The Australian Consulate-General in New York is now hiring. Their 2026 Temporary Employment Registry is open — a pool of pre-screened candidates the Consulate draws from when short-term roles open up at its Midtown Manhattan office. Here's how the registry works, who can apply, what kinds of roles come up, and how to make your application stand out.
Australian Consulate New York jobs: how the Temporary Employment Registry works
The Consulate maintains a Temporary Employment Registry as a candidate pool for short-term roles that come up throughout the year. Most positions are less than six months in duration. Some offer flexible working hours including part-time options.
It works like this. You apply once. Your application sits in the pool for 12 months. When a role opens up that matches your skills, the Consulate reaches out.
There's no specific job you're applying to in the moment. You're putting your name forward for whatever short-term work the Consulate needs to fill.
Roles are office-based at the Consulate's Midtown Manhattan office. The same office houses the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations. That's part of why the breadth of work is genuinely interesting — diplomatic, consular, public diplomacy, corporate operations, events.
Apply via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade careers portal: Temporary Employment Registry 2026 – New York.
What kinds of Australian Consulate New York jobs are available
The roles that typically come up through the registry, per the Consulate's own listing:
- Policy and Program Support — research, reporting, and coordination of diplomatic programs.
- Corporate Officers — supporting finance, HR, property, security, or IT functions.
- Project Officers — managing short-term initiatives or events.
- Executive Assistants — high-level administrative support to executives.
- Administrative Assistants — general office support and reception duties.
- Official Drivers — transporting staff and official visitors.
The variety is unusual for an “employer.” It spans junior reception work all the way through policy advisory and IT specialist positions. That's because the Consulate is a small, full-stack organization. It needs every function a normal company would, plus diplomatic and consular work on top.
Some roles also require a security clearance issued by the Australian Government. Already hold one — from previous Australian Public Service work, defense, or similar? The Consulate can help with recognition procedures. If you don't, the clearance process can take months. Security-cleared candidates often get placed faster on roles that need clearance.
Who can apply for Australian Consulate New York jobs
This is the section most Australians get tripped up on, so read carefully.
To be eligible for the Temporary Employment Registry, you must be one of the following:
- A US citizen
- A lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder)
- A holder of a valid Employment Authorization Document (the EAD card, formally known as Form I-766)
You also need to be at least 20 years old at the time of employment. This is required for registration with the U.S. Office of Foreign Missions. You also need to live in the New York metropolitan area. The Consulate doesn't provide relocation support.
Australian citizenship is not required. The Consulate hires locally. That means US-authorized workers of any nationality are eligible. So an American with no Australian connection could apply for these jobs alongside an Australian Green Card holder.
What this means if you're on an E-3 visa
This part matters specifically for my audience, because most Australians I know in NYC are on an E-3.
If you're the principal E-3 visa holder, you cannot apply for these roles. Your work authorization is tied to your specific sponsoring employer through the Labor Condition Application (LCA). It doesn't transfer to other US employers. Working for the Consulate as a primary E-3 would require the Consulate to file a new LCA. They don't do that for short-term roles. (For more on E-3 portability, see my guide on transferring an E-3 to a new employer.)
If you're an E-3D dependent spouse with a valid EAD card, you absolutely can apply. The E-3D EAD is open-market — it lets you work for any US employer without the LCA process. This is one of the situations where the E-3D pathway genuinely opens doors that the principal E-3 doesn't. More on E-3D, H-4, and L-2 work authorization rules here, and a dedicated landing page on jobs for E-3D dependent visas here.
Other visa categories with EAD work authorization are also eligible if their EAD is current. That includes F-1 OPT/STEM OPT students, asylees, refugees, certain H-4 spouses, and adjustment-of-status applicants.
If you're not in one of these categories, this particular pathway isn't open to you. But there are other ways to work in the US for Australian organizations — see the section below.
How to apply for Australian Consulate New York jobs
The application is lodged through DFAT's careers portal:
- Go to the Temporary Employment Registry 2026 listing.
- Click “Begin” to start a new application. If you've applied for an Australian Public Service role before, log in to your existing DFAT careers account.
- Complete the application form. You'll provide a standard CV, cover letter, and answers to a few questions about your eligibility, experience, and preferred role types.
- Submit and wait. Your application sits in the pool for 12 months. The Consulate doesn't generally acknowledge each application. They only reach out when a role matches.
If you're contacted with a temporary employment offer, you'll be asked to provide:
- A completed Pre-Employment Probity Check Form (the Consulate provides the PDF)
- A completed Personal Particulars Form (also provided)
- Supporting documentation — proof of work authorization, identity documents, professional references
Employment is subject to the completion of pre-employment background checks for everyone. (For context on what those checks typically involve, see my expat guide to US background checks.) If a role requires a security clearance and you don't have one, expect a longer onboarding window while that's processed.
Tips to make your application stand out.
A few practical observations from people who've worked there or applied successfully. Some of these mirror the broader differences between job hunting in NYC and Australia I've written about before.
- Be specific in your cover letter about which roles you're interested in. “I'm open to anything” reads as untargeted. “Strong fit for policy support, executive assistance, or event management” gives them a clear signal of where to slot you.
- Mention any existing security clearance. Even a US clearance is worth mentioning. It shows you've been through a background check process and demonstrates suitability for sensitive work.
- Highlight any Australian context. Australian education, working knowledge of Australian government structure, prior APS or state government experience, time spent at Australian companies — all of this is genuinely useful background. Don't downplay it.
- List language skills. The Consulate engages with multiple US-based diplomatic missions and international communities. Speakers of Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, French, and other languages are valuable.
- Be honest about your availability window. If you're between jobs and can start in two weeks, say so. If you're employed and could only do part-time evenings, say that too. Matching availability to the role's needs is half the placement.
- Update your application annually. The 12-month expiry means you can refresh each year with current experience. Set a calendar reminder.
Other ways Australians can work for the Australian government in the US
The NYC Consulate isn't the only Australian-government employer in America. Worth knowing about:
- Australian Embassy in Washington DC — hires for diplomatic, defense, public diplomacy, and policy roles. Includes both locally engaged staff and Australian Public Service employees on overseas posting. I've written more about working with the DC embassy here.
- Austrade — the Australian Trade and Investment Commission has offices in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles. They hire for trade and investment promotion, business development, and corporate roles. Different careers portal but same general process.
- Other Australian Consulates-General in Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston — each has its own staffing needs and may have its own temporary registers.
- Australian Defence Force has positions at the Embassy in DC and at military liaison posts. These are separate, longer-term roles for serving members.
- Australian Public Service overseas postings — DFAT and other Australian government agencies recruit APS employees in Canberra for overseas postings to NYC, DC, and elsewhere. This is a different pathway. You need to be an existing APS employee and apply through internal mobility processes.
If you're looking specifically for short-term, NYC-based work without an APS career background, the Temporary Employment Registry is the cleanest entry point. If you want a longer-term career at the Australian Consulate or Embassy, the path usually starts at junior LES level and builds from there. The other route is the longer one via the APS in Canberra.
Apply for Australian Consulate New York jobs: 2026 registry
If you're eligible, in the New York area, and interested in any of the role types above:
Apply via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade careers portal →
If you're not eligible right now (E-3 principal, on a tourist visa, outside NYC), bookmark this article anyway — visa situations change, and the registry reopens annually.
Australian Consulate New York jobs: FAQs
It's a pool of pre-screened candidates that the Australian Consulate-General in New York draws from when short-term roles open up — typically less than 6 months in length. Applicants register once, and the consulate then contacts suitable candidates as needs arise. Applications are kept on file for 12 months.
You must be either a US citizen, lawful permanent resident (Green Card holder), or hold a valid Employment Authorization Document (EAD card / Form I-766) issued by USCIS. You also need to be at least 20 years old and live in the New York metropolitan area. The consulate doesn't provide relocation support.
If you're the primary E-3 visa holder (E-3 principal), you cannot — your work authorization is tied to your sponsoring US employer, not portable to other employers. If you're an E-3D dependent spouse with a valid EAD card (Form I-766), you can apply — your EAD is open-market and lets you work for any US employer.
No. The Consulate hires locally — that means US citizens, Green Card holders, and EAD holders of any nationality are eligible. Australian citizenship isn't required for these locally engaged roles. Long-term diplomatic positions filled from Canberra are different — those are for Australian Public Service employees on overseas postings.
Typical short-term roles include policy and program support, corporate roles (HR, finance, IT, property, security), executive assistants, administrative assistants, project officers for events and short-term initiatives, and official drivers. Some roles require a security clearance issued by the Australian Government.
The Consulate-General is in Midtown Manhattan, and most roles are office-based at that location. The same office also houses the Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Applications are kept on file for 12 months from the date of registration. After 12 months you'd need to reapply if you want to remain in the candidate pool.
It depends on the role. Some positions require a security clearance issued by the Australian Government. If you already hold one, the Consulate can help with recognition procedures. For roles that require one but you don't have it, the clearance process can take months — so security-cleared candidates often get placed faster.
Salaries vary by role and aren't published publicly — the listing says “salary will depend on the job requirement.” Pay is in US dollars and broadly competitive with comparable government and non-profit roles in New York. Junior administrative roles typically pay less than the US private sector for similar work; specialist policy or technical roles can be more competitive.
Austrade has an office in New York and other US locations and hires for trade and investment promotion roles. The Australian Embassy in Washington DC hires for diplomatic, defense, and policy roles — including locally engaged staff. Some Australian government agencies (Defence, AFP) post overseas roles separately. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also recruits Australian Public Service employees in Canberra for overseas postings, which is a different pathway.
No. The Temporary Employment Registry is for candidates who already have US work authorization — citizens, Green Card holders, or EAD holders. The consulate doesn't sponsor work visas for these short-term roles.
Disclaimer: This article summarizes the Australian Consulate-General in New York's publicly available Temporary Employment Registry listing as of 2026, plus general context on US work authorization. I'm not affiliated with the Consulate or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. For specific eligibility questions or role information, contact the Consulate directly through the official application portal.
