Every year, the Australian Government assists thousands of Aussies abroad with consular cases and crisis support. The past financial year was no exception.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s (DFAT) recently released Consular State of Play report revealed that officials provided consular and crisis assistance for over 9,200 cases around the world during FY22/23.
According to DFAT, a consular case is defined as “assistance provided by Australian officials to an Australian who has encountered difficulties overseas – for example, if they have been in an accident, have been a victim of crime, or have been arrested”.
“The number of Australians travelling is approaching pre-COVID-19 levels. This is reflected in the number of travellers who needed assistance after running into trouble overseas,” the department stated.
And while some situations can be resolved swiftly, others may require months or even years to find a solution.
In FY22/23, the Consular Emergency Centre responded to more than 48,000 calls – equal to one call every 11 minutes – and supported around 1,375 active cases at any one time.
So where were the top 10 destinations for Australian consular cases around the world?
At the top of the list was Thailand, with 778 cases, followed by the Philippines (610 cases), Indonesia (512 cases), the United States (451 cases) and Vietnam (330 cases).
Rounding out the top 10 destinations were Turkey (254 cases), China (229 cases), Japan (214 cases), India (213 cases) and Italy (176 cases).
“It is not surprising to see that the top locations for consular cases were the top destinations for Australian travellers,” states the report, which shows Southeast Asian nations dominating the list.
Consular cases by type
When it comes to the sorts of consular help provided (excluding crisis cases), ‘welfare/other serious matters’ topped the list (3,160 cases), followed by ‘death’ (1,871 cases), ‘illness/hospitalisation’ (1,122 cases), ‘arrest’ (740 cases), ‘prisoner’ (318 cases) and ‘whereabouts’ (265 cases).
Other common cases included ‘immigration detention’ (229 cases), ‘assault on client’ (199 cases), ‘repatriation’ (163 cases), ‘theft from client’ (157 cases), ‘child abduction/custody’ (131 cases) and ‘child parental responsibility’ (105 cases).
There were also seven medical evacuations in FY22/23.
“If you’re well prepared before you travel, in most situations you can look after yourself and your loved ones overseas without needing consular assistance,” DFAT states in its report.
“This is often through travel insurance, having access to sufficient funds or contacting family and friends back home.”
Check out this list of Australia’s most frequently claimed items, according to BUPA travel insurance data.
