Foreign affairs & tradeDepartment of StateExists today
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
DFAT
24 July 1987 – present
Department of State responsible for Australia's foreign policy, trade and investment policy and negotiations, the overseas network of diplomatic and consular posts, passports, and since 2013 the overseas aid program and tourism policy.
How it came into existence
Created by the Administrative Arrangements Order of 24 July 1987 under the third Hawke government, merging the Department of Foreign Affairs with the Department of Trade. Bill Hayden was Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, with Michael Duffy as Minister for Trade Negotiations.
- Foreign policy
- Diplomatic and consular network
- Passports
- Trade policy and negotiations
- Bilateral trade relations
- Export development
Changes during its life
- International tourism promotion (Tourism Australia)
Between 18 September and 3 October 2013 tourism responsibilities were split between the foreign affairs and industry portfolios.
- Tourism policy and programs
Amended Administrative Arrangements Order of 3 October 2013 placed all tourism responsibilities in the Foreign Affairs and Trade portfolio, delivered through Austrade.
- Overseas aid program
Main functions
- Foreign policy and diplomatic relations
- Trade and investment policy and negotiations
- Overseas diplomatic and consular network
- Consular services and passports
- International development assistance (from 2013)
- International security, arms control and non-proliferation
- Public diplomacy and protocol
- Tourism policy (from 2013, delivered through Austrade)
Where it sits
- Type of body
- Non-corporate Commonwealth entity
- Portfolio
- Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Accountable authority
- Secretary of the Department – Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 section 12(2) item 1
- ABN
- 47 065 634 525
Bodies in this portfolio (28)
- Australian Secret Intelligence Service 1952–present
- International Training Institute 1973–1997
- Australian Safeguards Office 1974–1998
- Australia-Japan Foundation 1976–2006
- Australian Development Assistance Bureau 1976–1987
- Australia-China Council 1978–2020
- Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research 1982–present
- Australian Trade Commission 1986–2016
- Australian International Development Assistance Bureau 1987–1995
- Australia-Indonesia Institute 1989–present
- Export Finance and Insurance Corporation 1991–present
- Australia-India Council 1992–2023
- Australia-Korea Foundation 1992–present
- Chemical Weapons Convention Office 1994–1998
- Australian Agency for International Development 1995–2013
- Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office 1998–present
- Council on Australia Latin America Relations 2001–present
- Council for Australian-Arab Relations 2003–present
- Tourism Australia 2004–present
- Tourism Research Australia 2004–present
- Australia-Malaysia Institute 2005–2016
- Australia-Thailand Institute 2005–2016
- Australia-Japan Foundation 2006–present
- Australia-ASEAN Council 2016–2024
- Australian Trade and Investment Commission 2016–present
- National Foundation for Australia-China Relations 2020–present
- Centre for Australia-India Relations 2023–present
- ASEAN-Australia Centre 2024–present
Lineage
Loading lineage…
Sources
Primary sources
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 11 March 1996 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 May 2025, as amended to 1 July 2025 (sets it out)
38 more Administrative Arrangements Orders set it out
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 November 2001 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 December 2003 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 26 October 2004 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 December 2004 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 21 September 2006 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 21 September 2006, as amended to 30 January 2007 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 3 December 2007 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 25 January 2008 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 September 2010 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 October 2010 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 14 December 2011 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 9 February 2012 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 16 May 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 September 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 12 December 2013 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 23 December 2014 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 9 July 2015 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015, as amended to 18 February 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 30 September 2015, as amended to 19 July 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016, as amended to 27 October 2016 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 September 2016, as amended to 13 April 2017 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 April 2018 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 19 April 2018, as amended to 28 August 2018 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 4 April 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 29 May 2019, as amended to 1 September 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 5 December 2019 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 5 December 2019, as amended to 2 April 2020 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 18 March 2021 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 1 June 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 23 June 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 8 June 2023 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 3 August 2023 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 October 2022, as amended to 29 July 2024 (sets it out)
- Administrative Arrangements Order of 13 May 2025 (sets it out)
- List of Commonwealth entities and companies under the PGPA Act, 1 July 2026 (Department of Finance)
- Australian Government Organisations Register (Department of Finance, data.gov.au) (listed from 11 December 2014 to the latest release (30 June 2026))
- Administrative Arrangements Order, 18 September 2013
Government records and websites
- Australian Government Directory
- National Archives of Australia agency record CA 5987
- Official website
- Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee, Supplementary Budget Estimates 2013–14: Austrade answers to questions on notice
- Portfolio Budget Statements 2014–15: Foreign Affairs and Trade Portfolio – Austrade