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What I found on this entity
$1.3B foreign affairs and trade department. Consular responsiveness below target. Aid program effectiveness remains hard to assess independently. Generally reasonable for scope of mandate.
Annual Budget
$1.3B
Prior year: $1.3B (+2%)
Headcount
7,800 staff
$167K per employee
Budget Trend
→ Budget Flat
Portfolio
Foreign Affairs
Performance Targets vs Actuals
Target
95% of consular cases responded to within 24 hours
Actual
88% of consular cases responded to within 24 hours (2023–24 Annual Report)
$96.2M of your taxes lost to DFAT missing its own consular response targets
DFAT received $1.3 billion of your money in 2025-26 but failed to hit its target of responding to 95% of consular cases within 24 hours, managing just 88%. That 7.4% performance gap across a $1.3 billion budget means roughly $96.2 million in taxpayer funds went to a department not delivering what it promised — leaving Australians abroad waiting longer when they need help most.