Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

As Senator Keneally has observed and as I said in my previous answer, over 43,800 Australians have returned from overseas, which includes more than 17,000 Australians registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Of those, over 3,700 were vulnerable. We have been seeking information from those Australians to ensure that we are able to assist them with the most up-to-date and timely information. Since 23 October, we have facilitated 13 commercial flights, returning 1,847 passengers. In the last four weeks alone, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has made over 30,000 offers of places on flights to Australians registered overseas. This is a very complex process to assist Australians who are in very difficult circumstances in many cases; I absolutely acknowledge that. But, since 18 September, at least 43,000 Australians have been able to return from overseas. (Time expired)