Location:
Australia
Part of:
Foreign & Commonwealth Office

The UK and Australia share a longstanding relationship, as both partners and allies.

We represent the British government in its relations with the Australian government and present British policies to the Australian government and to Australians. We report and explain Australian policies to the British government and support British interests as well as co-ordinating the political, economic, environmental and commercial activities of the British government.

We have consulates-general in Sydney and Melbourne and consulates in Brisbane and Perth. We also have a network of honorary consuls in Adelaide, Alice Springs, Cairns, Darwin and Hobart who we call on to provide urgent assistance when needed. With around 1.2 million Britons living in Australia and over 670,000 visiting every year, the consulates support British nationals if they need assistance. Please see below for our opening hours.

We also provide services in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Our services

Out-of-hours emergency assistance

British nationals who urgently need consular assistance outside normal office hours should call their nearest consulate (see below) and follow the prompts for emergency assistance.

Get an emergency travel document

You can apply for an emergency travel document if you’re abroad and your passport has been lost or stolen, damaged or expired, and you can’t get a new or replacement passport in time to travel.

If you are due to travel in the next 24 hours, contact us

An emergency travel document does not guarantee entry to every country. Read what an emergency travel document does.

Apply online for an emergency travel document if you:

  • are over 16 years old and
  • are a British citizen and
  • have previously owned a British passport

Contact us to apply for an emergency travel document if you are:

  • over 16 years old but have not owned a British passport before or
  • not a British citizen or
  • applying for a child under 16 years old

Once you have contacted us, you will be advised to book an appointment for an emergency travel document in:

Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney

Travel advice: for information and advice on travelling to Australia, see travel advice for Australia

Get a visa

The High Commission and our consulates around Australia do not deal with visa matters. For information on whether you need a visa to travel to the United Kingdom and how to apply, please see the UK Visas & Immigration.

Travel advice

For information on staying safe and avoiding problems when living or travelling in Australia, see our latest travel advice.

If you’re a British national living in Australia with Australian citizenship, you should leave and enter the country on your Australian passport; otherwise you may face difficulties and delays. For more information, see DFAT’s Smartraveller website.

UK birth/death/marriage certificates

You must order these direct from the UK: see how to order a birth/death/marriage certificate.

Register a birth or death

We do not perform consular birth or death registrations in Australia, nor is this necessary as UK authorities accept local certificates issued by the relevant registration authorities.

Bereavement support

If you’re in the country where the death occurred, contact us. If you’re in the UK and hear of the death of a relative from a third party, you should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on 020 7008 1500.

Read our guidance on bereavement following the death of a British national in Australia.

Passports

For information on how to apply for your first passport or renew an existing passport, please visit the overseas passport section of this website. Our consulates cannot handle individual enquiries about passport applications.

If your passport is unavailable, see how to report a lost or stolen passport.

British citizenship

All applications for naturalisation, registration or renunciation of British citizenship are handled by the UK Home Office. Our consulates cannot handle individual enquiries about citizenship or nationality.

Consular registration

You don’t need to register with your nearest consulate. Please read and subscribe to updates on our travel advice. You can also find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. In the event of a crisis, we will update you via these social media channels.

Registering a same-sex marriage

We register same-sex marriages in all our consulates around Australia. See getting married abroad. We no longer register new civil partnerships in our consulates.

You will need to have been living in Australia for seven clear days before you can post notice of your intended marriage, and you must have lived in Australia for 21 clear days in total before your marriage can be solemnised.

What to bring with you:

  • your original passport and your partner’s original passport

  • proof of residence – such as your driving licences, employer’s letters, or bank statements/utility bills

  • the correct fee – see the list of fees

  • proof that your partner is free to marry, if your partner is not a British national

If either of you have been divorced, widowed or in a civil partnership before, you’ll also need either:

See getting married abroad for full details.

Book an appointment for notice of marriage in:

Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney

Please note: bookings are reservations only. Please don’t make formal arrangements until our staff have confirmed the date and time.

Convert a civil partnership into a marriage

We can convert an existing civil partnership into marriage.

You must have been living in Australia for 28 days.

You don’t have to convert your civil partnership into a marriage in the country you formed it in.

What to bring with you:

  • your original passport and your partner’s original passport

  • original civil partnership certificate

  • proof of residence, such as your driving licences, employer’s letters, or bank statements/utility bills

You must pay fees - see the list of fees.

See convert a civil partnership into a marriage for full details.

Book an appointment to convert a civil partnership in:

Brisbane Canberra Melbourne Perth Sydney

Please note: bookings are reservations only. Please don’t make formal arrangements until our staff have confirmed the date and time.

Notice of intended marriage

British nationals who live in Australia and want to marry in another country will need to go to that country to post notice of their marriage there.

See information on getting married overseas.

Notarial services

Our consulates around Australia are unable to carry out notarial acts under the Commissioner of Oaths Act 1889, and on instruction from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London.

This includes certifying documents as true copies of originals, administering oaths or taking affidavits. For these or other notarial acts, or the legalising of documents, please contact a notary public.

Guides we produce

Support for British nationals abroad: a guide

Our publication how British nationals can stay safe abroad, and provides details on what help the Foreign & Commonwealth Office can provide if you do get into difficulty.

Living in Australia

This guide sets out essential information for British nationals living in, or travelling to, Australia.

Consular fees

We charge fees for some of our services: a list is available on this website

List of lawyers

A list of lawyers is available for British nationals who need legal advice.

Prisoner pack

We provide information on the legal and prison system to British nationals who are detained.

Bereavement pack

We provide guidance on bereavement following the death of a British national in Australia.

List of funeral directors

We provide information on funeral directors for British nationals who need that service.

List of medical facilities/practitioners

We provide information on medical facilities/practitioners for British nationals who need those services.

How else we can help

In addition to the services listed above we can also:

  • provide information about transferring funds
  • provide appropriate help if you have suffered rape or serious assault, are a victim of other crime, or are in hospital
  • help people with mental illness
  • offer support and help in a range of other cases, such as child abductions, missing people and kidnapping
  • contact family or friends for you if you want
  • make special arrangements in cases of terrorism, civil disturbances or natural disasters or other crises abroad

For more information on the services we can provide, see Support for British nationals abroad: A guide.

UK law says we have to charge for some services. Details of our current fees and the standards of service you can expect to receive are on display in all our consular offices.

What our consulates cannot do for you

Although we try to help British nationals in a wide range of situations, we cannot:

  • get you out of prison, prevent the local authorities from deporting you after your prison sentence, or interfere in criminal or civil court proceedings
  • help you enter a country, for example, if you do not have a visa or your passport is not valid, as we cannot interfere in another country’s immigration policy or procedures
  • give you legal advice, investigate crimes or carry out searches for missing people, although we can give you details of people who may be able to help you in these cases, such as English-speaking lawyers
  • get you better treatment in hospital or prison than is given to local people
  • pay any bills or give you money (in very exceptional circumstances we may lend you some money from public funds, which you will have to pay back)
  • make travel arrangements for you, or find you work or accommodation
  • make business arrangements on your behalf
  • renew or replace a full British passport

Our people

Her Excellency Menna Rawlings CMG

Her Excellency Menna Rawlings CMG

British High Commissioner to Australia

Contact us

British High Commission Canberra

Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday, 8.45am to 12.30pm/1.30pm to 5.00pm
Consular counter hours: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 1.00pm
Switchboard hours: Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm

Access and opening times

British Consulate-General Sydney

Consul-General and Director General UK Trade & Investment: Mr Michael Ward
Level 16, Gateway Building, 1 Macquarie Place
Sydney NSW 2000
Australia

Consular counter hours:
Monday to Friday 9.00am to 1.00pm
Switchboard hours:
Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm

Access and opening times

British Consulate-General Melbourne

Consul-General: Mr Chris Holtby
17th Floor, 90 Collins St
Melbourne VIC 3000
Australia

Opening Hours:
Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Consular counter hours:
Monday to Friday 10.00am to 1.00pm
Switchboard hours:
Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm

Access and opening times

British Consulate Perth

Head of Office and Senior Trade Development Manager: Mr Andrew Beveridge
Level 12
251 Adelaide Terrace
Perth WA 6000
Australia

Opening Hours Mondays to Friday: 9.00am to 5.00pm
Consular counter hours: 10.00am to 1.00pm
Switchboard hours: 9.00am to 4.30pm

Access and opening times

British Consulate Brisbane

Head of Office & Head of Institutional Investment (Aus & NZ): Mr Craig O'Kane
Level 9
100 Eagle Street

Brisbane QLD 4000
Australia

Opening Hours Monday to Friday 9.00am to 5.00pm
Consular counter hours: 10.00am to 1.00pm
Switchboard hours: 9.30am to 4.30pm

Access and opening times

Corporate information