South Africans living in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra will now be able to access passport, identity document and birth registration services locally following an expansion of South Africa's consular services network in Australia.

Three new optional Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Services Centres have opened in the three capitals, complementing existing facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth and taking the network to six Australian cities. 

The expansion means South African citizens in South Australia, Queensland and the ACT will no longer necessarily need to travel interstate to access a number of commonly required consular services.

The centres, operated by VFS Global on behalf of South Africa's Department of Home Affairs, will provide services including applications for passports, national identity documents and birth registrations.

Appointments can be made online before attending a centre.

Harpreet Singh, Regional Head – Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific at VFS Global, said the expansion was designed to make essential services easier to access.

"Our focus is on making essential services more accessible and convenient for South African citizens across Australia," Singh said.

"By extending our DHA Services Centre network to Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra, we are bringing services closer to communities that previously had to travel longer distances to access them."

The new locations are optional, with South Africans continuing to have access to the established facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

VFS Global has provided consular services on behalf of the South African Government since June 2022 and currently operates DHA consular services across 12 countries through 29 centres. It says it has processed more than 67,700 consular applications for the department since the service commenced. 

The Adelaide centre is located at 90 King William Street and operates Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The Canberra centre, at 10 Hobart Place, also operates Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.

Brisbane's service is available every Monday from 9am to 5pm at 10 Eagle Street in Brisbane City.

All three new centres operate by appointment.