[2] The embassy serves as the diplomatic mission for Australia to the Russian Federation, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

[13] On 2 January 1943, Australia opened the Australian Legation in Kuybyshev, the temporary seat of the Russian government due to the ongoing invasion of the Soviet Union by the Axis powers.

[14][page needed] On 3 April 1954, Vladimir Petrov, the third secretary of the Soviet Embassy in Canberra defected at the end of his three-year appointment, fearing execution for his association with former head of the NKVD Lavrentiy Beria.

[5] This situation was rectified by 29 July 1960 with the appointment of Sir John Keith Waller as the Australian ambassador to the Soviet Union.

On 3 July 1974, the Labor government of Gough Whitlam decided to grant the de jure recognition of the incorporation of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania into the Soviet Union.

[16] The Australian ambassador to Moscow subsequently visited Tallinn, Estonia, in an effort to legitimise the move by the Whitlam government.

As a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the embassy ceased services to the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia, with these nations now being served by their own consulates.

[3] The embassy currently provides services diplomatic relations with Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

[20] The Austrade section of the embassy is headed by the Senior Trade Commissioner and is tasked with the establishing and maintaining of business and investment links between Australia and countries serviced.

[citation needed] Due to the impact of COVID-19, many of the embassy's normal functions (including the issuing of passports and the provision of notarial services) have been suspended.

[citation needed] The head of post of the embassy is typically also the Ambassador of Australia to the Russian Federation (previously the Soviet Union).

[22] Australian ambassadors to the Russian Federation hold resident accreditation to the Russian Federation, as well as non-resident accreditation to the Republics of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Moldova (not a nation serviced by the embassy, instead serviced by the Australian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine),[23] Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Turkmenistan.

[citation needed] In June 2020, the ambassador signed a joint statement with top diplomatic officials from other western nations condemning the Russian Federation's treatment of members of the LGBTQI+ community within Russia.