Simpson had been out with his wife and friends before they returned home to admire the view of the Empire State Building, which was lit up in rainbow colours to celebrate Australia’s gay marriage vote.
Australian officials have been in touch with Simpson’s family.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian diplomat who died in New York,” a spokesperson said. “The family has requested privacy at this time.”
The New York Post reported police sources as saying Simpson may have been playing a “trust” game on the rooftop deck of the building when the accident happened.
Simpson was rushed to the Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Simpson, the second secretary to the United Nations for Australia, worked alongside Labor senator Lisa Singh while she was on secondment at the UN for three months in 2016.
“Julian was my minder, my staffer. He was a person who certainly looked after me for those three months, and did an exceptional job at that,” Singh told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“He was a very fine young man, a very fine young diplomat. It’s very sad to hear that he has passed away.”
The prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, has described Simpson’s death as a shocking tragedy.
“It is a tragedy and hearts go out to his family but I cannot provide any more details,” Turnbull told the Seven Network on Thursday morning. “It is a shocking tragedy. A young life lost.”
Comment is being sought from the minister for foreign affairs, Julie Bishop.
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