Australia’s decision to close the Afghan Embassy risks aiding the Taliban, undermining diaspora communities, and weakening future diplomatic options in a volatile region.

Following a letter of demand from the Taliban, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has moved to shut down the Afghan Embassy in Canberra from 1 July 2026. How this could serve any Australian ‘national interest’ remains a complete mystery. The only conceivable beneficiaries of this move are the Taliban, who have been desperate to secure the closure of Afghan embassies they cannot control. With DFAT help, they will have silenced a robust voice denouncing their abominable treatment of women, vulnerable minorities, and political opponents.

No matter how DFAT seeks to spin it, the Taliban will see it as a vindication of their brutality and intransigence.

By contrast, the list of losers from this move is a long one. Afghans in Australia will be deprived of access to consular services that only the Embassy can provide, and there is very little evidence that DFAT has thought carefully about what this could mean.

To take just one example: in recent times, the Liberal Party, the ALP and the Greens have all endorsed candidates of Afghan background for election to the Commonwealth Parliament. The closure of the Afghan Embassy will make life much more........

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