Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

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Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) logo.svg
Head office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, Australia.jpg
R.G. Casey Building in Canberra, ACT
Department overview
Formed24 July 1987;37 years ago (1987-07-24) [1]
Preceding agencies
JurisdictionAustralian government
Headquarters Barton, Australian Capital Territory
EmployeesDecrease2.svg 5,367 (2,363 deployed overseas) [2]
Annual budgetIncrease2.svgA$6.1 billion (2020–21) [3]
Ministers responsible
Department executive
Child agencies
Website www.dfat.gov.au OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian 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) (US$3 billion) 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]

Contents

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 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. The government had spent $310 million in total rent for the building by 2017. [10]

In 1994, the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS, formerly Australian Information Service) became a branch in DFAT known as the International Public Affairs Branch. [11] In 1996 the branch was dissolved. [12]

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 made on 13 May 2025: [13]

Portfolio ministers

Five additional ministers support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in administering the department, as of 2025: [14]

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:

OrderOfficialDate appointment
commenced		Date appointment
ceased		Term in officeRef(s)
1 Stuart Harris AO 3 September 19843 July 19883 years, 304 days [15] [16] [17]
2 Richard Woolcott AC 1 September 198815 February 19923 years, 167 days [17] [18]
3 Peter Wilenski AC 15 February 199214 May 19931 year, 88 days [18] [19] [20]
4 Michael Costello AO 27 May 19938 March 19962 years, 286 days [21] [22]
5 Philip Flood AO 8 March 199631 March 19982 years, 23 days [22]
6 Ashton Calvert AC 1 April 19984 January 20056 years, 278 days [23]
7 Michael L'Estrange AO 24 January 200513 August 20094 years, 201 days [23] [24]
8 Dennis Richardson AO 13 August 200918 October 20123 years, 66 days [24] [25]
9 Peter Varghese AO 18 October 201222 July 20163 years, 278 days [26] [25]
10 Frances Adamson AC 22 July 201625 June 20214 years, 338 days [27] [28] [29] [30]
11 Kathryn Campbell AO , CSC & Bar 22 July 20211 July 2022344 days [31]
12 Jan Adams AO PSM 1 July 2022Incumbent2 years, 357 days [32]

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. [33]

Departmental structure

The department is structured into seven groups, each led by a deputy secretary.[ when? ] [34]

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:

As of June 2025 DFAT also manages foundations, councils, and institutes including: [38]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ In 2019, the Australia-China Council was decommissioned by the Morrison government and replaced by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations. [35] 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. [36] 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. [37]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Our history". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  2. ↑ Martin, Lou-Ellen (2021). "Annual Report 2020–21" (PDF). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  3. ↑ "Budget highlights 2020–21". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Portfolio ministers". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Portfolio Overview" (PDF). Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  6. ↑ OECD. "Development Co-operation Profiles 2023 – Australia". OECD Publishing, Paris. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "History of the Department". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  8. ↑ "Our History". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  9. ↑ Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 20th ed, 1978, pp. 289-290
  10. ↑ www.smh.com.au/public-service/selling-treasury-building-could-cost-taxpayers-hundreds-of-millions-20150217-13h0yp.html
  11. ↑ "Fact Sheet Forty Seven: Australian Overseas Information Service photographs". National Archives of Australia. 2000. Archived from the original on 12 February 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
  12. ↑ "Australian News and Information Bureau". The Dictionary of Sydney. Retrieved 27 December 2020.
  13. ↑ "Administrative Arrangements Order - 13 May 2025" (PDF). Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia) . 13 May 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025. Creative Commons by small.svg  This article incorporates textfrom this source, which is available under the CC BY 4.0 license.
  14. ↑ "Portfolio ministers". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  15. ↑ Harris was Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs beginning on 3 September 1984 until it was renamed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in July 1987.
  16. ↑ Hawke, Bob (23 July 1987). "For the media". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  17. 1 2 Hawke, Bob (2 June 1988). "For the media". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  18. 1 2 Hawke, Bob (8 November 1991). "For the media". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  19. ↑ Keating, Paul (14 May 1993). "Dr Peter Wilenski AO". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  20. ↑ Mitcham, Chad. "Peter Stephen Wilenski (1939–1994)". Australian Dictionary of Biography . Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN   978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN   1833-7538. OCLC   70677943.
  21. ↑ Keating, Paul (26 May 1993). "Appointment of Departmental Secretaries". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  22. 1 2 Howard, John (8 March 1996). "Statement by the Prime Minister designate, The Hon John Howard MP". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  23. 1 2 Howard, John (2 December 2004). "Dr Ashton Calvert AC". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  24. 1 2 Rudd, Kevin (13 August 2009). "Departmental secretaries and statutory office-holders, Canberra". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  25. 1 2 Gillard, Julia (17 September 2012). "Diplomatic Appointment and Appointment of Secretaries of the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Press release). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 20 December 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
  26. ↑ "Mr Peter N Varghese AO – Biographical details". Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Commonwealth of Australia. 3 December 2012. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  27. ↑ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (2016), Biography of Ms Frances Adamson, Australian Government, archived from the original on 17 August 2016
  28. ↑ Doran, Matthew (20 July 2016). "Frances Adamson appointed as DFAT's first female secretary". Australia: ABC News. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016.
  29. ↑ Mannheim, Markus (20 July 2016). "Frances Adamson becomes Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's first female secretary". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016.
  30. ↑ Turnbull, Malcolm (20 July 2016). "Ms Frances Adamson appointed Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade" (Press release). Australian Government. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  31. ↑ "Secretary and Deputy Secretaries".
  32. ↑ "Announcement of Department Secretaries". Prime Minister of Australia. 22 June 2022. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  33. ↑ Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Annual Report 2022-23
  34. ↑ "DFAT organisational chart" (PDF).
  35. ↑ "Australia-China Council (decommissioned)". Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  36. ↑ Cohen, Hagar; Hui, Echo (3 August 2020). "Government body meant to boost relations with China has been 'tortured and unspectacular', according to former chair". Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  37. ↑ "Supporters and Partners". FASIC. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  38. ↑ "Foundations, councils and institutes – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade". Dfat.gov.au. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
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