As head of Austria's diplomatic mission there, the ambassador is the official representative of the president and government of Austria to the Prime Minister and the government of South Africa.

The position has the rank and status of an Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and the embassy is located in Cape Town.

Its jurisdiction includes several countries in Southern Africa for which there is no embassy of its own.

The Consulate General in South Africa was located in Cape Town but was closed in October 2010.

The Austrian Embassy in Harare (the capital and largest city of Zimbabwe) was closed on 1 January 2012 for security reasons, and its jurisdiction was divided between the embassies in Pretoria and Nairobi, whereby Pretoria also took over the representation for Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Angola.