Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade explained

Agency Name:Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Picture Caption:The head office of the department in the ACT
Formed:[1]
Type:department
Preceding1:Department of Foreign Affairs
Preceding2:Department of Trade
Jurisdiction:Australian Government
Headquarters:Barton, Australian Capital Territory
Employees: 5,367 (2,363 deployed overseas)[2]
Budget: (202021)[3]
Minister1 Name:Penny Wong
Minister1 Pfo:Foreign Affairs[4]
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[5]
Child2 Agency: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

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian federal government responsible for foreign policy and relations, international aid (using the branding Australian Aid), consular services and trade and investment (including trade and investment promotion Austrade). Australia's total official development assistance (ODA) (USD 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]

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.[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).

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]

Portfolio ministers

Four additional ministers support the Minister for Foreign Affairs in administering the Department, :[13]

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:

width=30 Orderwidth=150 Officialwidth=130 Date appointment
commenced		width=130 Date appointment
ceased		width=100 Term in officeRef(s)
1 [14] [15] [16]
2 [17]
3 [18] [19]
4 [20] [21]
5
6 [22]
7 [23]
8 [24]
9 [25]
10 [26] [27] [28]
11 [29]
12 Incumbent [30]

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.

The department has around 3,300 employees, of whom 1,300 are foreign staff employed by missions directly, and 1,500 are Australian employees based in Australia, and some 500 are diplomats serving overseas.

Departmental structure

Diplomatic network

The department 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 over 90 overseas posts, including Australian embassies, high commissions, consulates-general and consulates.

Portfolio agencies

DFAT also manages several agencies within its portfolio, including:

DFAT also manages foundations, councils and institutes including:[31]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Our history. 17 October 2020. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  2. Web site: Martin. Lou-Ellen. 2021. Annual Report 202021. 17 March 2022. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  3. Web site: Budget highlights 202021. 17 October 2020. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  4. Web site: Portfolio ministers. 23 May 2022. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  5. Web site: Portfolio Overview. 17 October 2020. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  6. Web site: OECD . Development Co-operation Profiles 2023 - Australia . OECD Publishing, Paris . 14 September 2023.
  7. Web site: History of the Department . 2007-08-08 . Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade .
  8. Web site: Our History . 11 May 2020 . Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade .
  9. Parliamentary Handbook of the Commonwealth of Australia, 20th ed, 1978, pp. 289-290
  10. Web site: 2000 . Fact Sheet Forty Seven: Australian Overseas Information Service photographs . . 12 May 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20060212205033/http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/fact_sheets/FS47.html . 2006-02-12 . dead .
  11. Web site: The Dictionary of Sydney. Australian News and Information Bureau. 27 December 2020.
  12. Web site: Administrative Arrangements Order . 18 September 2013 . . 27 October 2013 . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131014052331/http://www.dpmc.gov.au/parliamentary/docs/aao_20130918.pdf . 14 October 2013 . dmy .
  13. Web site: Ministry List as at 1 June 2022 . Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet . 4 June 2022.
  14. 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.
  15. For the media . 23 July 1987 . . . Hawke, Bob . Bob Hawke . 10 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110154626/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=7201 . 10 November 2013 . dmy .
  16. For the media . 2 June 1988 . . . Hawke, Bob . Bob Hawke . 10 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110145443/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=7330 . 10 November 2013 . dmy-all .
  17. For the media . 8 November 1991 . . . Hawke, Bob . Bob Hawke . 10 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110154615/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=8350 . 10 November 2013 . dead .
  18. Dr Peter Wilenski AO . 14 May 1993 . . . Keating, Paul . Paul Keating . 10 November 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110154623/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=8862 . 10 November 2013 . dead .
  19. Chad. Mitcham. Peter Stephen Wilenski (1939–1994). wilenski-peter-stephen-29978.
  20. Appointment of Departmental Secretaries . 26 May 1993 . . . Keating, Paul . Paul Keating . 10 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110154620/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=8871 . 10 November 2013 . dmy-all .
  21. Statement by the Prime Minister designate, The Hon John Howard MP . 8 March 1996 . . . Howard, John . John Howard . 10 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110140511/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=9953 . 10 November 2013 . dmy-all .
  22. Dr Ashton Calvert AC . 2 December 2004 . . . Howard, John . John Howard . 10 November 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110154618/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=21524 . 10 November 2013 . dmy-all .
  23. Rudd, Kevin . Kevin Rudd . Departmental secretaries and statutory office-holders, Canberra . 13 August 2009 . 10 November 2013 . . . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131110095906/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=16752 . 10 November 2013 . dmy .
  24. Gillard, Julia. Julia Gillard. Diplomatic Appointment and Appointment of Secretaries of the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. 17 September 2012. Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 27 October 2013. Commonwealth of Australia. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141220082849/http://pmtranscripts.dpmc.gov.au/browse.php?did=18795. 20 December 2014. dmy-all.
  25. Web site: Mr Peter N Varghese AO - Biographical details. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Commonwealth of Australia. 3 December 2012. 28 October 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202736/http://www.dfat.gov.au/dept/exec/varghesepeter_bio.html. 29 October 2013. dead.
  26. News: Frances Adamson appointed as DFAT's first female secretary. 20 July 2016. Matthew. Doran. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20160805062157/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-20/prime-minister-appoints-first-female-secretary/7645322. 5 August 2016.
  27. News: Frances Adamson becomes Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's first female secretary. The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Markus. Mannheim. 20 July 2016. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160817144128/http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/public-service/frances-adamson-becomes-department-of-foreign-affairs-and-trades-first-female-secretary-20160720-gq9t27.html. 17 August 2016.
  28. Ms Frances Adamson appointed Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Australian Government. Malcolm. Turnbull. Malcolm Turnbull. 20 July 2016. 18 August 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20170421035111/http://www.pm.gov.au/media/2016-07-20/ms-frances-adamson-appointed-secretary-department-foreign-affairs-and-trade. 21 April 2017. dead.
  29. Web site: Secretary and Deputy Secretaries.
  30. Web site: Announcement of Department Secretaries. Prime Minister of Australia. 22 June 2022. 30 June 2022.
  31. Web site: Foundations, councils and institutes - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade . Dfat.gov.au . 2018-10-17.

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