 On 23 June 1959 he was appointed as Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Australia, and presented his Letters of Credence to Governor-General of Australia William Slim on 10 August 1959.While Kurdyukov was ambassador to Australia, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) exploited an opportunity to target Soviet intelligence in a "sting operation".During September 1960, Kay Marshall, an Englishwoman working as a civil servant in New Zealand, had reported approaches from Soviet agents.