About the U.S. Consulate General Sydney, Australia

History

The Consulate General in Sydney is the oldest American Foreign Service post in Australia. The first American Consul was appointed in 1836. The Post now has 24 Americans and 40 Foreign Service Nationals who work under the overall supervision of the Consul General.

The Sydney Consular District

The district includes the State of New South Wales, Queensland and Norfolk Island. New South Wales is Australia’s most populous and industrialized state. Sydney, its capital, is Australia’s largest city and most important port. New South Wales has a population of 6 million, of which 3.6 million live in the Sydney metropolitan area. An estimated 25,000 Americans live in New South Wales and 12,000 in Queensland.Some sections of the Consulate General have responsibilities that apply to areas broader than the Sydney consular district.

United States Representation in Australia

The United States Ambassador in Canberra has overall responsibility for all U.S. representation in Australia. The Consul General in Sydney is in charge of that post and reports to the Ambassador in Canberra. There are also Consulates in Melbourne and Perth which similarly are responsible directly to the Embassy in Canberra.

Consul General

The Consul General is the post’s Principal Officer and coordinates all functions of the U.S. Government in the Sydney consular district. She maintains contact with senior Australian officials, both state and federal, within the consular district and keeps the Embassy and Washington informed of important political, economic and other developments affecting U.S. interests. The Consul General often represents the United States at public functions and addresses various groups and organizations on issues affecting Australian-American relations. Briefing visiting U.S. officials and American business representatives is also an important responsibility.

Consular Section

Consular services offered in Sydney include assistance to American citizens, issuance of passports and determinations of U.S. citizenship , and visa services to Australians and other foreign nationals.

Emergency assistance

Consular officers and staff assist ill Americans to obtain medical services, next-of-kin to make funeral and burial arrangements for Americans who die overseas, and destitute Americans to obtain funds from relatives in the U.S. A consular officer acts, when required, as provisional executor of the estate of a deceased American citizen. Consular officers and staff visit imprisoned American citizens and help victims of natural and man-made disasters to return to the United States.

Passport and Citizenship Services

This section issues U.S. passports to American citizens overseas and Reports of Birth for U.S. citizen children under the age of 18, and advises American citizens concerning the acquisition and loss of American citizenship. It is estimated that some 37,000 American citizens reside in the Sydney consular district.

Assistance to Federal Agencies and Beneficiaries

Consular staff help Social Security, VA and other agency beneficiaries establish their claims to benefits, obtain information needed to adjudicate claims, and distribute some special payment checks.

Voting and Notarial/Judicial Services

The section has information on Federal and State primary and general elections and voting registration materials. In addition, consular officers may take acknowledgments and oaths, and authenticate signatures of certain Australian officials, when required for legal documents to be valid in the United States. Consular officers assist the U.S. Department of Justice in obtaining evidence abroad, and take depositions for use in civil and criminal cases pending in the United States.

Child Custody

The Consular Section can assist American citizens in obtaining assistance from Australian authorities in child custody disputes, and can arrange for visits to children by Australian child welfare authorities. Passport services may be restricted or withheld according to a court order by an Australian or U.S. court.

Visa Services

The Consular Section processes about 25,000 visa applications each year from Australians and citizens of other nations wishing to visit the United States for tourism, business, cultural exchange, study, and employment. Most Australians take advantage of the U.S. visa waiver program to enter the United States for short visits without a visa. Consular officers and staff also process immigrant visas to people who wish to live permanently in the United States.

Please see our telephone information page for general advice on visas (charges apply).

Public Affairs Section

The Consulate’s Public Affairs Section is headed by an American Foreign Service officer, assisted by six Australian staff members. Its main functions are as follows:

Information Resource Center

The U.S. Information Resource Center is administered by a researcher who assists with research and policy inquiries from Australian governments, universities, media and other organizations. It has a wide range of American periodicals, directories and government publications, as well as accessing online resources through subscription databases and the Internet. Audience members regularly receive policy materials and documentation from the Information Resource Center both by email and by traditional means. The Information Resource Center specializes in contemporary United States domestic and foreign policy issues including international security, trade, economics, the environments, and social issues.

Education Advising Center

Is staffed by volunteers, and provides information to persons interested in pursuing tertiary studies at American colleges and universities. The Center is located with the Research Center.

Media Relations

Sydney is the media center of Australia, and the office maintains regular contact with editors and others in the print and electronic media organizations. Especially close contact has been established with commercial TV stations in Sydney, which are the flagship stations of the national TV networks.

Electronic links

Through its videoconference technology, the U.S. Government’s satellite television service, the Public Affairs Section regularly presents discussions linking newsmakers and experts in the United States with their professional peers as well as journalists in Sydney and other world capitals.

Forums with visiting American experts

Forums on significant foreign affairs and defense issues and on American economics, politics, culture and history are also arranged by the Public Affairs Section. These forums are held at the program center or at various universities in New South Wales and Queensland, or at other major cultural institutions.

Ship Visits

The Public Affairs Section makes arrangements for media coverage, interviews and visits to visiting U.S. Navy ships.

Exchanges

The office arranges visits to the United States for key figures in politics, labor, the media and education to exchange ideas with American specialists. It also assists in establishing Australian-American private exchanges.

Political and Economic Section

This section follows important political and economic developments in New South Wales and Queensland and maintains contact and liaison with the state governments and local federal government officials.

Administrative Section

The Administrative section provides the full range of support services to the Consulate General, including communications, personnel, customs and shipping, contracting, procurement and warehousing, information management, budget and fiscal, residential and commercial leasing, security and general services.

U.S. Commercial Service

The Commercial Counselor for Australia (Senior Commercial Officer) is part of the Embassy Country Team but is located at the Consulate General. The SCO supervises and coordinates all U.S. Government commercial activities in Australia, including U.S. Commercial Service (USCS) operations in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. The SCO is responsible for coordinating closely with the Ambassador, Embassy staff and the Australian Government in Canberra on trade promotion matters and with the American Chamber of Commerce, headquartered in Sydney.

The SCO is a member of the Mission’s Embassy Strategic Commercial Plan for Australia and is responsible for coordinating the Country Commercial Guide for Australia. The senior FSN and Administrative Assistant are also resident in Sydney.

USCS Sydney, headed by the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer, implements the export development and trade promotion programs of the Embassy and the USCS of the Department of Commerce in the consular district.

Activities include:

International Partner Search

identifies Australian companies interested in representing a particular U.S. firm.

Trade Opportunities Program

alerts U.S. companies of Australian firms’ interest in buying their products or representing them.

International Buyer Program

encourages Australian executives to attend trade shows in the U.S. and to establish contacts with U.S. companies.

Gold Key Service

arranges appointments in-country for U.S. companies

Platinum Key Service

provides continuous company support service (advocacy, trade promotion, market research) for up to one year.

Flexibile Market Research

answers specific market questions on a company’s product and service

www.BuyUSA.com

an e-commerce program linking U.S. and Australian companies.

USCS maintains a Trade Information Center which has a wide range of U.S. business reference materials including listings of American manufacturers, commercial, financial, engineering, exporting and trade firms; trade and industry associations; statistical data; trade show and exhibition brochures and a wide selection of U.S. trade and industry magazines. The TIC is open to the public by appointment only.

USCS also organizes trade missions and catalog shows; pursues opportunities for U.S. firms and reports on major project tenders; counsels and briefs U.S. and Australian business visitors and responds to several thousand letters, facsimiles, emails and telephone inquiries each year. FCS Sydney maintains close contact with the NSW and Queensland State Governments and trade associations to monitor trade policy and trade issues.

All Commercial Specialists have country-wide responsibilities for industry sectors and conduct market research to assess U.S. business potential and support and promote USA trade shows in privately organized trade exhibitions. These industry sectors include: Aviation, Defense, Safety and Security, Airports/Ports and Harbors, Science and Technology (major), Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Franchising, Leisure Products/Hotel-Hospitality Supply, Tourism, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration, Construction and Building Trades, Food Processing-Packaging, Hardware/DIY, Direct Marketing, Railway Transportation/Highway Systems, Capital Goods/Industrial Equipment and Machine Tools, Environmental Industries, Computers & Peripherals and Software, Multimedia, Media Services and Equipment and Financial Services.

Transportation Security Administration

The TSA office consists of the Transportation Security Administration Representative (TSAR) and a Security Assistant. The TSAR serves as the technical expert and primary agency contact on all transportation security matters. He maintains contact with U.S. government agencies, U.S. air carriers, foreign government transportation authorities, foreign air carriers, and other related transportation interests. The TSAR’s area of responsibility includes Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Island nations that are not U.S. territories which have Last Point of Departure flights (LPDs) to the United States.

Fax

(02) 9221-0598 (outside Australia dial +61 2 9221-0598)

Detachment 4, PACAF Air Postal Squadron

Detachment 4 provides official and personal postal service to Department of Defense, Department of State, visiting Navy ships, and other authorized government agencies and their dependents through out Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and Papua New Guinea. Detachment 4 manages all international and domestic transportation of mail to and from the Aerial Mail Terminal (AMT) and Air Post Offices (APO) located in Sydney; Woomera; Alice Springs; Canberra; Melbourne; Perth; Learmonth; Richmond; Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; Christchurch, New Zealand; and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Detachment 4 is commanded by an Air Force Master Sergeant (E-7); Postal Detachment Chief. The Postal Detachment Chief exercises operational command and control over seven APOs, one AMT, and provides operational guidance to four limited service APOs. He/she is directly responsible to the postal headquarters at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Detachment 4 has provided over 40 years of professional postal service to authorized patrons throughout Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and Papua New Guinea.

Last update Sunday, 15 June 2008