Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Keneally, for the question. The challenges for many Australians overseas are well appreciated by the government. This is a very difficult time, and the impact of the pandemic has not, as it would be easy to say or think, passed. It is in fact a matter which many countries around the world continue to grapple with at the most difficult level now. The health and the safety of Australians abroad and at home has been the government's No. 1 priority in these difficult and unprecedented times.

We are very aware that many Australians face hardship overseas because of the global travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are helping vulnerable Australians by facilitating access to flights to Australia; by providing financial assistance where required, through the hardship program which we announced some months ago; and by continuing to provide professional and responsive consular assistance to those in need. Since the national cabinet meeting on 18 September, where the Prime Minister indicated that, of the 26,000 Australians then overseas, we would endeavour to bring as many of those Australians back to Australia as we could, we have seen 40,800 Australians return from overseas, including more than 16,000 Australians registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Of those, over 3,500 were categorised as 'vulnerable'. Since the government advised Australians to return, more than 432,000 Australians have returned to Australia.