More than 100 Australian officials and families infected with COVID-19 while posted overseas
The ABC has contacted more than a dozen Australian officials serving in overseas posts, who – like locals in the countries in which they serve – have often endured long, rolling lockdowns and mass outbreaks of COVID-19.
The federal government is now rolling out a vaccination program for all DFAT staff serving at overseas missions, as well as their families. Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Frances Adamson told a Senate Estimates hearing the organisation was trying to vaccinate everybody representing Australia overseas.
"Diplomats are out there serving their country and putting themselves on the line. These infection figures show the risky environments they have been working in and the bravery they have shown," she said. But CPSU deputy national secretary Beth Vincent-Pietsch said it had "not been an easy year" for staff on postings.
The Community and Public Sector Union's Beth Vincent-Pietsch says difficulty returning home had created extra stress for diplomats on overseas postings during the pandemic.
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