Professional Affiliation

Chief Legal Officer and First Assistant Secretary, Legal Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Government of Australia

Expert Bio

Mr. Adam McCarthy is Chief Legal Officer and First Assistant Secretary, Legal Division at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Prior to this he was acting First Assistant Secretary, Multilateral Policy Division at DFAT.



From 2015 to 2019, he served as Australia’s High Commissioner to South Africa with non-resident accreditation to Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Until March 2015, he was Assistant Secretary, Africa Branch. Prior to that Mr. McCarthy served as Deputy High Commissioner to the United  Kingdom and Australian Representative to the Commonwealth Board of Governors from April 2009 until December 2012.

A senior career DFAT officer, Mr. McCarthy has previously served overseas as First Secretary (Political) at the Australian High Commission in Wellington (1996-99) and  Counsellor (Trade Policy) at the Australian Embassy in Washington DC (2002-2006).

In Canberra, Mr. McCarthy has worked in a range of positions primarily in the multilateral, trade, legal and arms control fields, including from 2006 to 2009 as Assistant Secretary, International Legal Branch.

After graduating from the University of Sydney with honours degrees in Economics and Law, Mr. McCarthy practiced as a solicitor before joining DFAT in 1993. He also holds Graduate Diplomas in Legal Practice (University of Technology Sydney) and Foreign Affairs and Trade

(Monash University).

Mr. McCarthy is married to Nicky with two children, Ella and Benjamin.  Mr. McCarthy is keen on tennis, running and fishing.