New border pass system could take up to three business days, travellers warned

People applying for a pass online will be directed to upload validating documents for a “whole-of-government workforce” to review and approve the pass.

However, Mr Gollschewski warned that the new system could take up to three business days to process, meaning people need to apply for their passes well in advance.

The new passes will be valid for 14 days rather than the previous seven days. A three-day crossover with both systems running will ensure people can still use the old pass system if they can’t use the new system, he said.

Existing seven-days passes will remain valid until their natural expiry.

“We do encourage people to bring their hard copies with them still, because it’s a system, it’s an IT system, sometimes they can be down…