South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and opted to bat against Australia in the first Test at Perth on Thursday.
The visitors elected to leave out tall fast bowler Morne Morkel in the first match of the three-Test series, instead promoting emerging spinner Keshav Maharaj for his debut.
Australia omitted uncapped fast bowler Joe Mennie, with veteran Peter Siddle returning to the side.
The Proteas thrashed Australia 5-0 in their recent one-day series, but the Australians have been boosted by the return to fitness of bowling spearhead Mitchell Starc.
South Africa have never lost a Test in Perth and are desperate to improve their recent record away from home, while the Australians are keen to rebound from a 3-0 away loss to Sri Lanka in its most recent Test series.
