Hundreds of staff members of the Department of Foreign Affair and Trade (DFAT) and their families have returned from overseas postings to stay safe from COVID-19.
According to local media, the Department has temporarily returned 300 staff and 800 of their family members to Australia.
The media said the movement of staff coincided with the call for Australians to return from overseas due to the pandemic.
“DFAT’s public servants have returned from 73 postings, more than half of Australia’s diplomatic network of embassies, high commissions, multilateral missions and consulates,” the Canberra Times reported.
“However, 70 per cent of Australian Officials remain in 84 countries providing consular support,” it said.
It reported that DFAT told a parliamentary inquiry into the influence of COVID-19 on Australia’s foreign affairs that some of its staff had temporarily left postings to manage the medical, safety and welfare risks of the pandemic.
“It follows an offer, announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne in March, of voluntary evacuations back to Australia for diplomats and non-essential embassy staff,” it said.
“Other Commonwealth Agencies with overseas postings have brought 230 staff and 480 of their family members home, according to DFAT.”
The Department said its staff and those in other Commonwealth Agencies were returning to postings on a case-by-case basis as conditions eased in some countries overseas.
