Some of the more outrageous requests made of consular officials include one person who asked DFAT staff to take care of a pet parrot and feed a woman's dogs while she was overseas. Twenty of the weirdest calls for help are listed below. The department's acting deputy secretary, Justin Brown, said there were "escalating expectations" from the travelling public over what they thought the government could or would do. "Sometimes there's a basic ignorance about what consular is and isn't," he said. "Often we're guilty of it as well. We talk about consular assistance and just assume people know what that means but they don't." The Bangkok mission deals with the most requests for assistance, followed by Bali, Manila, Los Angeles and Dubai. Ms Bishop said providing consular assistance would remain one of DFAT's "core functions" but the revised strategy would encourage travellers to better look after themselves and take out insurance.

"Consular assistance should not be seen as a right, it is a privilege and the government is not a back up insurance policy," she said in Canberra. Ms Bishop said she would not proceed with a recommendation to recover costs from Australians who were assisted overseas, but warned it remained a "live option". Some 15,000 Australians received consular support in 2013. Twenty weird requests of DFAT: 1) A traveller who was destitute in Europe refused to return to Australia without their pet bird, which could not be returned for quarantine reasons

2) A mother who wanted the embassy in Bangkok to book accommodation and a return ticket to Australia for her son, then provide an embassy driver to take him to the airport 3) A request from an Australian traveller for DFAT to feed her dogs while she was away 4) "I'm attending a conference overseas with a large group of Australians but I have heard it is a dangerous city. Can the High Commission arrange for a risk assessment and some armoured cars. We only need them for a week." 5) Multiple enquiries to embassies overseas seeking the closest pub televising State of Origin games 6) An Australian who had his laptop stolen overseas requested that embassy staff pick him up from the airport, loan him a laptop and provide him with office space for a few days

7) A traveller who asked whether the sand in Egypt would affect her asthma 8) Panicked callers regularly reporting Australian travellers missing overseas, after not hearing from them within the first few hours of arriving in country. Consular officers usually explain that getting through customs and immigration can take time 9) "Why won't the Australian embassy come and pack my bags for me? I'm an 80 year old architect travelling by myself and too old to pack my own bags" 10) "I left some items on an aircraft when I changed flights. Can the embassy collect it from the airline lost property?" 11) "Can the embassy obtain prescription medicine from Australia and send it to me so I can continue my holiday?"

12) Requests for embassies to store luggage, hold mail, provide banking facilities or arrange tours for Australian travellers 13) "What is the best way to get a polecat out of your roof?" 14) "I'm going on a cruise. What will the food be like? Can you drink the water on the ship?" 15) Some travellers evacuated from civil unrest in Egypt on government funded flights questioned why they were not entitled to frequent flyer points. Similarly, some travellers evacuated from the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami made seat requests, including for first class 16) A caller to DFAT's Consular Emergency Centre wanted to know the average salary for an expat to expect in Thailand

17) "Does the embassy know if there are any hotels in Phnom Penh with vacant rooms?" 18) "Can the embassy tell the local police that I have an excellent driving record in Australia and should not have to pay those outstanding speeding fines?" 19) "What is the best hotel in Phuket?" 20) "On my last trip to the Philippines I had some trouble with the law. What is the number of the embassy in Manila so I can call them to get me out of jail when I go back?" * List provided by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade