Foreign Minister Marise Payne said on Monday night that Australian officials had an initial consular visit with Cheng at a detention facility via video link on August 27.

"[We] will continue to provide assistance and support to her and her family,"she said."Further comment will not be provided owing to the government’s privacy obligations."

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Tuesday that he had been interviewed by Cheng while overseas and felt for her family.

"There is a long history of different consular cases and points of difficulty that we've seen over the years,and so we shouldn't see this as a first or a one-off,"he said.

"Obviously it's concerning for her family,and we will provide the assistance that we can."

The ABC reported on Monday that Cheng had not been charged,but was being held under residential surveillance. The detention allows Chinese investigators to detain and question a suspect for up to six months,without access to legal aid. Her online Chinese state media profile was inaccessible on Monday night.

Cheng has two young children staying with family members in Melbourne.

"As a family we are aware of the current situation with regard to Cheng Lei's status as advised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT),"the family said in a statement to the ABC.

"We are in close consultation with DFAT and doing everything we can as a family to support Cheng Lei."

Cheng's detention comes amid rising diplomatic tension between Australia and China over the coronavirus,Beijing's crackdown in Hong Kong,repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang and incursions into the South China Sea.

Fellow Chinese-Australian Yang Hengjun,a pro-democracy activist who became an Australian citizen in 2002,hasspent more than 18 months in jail after being arrested by the Beijing State Security Bureau on suspicion of endangering Chinese national security. There has been no transparency about the specific claims against him.