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About the Australian Embassy in Lebanon
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 eleven 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 8 Australia-based Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) officers, 2 Australia-based Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) officers, a Senior Liaison Officer from the Australian Federal Police (AFP), and 30 locally recruited personnel.
For information about the Australian Federal Police go to www.afp.gov.au
Opening hours
The Embassy will be open to the public from 8.30 am to 4.00 pm Mondays to Thursdays and 8.30am to 1.30pm Fridays, except public holidays.
Public holidays
The Embassy will be closed on:
Year 2012
- Monday 02 January New Year’s Day (in lieu)
- Thursday 26 January Australia Day
- Monday 12 March Canberra Day
- Friday 06 April Good Friday
- Monday 09 April Easter Monday
- Tuesday 01 May Labour Day
- Monday 20 August Eid al Fitr*
- Tuesday 21 August Eid al Fitr*
- Thursday 25 October Eid al Adha*
- Friday 26 October Eid al Adha*
- Thusday 22 November Independence Day
- Monday 24 December Additional DFAT Holiday
- Tuesday 25 December Christmas Day
- Wednesday 26 December Boxing Day
Job vacancies
The Embassy currently has no vacancies