Indian travellers, Australian corporates with operations on the sub-continent and thousands of diaspora families finally have clarity after New Delhi’s High Commission in Canberra confirmed late on 22 July that all Indian passport, visa and Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) services would resume across Australia from 23 July 2026. The three-week shutdown—triggered by court action over the outsourcing tender that awarded VFS Global the contract—had paralysed new applications at the height of Australia’s winter school-holiday travel peak. Six upgraded Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra opened their doors on Thursday morning, immediately clearing backlogs that had forced would-be business travellers to re-route trips through third-country missions. For Australian companies that rotate staff to India on short-term assignments, the halt had real costs. Multinationals reported project delays, while Big Four consultancies told the Australian Financial Review they had to push back client workshops in Bengaluru and Gurugram. According to VFS Global, more than 9,000 bookings were cancelled between 1 and 22 July; these customers will now receive priority appointments and fee waivers. The Indian High Commission says the new centres feature biometric “express lanes” that can process up to 1,200 visa files a day—double previous capacity—and expanded counters for urgent business and medical travel. Travellers can track their application in real time via a refreshed portal that integrates with Australia Post’s secure-return service, eliminating courier delays that previously stretched the process to ten days. Practical tip: HR teams should download the revised appointment letter format issued on 23 July and circulate to travelling staff; the old template will no longer be accepted at lodgement. Companies with employee rotations should also review travel policies—VFS warns that any passport left uncollected for more than 30 days will now attract storage fees.
