The department works to make Australia stronger, safer and more prosperous, to provide timely and responsive consular and passport services, and to ensure a secure Australian Government presence overseas.

The department provides foreign, trade and development policy advice to the government. We work with other government agencies to ensure that Australia’s pursuit of its global, regional and bilateral interests is coordinated effectively.

We place particular importance on the following agency values that define how we work and shape our culture:

Achievement
Leadership and Accountability
Valuing People
Collaboration

What We Do

DFAT is the lead agency managing Australia’s international presence. We manage a network of 109 overseas posts in five continents and have 6,078 staff located in Canberra, state and territory offices and overseas posts.

Our officers are highly skilled at their work which includes developing and implementing foreign, trade and development policy, negotiating international agreements, delivering an effective aid program, and providing high quality consular assistance. This business is often conducted in one of the 31 foreign languages in which DFAT staff are proficient.

We uphold and promote the Australian Public Service Values: