Big blow for South Africa's World Cup hopes
The Proteas currently sit precariously in 11th place on the Super League standings, with only the top eight teams qualifying for next year's 50-over tournament in India.
The three-match series in Australia was originally slated to run in mid-January next year, but the Proteas had asked for the games to be rescheduled so the series did not clash with their new domestic T20 league.
New dates have been unable to be found, with Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley indicating the upcoming summer of cricket was already too crowded.
"It is disappointing that Cricket South Africa will be unable to contest the ODI series in January," he said.
"That said, we are delighted to be hosting South Africa for the three Test series which includes the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests and with the comprehensive schedule of international cricket that will take place across Australia throughout the summer.
"This will include the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and a record six touring teams for the Men’s and Women’s international series as well as the twelfth season of the BBL and the eighth season of the WBBL.
"We can't wait to see fans back at the cricket this summer."
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While disappointed that new dates for the series could not be found, Cricket South Africa (CSA) Chief Executive Officer Pholetsi Moseki stressed the importance of having all their local players available for the new domestic T20 competition.
"CSA is always keen on honouring its bilateral commitments. While CSA is committed to honouring its fixtures in respect of the Future Tours Programme there will sometimes be unforeseen circumstances that would negate this resolve. In the case of the Australia tour, CSA reached out to its counterpart months ago to reschedule the tour to mutually aggregable dates. CSA offered four options to that effect. Unfortunately, and to our disappointment, none of these were acceptable to Cricket Australia," Moseki said.
"CSA has agreed that ICC award Australia the competition points. While we are saddened at losing the crucial points, we are confident that our in-form Proteas team will garner the requisite points through the remaining games to secure automatic qualification to the showpiece event in India next year.
"As difficult as this decision has been for CSA, the long-term sustainability of our new T20 League is reliant on having all our domestic players available for this exciting new addition to the CSA calendar.
"CSA is looking forward to be hosted by Cricket Australia for an enticing blend of cricket in the three-Test series which includes the Boxing Day and New Year's Tests in Melbourne and Sydney."
South Africa have ODI series scheduled against England and India prior to the completion of the Super League period and may face the challenge of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier just to win their way into the main tournament next year.
Australia, meanwhile, currently sits eighth on the Super League standings with 70 points from 12 matches, with their next contest a three-match series against Zimbabwe commencing at the end of next month.