South Africans in Three Australian Cities Get Easier Access to Home Affairs Services
By Delicious Mathuthu - South Africans in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra can now access passport, ID and birth registration services locally through new Visa Facilitation Services Global, under the Department of Home Affairs Services Centres.
Delicious Mathuthu 
Brisbane — South African citizens living in Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra in Australia can now access passport, national identity document and birth registration services closer to home following the opening of three new optional Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Services Centres by Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) Global.
The expansion takes the VFS Global network providing South African consular services in Australia to six cities, with the new centres complementing existing facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
The move is expected to reduce the need for South Africans living in the three newly covered cities to travel long distances to access essential Home Affairs services.
VFS Global Regional Head for Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, Harpreet Singh, said the expansion was aimed at making consular services more accessible to South African communities across Australia.
“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," he said.
The centres will provide services relating to South African passports, national identity documents and birth registrations.
Singh said the new facilities would operate alongside the existing centres rather than replacing them, giving applicants greater flexibility in where they obtain services.
“These optional centres provide greater flexibility while maintaining access through the existing facilities in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth,” he said.
Appointments are required before visiting the centres and can be booked online through VFS Global's South Africa services portal, he said
The Adelaide centre is located at Suite 2, Level 4, 90 King William Street and operates from Monday to Friday, between 9am and 5pm.
In Brisbane, the centre is located at Servcorp, Suite 39, Level 19, 10 Eagle Street, Brisbane City, Queensland. It operates every Monday from 9am to 5pm.
The Canberra centre is at Level 4, 10 Hobart Place and operates from Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
VFS Global is the official outsourcing partner for South Africa's Department of Home Affairs in providing consular services through its designated centres.
The company said it has partnered with the South African Government on consular services since June 2022 and currently operates services on behalf of DHA in 12 countries through 29 centres.
Since beginning the service in 2022, VFS Global said it has processed more than 67,716 consular applications for the Department of Home Affairs.
The expansion comes as VFS Global continues to handle administrative and non-judgmental tasks associated with visa, passport and consular applications for governments and diplomatic missions, allowing government authorities to concentrate on assessment and decision-making.
Globally, the company operates more than 4,275 application centres across 170 countries and said it has processed more than 562 million transactions since 2001.
Singh said South Africans seeking services at the new Australian centres can make appointments through the VFS Global online portal before travelling to their selected centre.
