THE Gillard government must declare its full confidence in the security of Australian embassies after it was revealed a security company involved in scandals in Afghanistan was responsible for protecting 16 Australian missions around the world.

Liberal senator Russell Trood said the government had a duty to assure Australians that it had faith in the integrity of employees of the British security giant G4S and its subsidiaries.

The Australian yesterday revealed that 16 Australian embassies relied on G4S and its subsidiaries for their security despite the Afghan government last week accusing a G4S subsidiary in Afghanistan of unspecified "major offences" in that country. The accusation by the Afghan government follows a US Senate investigation last year, which found that employees of a G4S subsidiary in Afghanistan, ArmorGroup, included Taliban affiliates and criminals.

"Serious questions are being raised about the integrity of parts of the G4S group," Senator Trood told The Australian. "We need to be sure that the Australian government is confident about the integrity of this security group and its practices."

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said yesterday that G4S played no role in guarding Australian interests in Afghanistan.

G4S executives have denied that the company's problems in Afghanistan have implications for the security of G4S's operations in protecting Australian embassies. G4S and its affiliates are responsible for the protection of 16 Australian embassies in locations ranging from Kathmandu to New Delhi and Dublin.

A G4S spokesman said this week that the company "has complete confidence in the integrity of its employees who provide security at Australian diplomatic missions".

DFAT has defended the way it chooses private security firms to guard its embassies, saying it has a rigorous selection process.

In 2009, staff from G4S's Afghan subsidiary ArmorGroup, which protects the US embassy in Kabul, were accused of acts including nudity, drinking and urinating on each other.