Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
{{Short description|Department of the Australian Government}}
{{For|the Irish department|Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Ireland)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Use Australian English|date=December 2013}}
{{Infobox government agency
| agency_name = Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
| logo = Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (Australia) logo.svg
| picture = Head office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra, Australia.jpg
| picture_caption = R.G. Casey Building in Canberra, ACT
| formed = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1987|7|24}}{{Cite web|title=Our history|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/department/Pages/our-history|access-date=17 October 2020|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}
| type = department
| preceding1 = Department of Foreign Affairs
| preceding2 = Department of Trade
| jurisdiction = Australian government
| headquarters = Barton, Australian Capital Territory
| employees = {{Decrease}} 5,367 (2,363 deployed overseas){{Cite web|last=Martin|first=Lou-Ellen|date=2021|title=Annual Report 2020{{ndash}}21|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/dfat-annual-report-2020-21.pdf|access-date=17 March 2022|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}
| budget = {{Increase}} {{AUD|6.1 billion}} (2020{{ndash}}21){{Cite web|title=Budget highlights 2020{{ndash}}21|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/corporate/portfolio-budget-statements/pbs-2020-21-dfat-budget-highlights|access-date=17 October 2020|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}
| minister1_name = Penny Wong
| minister1_pfo = Foreign Affairs{{Cite web|title=Portfolio ministers|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/our-people/Pages/ministers|access-date=23 May 2022|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}
| minister2_name = Don Farrell
| minister2_pfo = Trade and Tourism
| minister3_name = Pat Conroy
| minister3_pfo = International Development and the Pacific
| minister4_name = Tim Watts
| minister4_pfo = Assistant for Foreign Affairs
| minister5_name = Tim Ayres
| minister5_pfo = Assistant for Trade
| chief1_name = Jan Adams
| chief1_position = Secretary
| child1_agency = Austrade{{Cite web|title=Portfolio Overview|url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/pbs-2020-21-portfolio-overview.pdf|access-date=17 October 2020|website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade}}
| child2_publisher = Australian Secret Intelligence Service
| child3_agency = Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research
| child4_agency = Tourism Australia
| child5_agency = Export Finance Australia
| child6_agency = Australian Aid
| child7_agency = Australian Passport Office
| child8_agency = Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office
| website = {{official URL}}
}}
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).{{cite web |author1=OECD |title=Development Co-operation Profiles 2023 – Australia |url=https://oe.cd/il/dev-coop-australia
|publisher=OECD Publishing, Paris |access-date=14 September 2023}}
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.
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.{{cite web |url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/dept/history.html |title=History of the Department |access-date=2007-08-08 |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade }}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/department/Pages/our-history |title=Our History |access-date=11 May 2020 |publisher=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade }} It was re-established under the same name on 21 December 1921.Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 20th ed, 1978, pp. 289-290
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. 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.
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|date=December 2020}}
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.{{url| https://www.smh.com.au/public-service/selling-treasury-building-could-cost-taxpayers-hundreds-of-millions-20150217-13h0yp.html}}
In 1994, the Australian Overseas Information Service (AOIS, formerly Australian Information Service) became a branch in DFAT known as the International Public Affairs Branch.{{cite web|year=2000 |url=http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS47.html |title=Fact Sheet Forty Seven: Australian Overseas Information Service photographs |publisher=National Archives of Australia |access-date=12 May 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060212205033/http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS47.html |archive-date=2006-02-12 |url-status=dead }} In 1996 the branch was dissolved.{{cite web | website=The Dictionary of Sydney|title=Australian News and Information Bureau| url=https://dictionaryofsydney.org/contributor/australian_news_and_information_bureau | access-date=27 December 2020}}
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:{{cite web |url=https://www.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/resource/download/aao-13-may-2025-signed.pdf |title=Administrative Arrangements Order - 13 May 2025 |website=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Australia) |date=13 May 2025 |access-date=1 June 2025}}{{Creative Commons text attribution notice|cc=by4|from this source=yes}}
- 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
Portfolio ministers
Five additional ministers support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in administering the department, {{as of|2025|lc=yes}}:{{cite web |title=Portfolio ministers |url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/about-us/our-people/ministers |website=Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |access-date=1 June 2025}}
- 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
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:
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.[https://www.transparency.gov.au/publications/foreign-affairs-and-trade/department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade/department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trade-annual-report-2022-23 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Annual Report 2022-23]
=Departmental structure=
The department is structured into seven groups, each led by a deputy secretary.{{when|date=March 2025}}{{cite web | title=DFAT organisational chart | url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/sites/default/files/dfat-org-chart-executive.pdf }}
- 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){{efn|In 2019, the Australia-China Council was decommissioned by the Morrison government and replaced by the National Foundation for Australia-China Relations.{{cite web | title=Australia-China Council (decommissioned) | website=Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade | url=https://www.dfat.gov.au/people-to-people/foundations-councils-institutes/australia-china-council-decommissioned | access-date=23 March 2025}} 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.{{cite web | last=Cohen | first=Hagar | last2=Hui | first2=Echo | title=Government body meant to boost relations with China has been 'tortured and unspectacular', according to former chair | publisher=ABC News|location=Australia | date=3 August 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-04/china-australia-relations-foundation-conflicts-of-interest/12518624 | access-date=23 March 2025}} 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.{{cite web | title=Supporters and Partners | website=FASIC | url=https://fasic.org.au/Newsite/index.php/homepage/supporters-and-partners | access-date=23 March 2025}} }}
- 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|June 2025}} DFAT also manages foundations, councils, and institutes including:{{cite web|url=http://www.dfat.gov.au/councils/ |title=Foundations, councils and institutes – Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade |publisher=Dfat.gov.au |access-date=2025-06-11}}
- ASEAN-Australia Centre
- National Foundation for Australia-China Relations
- Australia-Indonesia Institute (AII)
- Australia-Japan Foundation (AJF)
- Australia-Korea Foundation (AKF)
- Centre for Australia-India Relations
- Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR)
- Council on Australia Latin America Relations (COALAR)
See also
Footnotes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20071011153500/http://www.nit.com.au/opinion/story.aspx?id=12922 National Indigenous Times article on Trent Smith] who was dismissed by DFAT then re-employed after lengthy legal proceedings
- [https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/7c99890b-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/dd728946-en&_csp_=cdd75d772b5c4b917f01bc5ce877f6d9&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=chapter# OECD Development Co-operation Profile of Australia]
{{Australian Government Departments}}
{{Foreign affairs ministries of the World}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Department of Foreign Affairs And Trade}}
Category:Foreign relations of Australia