"Although his rhetoric before the election was Jakarta, not Geneva, in fact he really is a globalist," the Lowy Institute for International Policy's executive director Michael Fullilove told AAP.
Foreign policy has proved a valuable ally for Abbott. It's distracted from the Government's budget woes at home, boosted his standing in the polls and - to the horror of his critics - helped craft an image of a budding international statesman preparing to host November's G20 summit.
The gaffes many foreshadowed as inevitable once Abbott opened his mouth on the world stage have not materialised.
Instead, the Government has been commended for its quick response to a series of unforeseen tragedies that thrust Australia headfirst into the global spotlight.
Australia took the reins of a multinational search mission for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, bringing together an unlikely alliance of Chinese, Japanese and South Korean troops to scour the seas for the missing airliner.
Abbott's determination to see the operation through, against the odds, has earned him personal thanks from Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The downing of MH17 over eastern Ukraine again had Australia on the front foot, quick out of the gate condemning Russia and successfully mounting a United Nations resolution just days after the attack.
The unfolding crisis in Iraq and Syria has seen Australian troops back in the Middle East - so far just on a humanitarian basis - and a concerted push back home for tougher national security laws to deal with radicals returning from the battlefront.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's executive director Peter Jennings is impressed with the speed at which Abbott and his team has found its stride in a time of crisis compared to his mentor John Howard.
"They're [Abbott Government] going at these sorts of issues with a degree of assurance that actually took the Howard Government quite a few years to get," said Jennings, also a former senior adviser to the Howard Government.
Not that Abbott is going it alone.
Arguably the strongest performer in his Government to date has been Julie Bishop who, many argue, could emerge as Australia's best Foreign Minister in decades.
She's widely regarded as easy and professional to work with, across her brief and skilled at diplomacy.
Fullilove said Bishop "got very good marks" handling MH17, securing unanimous support - including from Russia - at the UN for Australia's resolution condemning the attack.
This crisis showed Abbott and Bishop had the "good working rhythm" for a successful partnership between a prime minister and foreign minister, he said.
Abbott "struck the right chord" in the immediate aftermath of MH17 by publicly condemning Russia for its involvement, but left Bishop to pull the diplomatic strings at the UN.
"He seems to be content to let her get on and do her job," Fullilove said.
There have been lessons along the way, too.
There's a strong case that Australia's temporary seat on the UN Security Council - and the authority it carries - was vital for drumming up global support for the MH17 resolution.
The campaign for the vacant council spot initiated by Kevin Rudd in 2008 was derided by Abbott and Bishop in equal measure as a vanity exercise and a misguided priority.
Jennings said the MH17 experience may prompt the Government to rethink its stance on multilateral bodies like the UN.
"I think they have actually come on a bit of a journey since then to conclude that you don't have to chose between bilateral and multilateral.
"A smart country needs to be able to do both things and it was the right investment for the previous Government to make to get us on to the Security Council," he said.
Labor argues the Government's debut on the world stage is not beyond "legitimate, sensible criticism".
"Less than a year in, the Abbott Government has made a number of foreign policy missteps that have embarrassed Australia internationally," foreign affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek said.
Some of these miscalculations exploded spectacularly but then fizzled out almost as quickly.
The Government shot itself in the foot by starting a debate about the "occupied" status of East Jerusalem. But anger from Islamic groups dissipated and a threatened trade embargo from Arab nations didn't eventuate.
Abbott was told he risked getting Beijing offside by calling Japan an "ally" and Australia's "best friend in Asia" but was later given a state welcome by President Xi Jinping in China.
No doubt, though, there are challenges ahead for Abbott, especially Iraq where Australia's involvement has expanded to dropping weapons, not just food and water.
He's also promised to strike his third free trade deal with North Asia this year by wrapping up nearly 10 years of complex negotiations with Beijing.
Then there's the question of Vladimir Putin's attendance at the G20 summit in Brisbane.
Until then, don't expect the PM's plane to be cooling its jets anytime soon.
Abbott was in India this week and Malaysia yesterday. There's talk New York could be on the cards later this month, and Indonesia in October for the inauguration of the country's new president Joko Widodo.
After that, the world's his oyster.
- AAP
