The 2024-25 Consular State of Play is now available online.
The Consular State of Play is a snapshot of the consular assistance and crisis support the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) provides to Australians overseas.
In 2024-25, DFAT:
- provided consular assistance and crisis support in over 26,000 cases
- supported more than 17,000 Australians and their families during conflict in the Middle East and the earthquake in Vanuatu
- answered more than 61,500 calls for help through the Consular Emergency Centre, averaging one call every 8.5 minutes.
DFAT consular staff around the world and in Canberra work tirelessly to support Australians overseas. At any time, DFAT was handling around 1,500 active consular cases worldwide.
The number of consular cases in 2024-25 was slightly higher than in 2023-24. But the time spent on each case went up by 10%, reflecting the growing complexity of cases.
Nearly one in three consular cases in 2024-25 came from Southeast Asian countries. The top five locations for consular assistance were:
- Thailand, with 1017 cases (11.1% of total cases)
- Indonesia, with 685 cases (7.5% of total cases)
- Philippines, with 502 cases (5.5% of total cases)
- United States of America, with 463 cases (5.0% of total cases)
- Vietnam, with 443 cases (4.8% of total cases)
Welfare cases remained the most common type of consular case, followed by death cases, illness and hospitalisation, and arrest cases. All four case types saw a slight increase compared to 2023-24.
See all the data in the Consular State of Play.
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