tsunami.
- Public inquiries include inquiries on non-case related matters made at overseas posts and through the 1300 and 1800 call numbers in Australia. The 2004–05 figure does not include calls received in response to the Indian Ocean tsunami reported below.
- In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami the department received over 85 000 inquiries related to locating and assisting Australians.
- These figures include notarial acts performed at overseas posts, in Canberra and in state and territory offices.
2.1.2 Passport services
Quality indicators
- Satisfaction of the public and travel industry with passport services
- Turnaround time for passport issue, including urgent issues
Quantity indicators
- Number of passport inquiries handled by the Australian Passport Information Service
- Number of travel documents issued, including urgent issues
Satisfaction of the public and the travel industry
An external customer satisfaction survey commissioned in early 2005 found that 98 per cent of passport applicants were satisfied with the level of service they received. The survey also indicated that 97 per cent of applicants considered that ten working days was a reasonable period to wait for a passport. Almost two-thirds of those interviewed reported accessing passport information or services online.
The department conducted an extensive public information campaign both in Australia and overseas advising the travelling public of changes resulting from the new Passports Act effective from 1 July 2005. The campaign included written advice to the Australian Federation of Travel Agents and other travel industry representatives in Australia, print media advertisements, and television advertisements on ABC Asia Pacific. New passports information was incorporated in consular travel advices.
The priority processing service continued to be popular, with 177 860 applicants paying a fee to ensure their passports were issued within 48 hours. This compares to 165 549 applicants last year.
Turnaround time for passport issue
Passport demand rose by 16 per cent over the previous year, placing considerable pressure on passport offices to meet service commitments. Nevertheless, 92.4 per cent of normal applications were processed within the ten working days service commitment, achieving an average turnaround time of 5.8 days. Of those who paid the priority processing fee, 97.9 per cent received their travel document within 48 hours. Fees were refunded to only 107 applicants because the 48-hour turnaround time was not met. A further 682 applicants had their fees refunded on compassionate grounds.
Quantity information for output 2.1: passport services
| Indicator | 2004–05 | 2003–04 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of passport inquiries handled by the Australian Passport Information Service1 | 1 303 822 | 1 496 907 |
| Number of travel documents issued, including urgent issues2 | 1 260 831 | 1 086 366 |
- The decrease in the number of inquiries handled by the Australian Passport Information Service reflects increased use by applicants of the Passports website.
- Travel documents include passports, documents of identity, certificates of identity and convention travel documents
Next page: Administered item for Outcome 2
Previous page: Output 2.1
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Annual Report 2004–2005
Home | Table of Contents | Userguide | Download versions
Overviews | Performance | Corporate | Financials | Appendixes | Glossaries and Compliance Index
Australian Government
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Home | Copyright | Disclaimer | Privacy
