The Turnbull government will expel two Russian officials from Australia, joining more than a dozen British allies in a global response to the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter.

The nerve agent attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Britain has deepened the rift between the Russian government and western powers, with the Trump administration on Monday night announcing the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats and intelligence officers.

The United States expelled 48 officials from the Russian embassy in Washington and 12 from Russia's permanent mission to the United Nations in New York, and ordered the closure of the consulate in Seattle. Canada and many European Union countries have joined the action.

British Prime Minister Theresa May responds to the alleged Russian attack. Credit:AP

Britain had already ordered the expulsion of 23 Russian diplomats in response to the March attack after Prime Minister Theresa May's government determined it was carried out by Moscow. President Vladimir Putin in turn ordered 23 British diplomats expelled from Russian soil.