Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

For the Irish department, see Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland).

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trade, and investment (including trade and investment promotion Austrade). Australia's total official development assistance (ODA) ($3 billion USD) decreased in 2022 due to differences in Australia's financial year reporting and the timing of its COVID-19-related expenditure, representing 0.19% of gross national income (GNI).^[6]

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

The head office of the department in the ACT
Department overview
Formed	24 July 1987; 37 years ago (1987-07-24)[1]
Preceding agencies	Department of Foreign Affairs[1] Department of Trade[1]
Jurisdiction	Australian Government
Headquarters	Barton, Australian Capital Territory
Employees	5,367 (2,363 deployed overseas)[2]
Annual budget	A$6.1 billion (2020–21)[3]
Ministers responsible	Penny Wong, Foreign Affairs[4] Don Farrell, Trade and Tourism Pat Conroy, International Development and the Pacific Tim Watts, Assistant for Foreign Affairs Tim Ayres, Assistant for Trade
Department executive	Jan Adams, Secretary
Child agencies	Austrade[5] Australian Secret Intelligence Service[5] Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research[5] Tourism Australia[5] Export Finance Australia[5] Australian Aid Australian Passport Office Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office
Website	www.dfat.gov.au

The head of the department is its secretary, presently Jan Adams. She reports to Penny Wong, who has held the position of Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2022.^[4]

History

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]

Until the Second World War, Australia's status as a dominion of the British Empire in the then British Commonwealth meant its foreign relations were mostly defined by the United Kingdom. During this time, Australia's overseas activities were predominantly related to trade and commercial interests, while its external affairs were concerned mostly with immigration, exploration and publicity.^[7] The political and economic changes wrought by the Great Depression and Second World War, and the adoption of the 1931 Statute of Westminster (ratified by Australia in 1942), necessitated the establishment and expansion of Australian representation overseas, independent of the United Kingdom Foreign Office. Australia began to establish its first overseas missions (outside London) in 1940, beginning with Washington, D.C., and now has a network of over 80 diplomatic (and 22 trade) posts.^[7]

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 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.

Portfolio responsibilities

The functions of the department are broadly classified into the following matters as laid out in an Administrative Arrangements Order issued on 18 September 2013:^{[12][needs update]}

• 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 and nuclear non-proliferation
  • 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)
• International development and aid
• Development and co-ordination of international climate change policy
• International climate change negotiations

Portfolio ministers

Four additional ministers support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in administering the Department, as of 2022^[update]:^[13]

• Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator Don Farrell
• Minister for International Development and the Pacific, Pat Conroy MP
• Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tim Watts MP
• Assistant Minister for Trade, Senator Tim Ayres

Secretary of the Department

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:

Order	Official	Date appointment commenced	Date appointment ceased	Term in office	Ref(s)
1	Stuart Harris AO	3 September 1984 (1984-09-03)	3 July 1988 (1988-07-03)	3 years, 304 days	[14][15][16]
2	Richard Woolcott AC	1 September 1988 (1988-09-01)	15 February 1992 (1992-02-15)	3 years, 167 days	[16][17]
3	Peter Wilenski AC	15 February 1992 (1992-02-15)	14 May 1993 (1993-05-14)	1 year, 88 days	[17][18][19]
4	Michael Costello AO	27 May 1993 (1993-05-27)	8 March 1996 (1996-03-08)	2 years, 286 days	[20][21]
5	Philip Flood AO	8 March 1996 (1996-03-08)	31 March 1998 (1998-03-31)	2 years, 23 days	[21]
6	Ashton Calvert AC	1 April 1998 (1998-04-01)	4 January 2005 (2005-01-04)	6 years, 278 days	[22]
7	Michael L'Estrange AO	24 January 2005 (2005-01-24)	13 August 2009 (2009-08-13)	4 years, 201 days	[22][23]
8	Dennis Richardson AO	13 August 2009 (2009-08-13)	18 October 2012 (2012-10-18)	3 years, 66 days	[23][24]
9	Peter Varghese AO	18 October 2012 (2012-10-18)	22 July 2016 (2016-07-22)	3 years, 278 days	[25][24]
10	Frances Adamson AC	22 July 2016 (2016-07-22)	25 June 2021 (2021-06-25)	4 years, 338 days	[26][27][28][29]
11	Kathryn Campbell AO, CSC & Bar	22 July 2021 (2021-07-22)	1 July 2022 (2022-07-01)	344 days	[30]
12	Jan Adams AO PSM	1 July 2022 (2022-07-01)	Incumbent	2 years, 292 days	[31]

Structure

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.^[32]

Departmental structure

The department is structured into seven groups, each led by a deputy secretary.^[when?][33]

• The Secretary
  • Chief of Staff to the Secretary
• Trade and Investment Group (TIG)
  • Trade and Investment Strategy Branch (TIB)
    • State and Territory Offices
  • Trade and Investment Law Division (TLD)
  • Trade Resilience, Indo-Pacific Economic, and Latin America Division (TID)
  • International Economics and Energy Transition Division (IGD)
  • Free Trade Agreements & Stakeholder Engagement Division (FSD)
  • Office of Global Trade Negotiations (OTN)
• Strategic Planning and Coordination Group (SCG)
  • Strategic Communications Division (SGD)
  • East Asia Division (EAD)
  • Geostrategy and Partnerships Division (GPD)
  • Defence and National Security Policy Division (DND)
  • National Foundation for Australia-China Relations (NFACR; established 2019)^[a]
• South and Southeast Asia Group (SSG)
  • Office of Southeast Asia (OSA)
  • Southeast Asia Maritime Division (SMD)
  • Southeast Asia Regional and Mainland Division (SRD)
  • Southeast Asia Strategy and Development Division (SSD)
  • South and Central Asia Division (SXD)
  • Centre for Australia-India Relations (CAIR)
• Office of the Pacific (OTP)
  • Pacific Infrastructure & Economic Division (PED)
  • Pacific Strategy Division (PSD)
  • Melanesia Division (PMD)
  • Pacific Integration Division (PID)
  • Polynesia, Micronesia and Development Division (PDD)
  • Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP)
• Development, Multilateral and Europe Group (DMG)
  • Multilateral Policy and Human Rights Division (MPD)
  • Development Policy Division (DPD)
  • Development Effectiveness and Enabling Division (PRD)
  • Humanitarian Division (HPD)
  • Climate Diplomacy and Development Finance Division (CSD)
  • Ambassador for Global Health Global Health Division (GHD)
  • Europe Division (EUD)
• International Security, Legal and Consular Group (ISG)
  • Legal Division (LGD)
  • Regulatory and Legal Policy Division (RLD)
  • Consular and Crisis Management Division (CCD)
  • Middle East and Africa Division (MAD)
  • International Security Division (ISD)
  • Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO)
  • Australian Passport Office (APO)
• Enabling Services Group (ESG)
  • Finance Division (FND)
  • Diplomatic Security Division (DSD)
  • Overseas Property Office (OPO)
  • Information Management and Technology Division (IMD)
  • People Division (PPD)
  • Executive Division (EXD)
    • Internal Audit Branch(AUB)

Diplomatic network

DFAT maintains offices in each state and mainland territory to provide consular and passport services, and to perform an important liaison service for business throughout Australia. In addition, it has a Torres Strait Treaty Liaison Office on Thursday Island. Additionally, the department manages a network of 116 overseas posts, including Australian embassies, high commissions and consulates-general.

Portfolio agencies

DFAT also manages several agencies within its portfolio, including:

• Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)
• Export Finance and Insurance Corporation
• Australian Secret Intelligence Service
• Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research

As of October 2018^[update] DFAT also manages foundations, councils, and institutes including:^[37]

• Australia-India Council (AIC)
• Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII)
• Australia International Cultural Council (AICC)
• Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF)
• Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF)
• Australia-Malaysia Institute (AMI)
• Australia-Thailand Institute (ATI)
• Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR)
• Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR)

See also

• Australia portal
• Politics portal

• 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

Footnotes

1. In 2019, the Australia-China Council was decommissioned by the Morrison government and replaced by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.^[34] Unlike the Australia-China Council, which was governed by the board, the advisory board of the new body it exists in an advisory capacity only to the Foreign Minister, effectively operating as "just an agency of DFAT", according to chair Warwick Smith, who resigned a year after being appointed.^[35] NFACR supports the Foundation for Australian Studies in China (FASIC), which works with partners Australia-China Youth Dialogue and Western Sydney University's Australia-China Institute for Arts and Culture.^[36]