Australian embassies tell 'pest' tourists to lay off the lame requests

Australian travellers are being warned: Embassies are not banks, pet-sitters, remote offices, or mechanics — and they will definitely not help you pay for a prostitute.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said in a press conference last week that some embassies attract “serial pests” who repeatedly show up with strange requests.

Because of the long list of ridiculous requests, new measures are now being put into place at Australian embassies that will limit consular help to travellers who find themselves in trouble — and may even fine Australians for the help they do receive in the future.

"I want to send a very clear message — consular assistance should not be seen as a right, it is a privilege,” Bishop said. “If you deliberately or willfully abuse the system, you will only receive the absolute minimum level of assistance and advice.”

About 15,000 Australians requested assistance from embassies last year.

"Our consular staff are not there to pay for the repairs to your jet ski," Bishop said. “They’re not there to pay your hotel bill; they’re not there to lend you a laptop or to provide you with office space in the embassy for you to do your work.”

According to the Foreign Affairs Department, one traveller asked for help looking after her dogs while she was away. Another wanted help getting a polecat off a roof. And one man in Thailand approached the embassy hoping for a loan so he could pay for a prostitute — a request that’s surprisingly common at the Australian embassy in Bangkok.

One elderly woman wanted the embassy to pack her bags for her. Someone else called the embassy requesting a marmalade recipe.

"At most of our posts there are people we would describe colloquially as serial pests who are constantly bouncing back into the embassy because they’ve run out of money or they’ve got some sort of other personal problem and they often come to the embassy and the consular teams expecting us to solve their problems for them,” Bishop said.

Read 12 of the more unusual requests Australians have made of embassies when travelling abroad here.

“We’ve got stories you won’t believe,” Bishop said. “Some will bring tears to your eyes, they’re so funny.”