The Australian Embassy, Beirut, was opened in 1967. It was the third Australian Embassy to be opened in the Middle East. It was closed in 1984 because of the security situation in Beirut. During the next 11 years, Australian relations with Lebanon, including visa services, were handled by the Australian Embassy in Damascus, with the Ambassador in Damascus accredited to both Syria and Lebanon. In 1994, a temporary Australian Government Office, staffed by locally-engaged officials, was established in the Mayflower Hotel in West Beirut. The Embassy was formally re-opened on 18 July 1995, by the then Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Senator Gareth Evans QC, and the then Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs, Senator Nick Bolkus. The Chancery was in the same building that was evacuated in 1984. It remained there until we moved to the Grand Serail Diplomatic Complex in June 2004.



The Embassy currently has a staff of 7 Australia-based Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officers, 2 Australia-based Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) officers, and 33 locally-recruited personnel.