Within the years because the COVID-19 pandemic, the variety of has elevated, and so has the quantity working into hassle abroad.
This week, the Division of International Affairs and Commerce (DFAT) launched its 2023-24 Consular State of Play report, which offers a snapshot of consular help and disaster assist offered to Australians abroad.
DFAT responded to 9,067 consular help instances over the interval, in keeping with the report, marking a 7 per cent improve from the 12 months prior.
The variety of Australians searching for assist with welfare or different critical issues (similar to psychological well being or home violence), whereabouts inquiries, sickness and hospitalisation, deaths abroad, arrests, and misplaced or stolen passports all elevated.
This is what you’ll want to learn about the place — and the way — Australians are having points abroad.
The highest spots for consular instances
The nation the place Australians wanted probably the most help abroad was Thailand, with 827 consular instances.
Indonesia and the Philippines adopted Thailand with 546 and 528 respectively, whereas there have been 483 instances of Australians searching for assist in the US.
The variety of Australians experiencing sickness, theft, welfare points and misplaced passports is on the rise. Supply: Getty / kitzcorner/iStockphoto
There have been 378 Australians who sought non-crisis consular assist from the Occupied Palestinian Territories and 366 in Vietnam.
In China, 309 Australians requested consular help, in contrast with 299 in Japan. India and Italy rounded out the highest 10, with 254 and 240 respectively.
How are Australians entering into hassle abroad?
The most typical cause individuals sought consular help was ‘welfare/different critical issues’, which incorporates psychological sickness home violence, or homelessness. The highest nation for welfare requests was Thailand, adopted by the Philippines and Indonesia.
There was a ten per cent general lower in welfare instances in 2023/24, but it surely remained the most typical kind of help request with 2,840 instances.
DFAT offered assist in 1,919 instances of Australians who , a 3 per cent improve from the 12 months earlier than. Circumstances of Australians changing into ailing or hospitalised abroad elevated by 21 per cent to 1,345 and most of those occurred in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
‘Whereabouts enquiries’, which refers to Australians reported lacking abroad, elevated by 24 per cent to 328. The most typical international locations in these enquiries have been the US, Thailand and India.
DFAT managed 865 instances of Australians arrested abroad; a 17 per cent improve in comparison with the earlier 12 months. The highest international locations for arrests have been China, the US and Singapore.
Theft and lacking passports on the rise
The variety of Australians reporting misplaced or stolen passports — and basic theft — had a major improve in 2023-24.
There have been 2,678 passports reported misplaced abroad and 1,942 reported stolen; a rise of 28 per cent from the earlier 12 months.
The highest locations for lacking passports have been Italy, the US, Nice Britain, France and Greece.
Studies of basic theft elevated by 26 per cent, with 198 instances reported. Italy was once more the highest nation, adopted by Brazil and Vietnam.
Australians in disaster abroad
DFAT additionally assisted Australians caught up in crises abroad and supported a complete of 6,160 instances.
These instances included conditions in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, New Caledonia, Ukraine, Russia and Morocco.
The international locations the place probably the most have been within the Center East, as a result of ongoing and .
DFAT supported 3,643 Australians, everlasting residents and their households in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and 1,581 in Lebanon.
