The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) prepares Country Information Reports for protection status determination purposes. They provide factual overviews distinct from Australian Government policy and do not contain policy guidance for decision makers.

According to Ministerial Direction 84 of 24 June 2019, issued under the Migration Act (1958):

Where the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has prepared [a] country information assessment expressly for protection status determination processes, and that assessment is available to the decision maker, the decision maker must take into account that assessment, where relevant, in making their decision. The decision maker is not precluded from considering other relevant information about the country.

Reports are prepared with regard to the protection visa caseload at a given point in time, without reference to individual applications. They provide DFAT’s best assessment at the time of writing.

Reports draw on in-country knowledge and discussions. They take into account reporting from a range of credible sources, including: other governments, United Nations agencies, human rights and civil society organisations, local and international media and academia. Source details may be omitted to protect sources.

Country information reports

• Afghanistan [PDF 1.5 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 14 January 2022)
• Bangladesh [PDF 2 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 30 November 2022)
• China [PDF 1.5 MB] | [DOCX 835 KB] (updated 27 December 2024)
  • Thematic: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region [PDF] 825 KB | [DOCX 841 KB] (4 April 2025)
• Egypt [PDF 1.3 MB] (updated 17 June 2019)
• Ethiopia [PDF 2.4 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 12 August 2020)
• Fiji [PDF 900 KB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 20 May 2022)
• India [PDF 1.7 MB] | [DOCX 900 KB] (updated 29 September 2023)
• Indonesia [PDF 8.32 KB] | [DOCX  819 KB] (updated 24 July 2023)
• Iran [PDF 2.5 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] Version 2 (updated 24 July 2023)
• Iraq [PDF 1.6 MB] | [DOCX 1.2 MB] (updated 16 January 2023)
• Lebanon [PDF 1 MB] | [DOCX 640 KB] (updated 26 June 2023)
• Malaysia [PDF 1.1 MB] | [DOCX 1.2 MB] (updated 24 June 2024)
• Myanmar [PDF 2 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 7 April 2025)
• Nepal [PDF 1.3 MB] | [DOCX 846 KB] (updated 1 March 2024)
• Nigeria [PDF 3.7 MB] | [DOCX 1.2 MB] (updated 3 December 2020)
• Pakistan [PDF 1 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 30 April 2025)
• Papua New Guinea [PDF 1.6 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 6 September 2022)
• Philippines [PDF 2 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 23 August 2021)
• Sri Lanka [PDF 1 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 2 May 2024)
• Thailand [PDF 2.4 MB] | [DOCX 1.7 MB] (published 18 December 2023)
• Türkiye [PDF 2 MB] | [DOCX 1.8 MB] (updated 16 May 2025)
• Vietnam [PDF 2 MB] | [DOCX 1 MB] (updated 19 February 2025)
• West African States (ECOWAS) [PDF 2.9 MB] | [DOCX 985 KB] (updated 3 December 2020)
• Zimbabwe [PDF 2 MB] (updated 19 December 2019)