The State Service is a constituent organisation of the Statutory Services.
| State Service | |
|---|---|
| Statutory service of the Parliament of State | |
| Authority | Parliament of State |
| Established | 1949 |
| Training | Commonwealth Foreign School, Commonwealth Consular School |
The State Service is the statutory service of diplomats and consular officers of the Parliament of State. It is the oldest of the services, having been formed as the professional staff of the Bureau of State in 1949, and most of its officers spend the greater part of their careers abroad.
The service has two branches. The diplomatic branch, commonly called the Commonwealth Foreign Service, staffs the embassies and missions and the policy departments of the Bureau of State, and is trained at the Commonwealth Foreign School. The consular branch handles the protection of citizens abroad and the issue of visas, and is trained at the Commonwealth Consular School. Diplomats are often deputed to the Bureau of Trade, the Bureau of Foreign Alms and Relief and to State Secretaries with a foreign brief.