About
We have a network of agriculture counsellors based around the world in key trade locations. They promote Australia’s agricultural interests and help our agricultural sector grow.
Our agriculture counsellors work with our biosecurity, exports and trade and market access teams. Together, they improve and maintain market access for Australian agricultural exports.
They:
- explore and develop new market openings for Australian farmers and exporters
- maintain existing market access
- improve technical market access
- provide market intelligence
- manage sensitive policy issues
- represent Australia at meetings and negotiations
- resolve issues when Australian agricultural goods arrive at their foreign destination.
Overseas Counsellor Network Review
In 2020, the Overseas Posts Network Review was undertaken to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the network and make recommendations on how to optimise its effectiveness with regards to future roles, locations and the levels of Counsellor Network positions.
Learn about the latest review of the counsellor network.
Watch
Find out more about what our agriculture counsellors do.
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Video transcript: Agriculture industry support
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Meet our counsellors
Postcards from Post trailer
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Postcards from the post trailer transcript (DOCX 258 KB)
Jesse Mahony – Counsellor (Agriculture), Washington DC, USA
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Interview transcript – Jesse Mahony – United States of America (DOCX 262 KB)
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Dane Roberts – Counsellor (Agriculture), Jakarta, Indonesia
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Interview transcript – Dane Roberts – Indonesia (DOCX 265 KB)
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Nektarios Tsirbas – Counsellor (Agriculture), Santiago, Chile
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Interview transcript – Nektarios Tsirbas – Chile (DOCX 264 KB)
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Donna Bennett – Counsellor (Agriculture), Dubai, UAE
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Interview transcript – Donna Bennett – UAE (DOCX 263 KB)
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Kiran Karamil Counsellor (Agriculture),& Richard Niall former First Secretary (Agriculture), New Delhi, India
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Interview transcript – Kiran Karamil and Richard Niall – India (DOCX 268 KB)
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Tom Parnell – former Counsellor (Agriculture), Tokyo, Japan
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Interview transcript – Tom Parnell – Japan (DOCS 263 KB)
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Tony Harman – Counsellor (Agriculture), Hanoi, Vietnam
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Interview transcript – Tony Harman – Vietnam (DOCX 257 KB)
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Amber Parr – former Counsellor (Agriculture), Bangkok, Thailand
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Interview transcript – Amber Parr – Thailand (DOCX 272 KB)
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Counsellor details and contacts
| Location | Market coverage | Name | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brussels, Belgium | European Union, European non-EU countries | Peter Creaser | Minister Counsellor | Peter.Creaser@dfat.gov.au |
| Brussels, Belgium | European Union, European non-EU countries | Erin Tomkinson | Counsellor | Erin.Tomkinson@dfat.gov.au |
| Santiago, Chile | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay | Nektarios Tsirbas | Counsellor | Nektarios.Tsirbas2@dfat.gov.au |
| Beijing, China | China | Nadia Bouhafs (incoming) Deb Langford (outgoing) | Minister Counsellor | Nadia.Bouhafs@dfat.gov.au Debbie.Langford@dfat.gov.au |
| Beijing, China | China | Laura McGrath | Counsellor | Laura.McGrath@dfat.gov.au |
| New Delhi, India | India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives | Kiran Karamil | Counsellor | Kiran.Karamil@dfat.gov.au |
| New Delhi, India | India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives | Vacant | First Secretary | |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | Indonesia | Dean Merrilees | Minister Counsellor | Dean.Merrilees@dfat.gov.au |
| Jakarta, Indonesia | Indonesia | Dane Roberts | Counsellor | Dane.Roberts@dfat.gov.au |
| Rome, Italy | United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) | Emma Hatcher | Counsellor | Emma.Hatcher@dfat.gov.au |
| Tokyo, Japan | Japan | James Strachan (incoming) Tom Parnell (outgoing) | Counsellor | James.Strachan@dfat.gov.au Tom.Parnell@dfat.gov.au |
| London, United Kingdon | United Kingdon | Amy Little | Counsellor | Amy.Little@dfat.gov.au |
| Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Malaysia | Kate Makin | Counsellor | Kate.Makin@dfat.gov.au |
| Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Syria, Libya, Tunisia | Samareh Naeemi Hosseini (outgoing) | Counsellor | Locally engage staff member - Naglaa.ElBahaei@dfat.gov.au (Locally engaged staff) |
| Seoul, South Korea | Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia | Kelly Porter | Counsellor | Kelly.Porter@dfat.gov.au |
| Bangkok, Thailand | Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar | Robert Atkinson | Counsellor | Rob.Atkinson@dfat.gov.au |
| Dubai, UAE | United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Yemen, Israel, Jordan, Oman, Bahrain, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Syria, Libya, Tunisia | Donna Bennett | Counsellor | Donna.Bennett@dfat.gov.au |
| Washington DC, USA | USA, Canada Central America, Caribbean, Mexico, Colombia | Matthew Worrell | Minister Counsellor | Matthew.Worrell@dfat.gov.au |
| Washington DC, USA | USA, Canada | Jesse Mahoney | Counsellor | Jesse.Mahoney@dfat.gov.au |
| Hanoi, Vietnam | Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia | Tony Harman | Counsellor | Tony.Harman@dfat.gov.au |
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