The high commissioner of Australia to Brunei is an officer of the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...

and the head of the High Commission of the Commonwealth of Australia in

Brunei Brunei, officially Brunei Darussalam, is a country in Southeast Asia, situated on the northern coast of the island of Borneo. Apart from its coastline on the South China Sea, it is completely surrounded by the Malaysian state of Sarawak, with ...

. The position has the rank and status of an

ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

and is currently held by Luke Arnold since January 2022. There has been a resident Australian high commissioner in Brunei since March 1983.

Posting history

The reporting responsibility for the

British Protectorate British protectorates were protectorates under the jurisdiction of the British government. Many territories which became British protectorates already had local rulers with whom the Crown negotiated through treaty, acknowledging their status wh ...

of Brunei was originally held by the Australian office in Singapore, with a "Commissioner for Malaya and South-East Asia" appointed in 1946. On 7 April 1956,

Ralph Harry Ralph Lindsay Harry (10 March 19177 October 2002) was one of Australia's pioneer diplomats and intelligence specialists. He was recognised as a skilled diplomatic professional with a mastery of the traditional conventions and methods of diplom ...

took up his appointment in Singapore as the Australian Commissioner for

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, Brunei,

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

, and

North Borneo North Borneo (usually known as British North Borneo, also known as the State of North Borneo) was a British Protectorate, British protectorate in the northern part of the island of Borneo, (present-day Sabah). The territory of North Borneo wa ...

. With the formation of the

Federation of Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

on 16 September 1963, the Australian Commission in Singapore became a subordinate Deputy High Commission to the new High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, and responsibility for Brunei, which remained a British protectorate outside of Malaysia, was transferred to the high commission. On 30 July 1979, the Australian high commissioner to Malaysia in

Kuala Lumpur Kuala Lumpur (KL), officially the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, is the capital city and a Federal Territories of Malaysia, federal territory of Malaysia. It is the largest city in the country, covering an area of with a census population ...

, was appointed as the non-resident Commissioner to Brunei, with a stated purpose to "facilitate contacts and closer cooperation with the Government of Brunei during the period leading up to Brunei's full independence in 1983". A resident Australian Commission in Brunei was established in March 1983 headed by John Monfries, in anticipation of Brunei's independence on 1 January 1984. When Brunei gained its independence, the Australian mission became a High Commission.

Heads of mission

References

External links

Australian High Commission, Brunei Darussalam
{{Lists of heads of Australian diplomatic missions