About
Our Overseas Agricultural Counsellor Network plays a vital role in advancing Australia’s trade and market access priorities by promoting Australia’s agricultural interests and building strong connections with government and industry stakeholders in key international markets.
Spread across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas, our network of highly skilled agriculture counsellors work alongside our biosecurity, exports, and trade and market access teams to develop new market openings for Australian farmers and exporters, improve technical market access opportunities, and represent Australia at international meetings and events.
Overseas Agricultural Counsellor Network Review
In 2020, the Overseas Counsellor 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 Mahoney – Counsellor (Agriculture), Washington DC, USA
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Interview transcript – Jesse Mahoney – 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), New Delhi & Richard Niall, Former First Secretary (Agriculture) (2022-24) 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 (2021-24)
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Interview transcript – Tom Parnell – Japan (DOCS 263 KB)
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Tony Harman – Former Counsellor (Agriculture), Hanoi, Vietnam (2020-25)
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Interview transcript – Tony Harman – Vietnam (DOCX 257 KB)
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Amber Parr – Former Counsellor (Agriculture), Bangkok, Thailand (2021-25)
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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, Colombia | Nektarios Tsirbas | Counsellor | Nektarios.Tsirbas2@dfat.gov.au |
| Beijing, China | China | Nadia Bouhafs | Minister Counsellor | Nadia.Bouhafs@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 | Wisruthiy Shankar | First Secretary | Wisruthiy.Shankar@dfat.gov.au |
| 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 | Counsellor | James.Strachan@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 | Vacant | Counsellor | MENA@aff.gov.au |
| 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 | Robert.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 | 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 | Monica Finlayson | Counsellor | Monica.Finlayson@dfat.gov.au |
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