In the years since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number has increased, as has the number of people getting into trouble abroad.
This week, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) released its Consular State of Play 2023-2024, which provides a snapshot of consular assistance and crisis support being provided to Australians abroad.
According to the report, DFAT responded to 9,067 consular assistance cases over the period, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year.
The number of Australians seeking help with social services or other serious matters (such as mental health or domestic violence), investigations into whereabouts, illness and hospital admission, deaths abroad, arrests and lost or stolen passports have all increased.
Here's what you need to know about where – and how – Australians are having trouble abroad.
The top positions for consular affairs
The country where Australians abroad needed the most help was Thailand, with 827 consular cases.
Indonesia and the Philippines followed Thailand with 546 and 528 respectively, while there were 483 cases of Australians seeking help in the United States.
The number of Australians experiencing illness, theft, welfare issues and lost passports is increasing. Source: Getty / kitzcorner/iStockphoto
There were 378 Australians seeking non-crisis consular support in the occupied Palestinian territories, and 366 in Vietnam.
In China, 309 Australians requested consular assistance, compared to 299 in Japan. India and Italy completed the top 10 with 254 and 240 respectively.
How do Australians get into trouble abroad?
The most common reason people sought consular care was 'welfare/other serious matters', including mental illness, domestic violence or homelessness. The top country for welfare applications was Thailand, followed by the Philippines and Indonesia.
There was an overall decrease in the number of assistance cases by 10 percent in 2023/2024, but it remained the most common type of assistance request with 2,840 cases.
DFAT provided support in 1,919 cases of Australians who an increase of three percent compared to the previous year. Cases of Australians falling ill or being hospitalized overseas rose 21 per cent to 1,345, with most of these occurring in Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The number of 'whereabouts details', which relates to Australians reported missing overseas, increased by 24 per cent to 328. The most common countries in these investigations were the United States, Thailand and India.
DFAT managed 865 cases of Australians arrested overseas; an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous year. The top countries for arrests were China, the US and Singapore.
Theft and loss of passports are increasing
The number of Australians reporting lost or stolen passports – and general theft – had increased significantly by 2023-2024.
There were 2,678 passports lost abroad and 1,942 reported stolen; an increase of 28 percent over the previous year.
The top destinations for missing passports were Italy, the US, Britain, France and Greece.
Reports of general theft increased by 26 percent, with 198 cases reported. Italy was again the top country, followed by Brazil and Vietnam.
Australians in crisis abroad
DFAT also assisted Australians involved in crises overseas, supporting a total of 6,160 cases.
These cases include situations in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, New Caledonia, Ukraine, Russia and Morocco.
The countries where the most were in the Middle East, due to the ongoing problems And .
DFAT supported 3,643 Australians, permanent residents and their families in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and 1,581 in Lebanon.
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