Consular assistance
Our Embassy and Consulates provide consular assistance for Australians in Türkiye, Georgia and Azerbaijan facing serious difficulties overseas in line with the Consular Services Charter.
What help we may provide
We may be able to
Each case is unique and our assistance will depend on the circumstances and availability of consular resources. We may be able to:
- issue replacement passports and travel documents for a fee
- provide details of local doctors and hospitals, including mental health support if available in your location
- provide advice and support if you’re the victim of a serious assault, or other crime, or you’re arrested, including details of local lawyers and interpreters
- visit or contact you to check on your welfare if you’re arrested or detained, and do what we can to ensure you’re treated the same as others detained under the laws of the country in which you’re arrested
- provide advice and support in a range of other cases including the death of relatives overseas, missing persons and kidnappings
- if you agree, contact friends or family on your behalf. In some circumstances we may need to contact your friends or family where we’ve been unable to get your consent
- make special arrangements in cases of international terrorism, civil disturbances and natural disasters (fees may apply)
- provide some notarial services, including witnessing and authenticating documents and administering oaths and affirmations (fees apply)
- in some locations, provide voting services for Australian federal and some state elections
What we can’t do
Some tasks are outside the consular role. For example, we can’t:
- guarantee your safety and security in another country or make your travel arrangements
- give you legal advice, interpret or translate documents
- intervene in another country’s court proceedings or legal matters including employment disputes, commercial disputes, criminal cases, and family law matters or child custody disputes
- investigate crimes or deaths overseas, or carry out searches for missing people, which are the responsibility of local authorities
- get you out of prison or prevent you from being deported
- get you better treatment in prison than local prisoners
- post bail or pay your fines or legal expenses
- enforce an Australian or any other custody agreement overseas or compel a country to decide a custody case
- pay for medical or psychiatric services or medications
- pay your pension or social security benefits
- arrange visas, licences, work or residency permits for other countries
- intervene in immigration, customs or quarantine matters in other countries
- store luggage or other personal items
- receive or send postal items on your behalf
Crisis response
Some international crises involving Australians overseas will require an exceptional response, such as:
- those in which large numbers of Australians have been killed or injured or face significant threat, for example terrorist attacks, major accidents, pandemics and natural disasters
- political unrest which leads us to advise you to leave the country and which might require the assisted departure or evacuation of Australians if there are no commercial options
- events which cause major disruption and hardship to large numbers of Australians
In an international crisis, we’ll provide support to Australian citizens and permanent residents of Australia. Depending on the circumstances, we may also assist dual nationals in the country of their other nationality.
Our assistance is guided by many considerations, but we may:
- deploy expert teams to support affected Australians
- liaise with the families of any Australians killed or injured
- work with local authorities to support affected Australians
- support Australians trying to leave the area and put them in contact with their families
- provide travel advice and crisis updates