Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia)

The department finds its origins in two of the seven original Commonwealth Departments established following Federation in 1901: the Department of Trade and Customs and the Department of External Affairs (DEA), headed by Harry Wollaston and Atlee Hunt respectively.^[7]

The first DEA was abolished on 14 November 1916 and its responsibilities were undertaken by the Prime Minister's Department and the Department of Home and Territories.^[8] It was re-established under the same name on 21 December 1921.^[9]

The DEA was renamed the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1970. On 24 July 1987, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Trade were amalgamated by the Hawke government to form the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).^{[citation needed]}

In 1994, the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS, formerly Australian Information Service) became a branch in DFAT known as the International Public Affairs Branch.^[10] In 1996 the branch was dissolved.^[11]

In 1996, DFAT was subject to public and parliamentary scrutiny following media reporting of allegations that some Australian diplomatic staff may have been involved in sexual misconduct with children while posted overseas. The opposition Australian Labor Party called for a full judicial inquiry with public hearings, but the Government instead initiated internal reviews and administrative investigations, and the Australian Federal Police examined a number of related complaints. The matters did not result in a single comprehensive public inquiry or systemic judicial findings.^[12]

In 2004, former Australian aid and diplomatic employee William Stewart Brown, who had worked in Indonesia, was sentenced by an Indonesian court to 13 years’ imprisonment for sexually abusing two underage boys in Bali. He reacted emotionally during sentencing and denied parts of the allegations while admitting to some sexual contact. Shortly after the verdict, Brown died in custody in Bali after hanging himself in his prison cell.^[13][14]

In 2005, DFAT became embroiled in the Oil-for-Food Programme scandal after it was revealed it had approved the Australian Wheat Board's (AWB) request allowing it to pay 'trucking charges' to Alia, a Jordanian trucking company with no actual involvement in the trucking of Australian wheat within Iraq. The Cole Inquiry into the AWB was established, however its terms of reference excluded any investigation of the role of DFAT.

In 1997 the department relocated to the R. G. Casey building, constructed over 5 years for $187 million. The next year the building was sold to the private market for $217 million and released back by the government. By 2015 the government was paying over $20 million per year in rent.^[15] By 2017 the government had spent $310 million in total rent for the building.^[15]

The functions of the department are broadly classified into the following matters as laid out in an Administrative Arrangements Order made on 13 May 2025:^[16]

• External Affairs, including
  • relations and communications with overseas governments and United Nations agencies
  • treaties, including trade agreements
  • bilateral, regional and multilateral trade policy
  • international trade and commodity negotiations
  • market development, including market access
  • trade and international business development
  • investment promotion
  • international development co-operation
  • diplomatic and consular missions
  • international security issues, including disarmament, arms control, nuclear non-proliferation, counter terrorism and cyber affairs
  • public diplomacy, including information and cultural programs
• International expositions
• Provision to Australian citizens of secure travel identification
• Provision of consular services to Australian citizens abroad
• Overseas property management, including acquisition, ownership and disposal of real property
• Tourism industry
• International development and aid
• International climate diplomacy
• Implementation of Australia's international climate finance commitment

Five additional ministers support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in administering the department, as of 2025^[update]:^[17]

• Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator Don Farrell
• Minister for Pacific Island Affairs, Pat Conroy MP
• Minister for International Development, Anne Aly MP
• Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Matt Thistlethwaite MP
• Assistant Minister for Pacific Island Affairs and Assistant Minister for Tourism, Senator Nita Green

DFAT is administered by a senior executive, comprising a secretary and five deputy secretaries. On the recommendation of the Prime Minister, the Governor-General has appointed the following individuals as Secretary to the department:

The department is responsible to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, and the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

As of June 2023, 3,881 Australian Public Service (APS) staff worked for DFAT in Australia and 959 worked in the overseas network. Additionally, DFAT employed 2,267 locally engaged staff (LES) in the overseas network. LES are citizens of the country in which the relevant DFAT Post is located, providing invaluable administrative and policy support to Australian officers whilst they conduct their overseas duties.^[36]

• Australia-China Council (until 2019)
• Australian Information Service
• Australian Volunteers for International Development
• Five Nations Passport Group
• List of Australian Government entities
• List of ambassadors and high commissioners of Australia