The Wallabies have been held to their second straight draw with South Africa after a see-sawing 27-27 stalemate in Bloemfontein.
In an intense battle at the Free State Stadium, Springboks five-eighth Elton Jantjies pushed a last-gasp penalty attempt wide after a controversial decision from referee Ben O'Keeffe to ping Marika Koroibete for hands in the ruck.
O'Keeffe appeared to miss a clear forward pass from Andries Coetzee in the lead-up to the play.
It ensured another frustrating Rugby Championship result for the two sides for the second time in less than a month, after they fought out a 23-23 draw in Perth.
"Playing away from home it feels a little bit better, but not a lot," Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said.
"Fans are getting up late in Australia to watch us play and they probably would have enjoyed the match, and the courage we showed.
"But we want to win footy matches. We're working hard and I know it will come."
Both sides scored three tries and two penalties and there was plenty of enterprising play, with the lead changing hands four times in a cracking second half.
Fijian-born flyer Koroibete crossed twice in his first Test start, restoring Australia's lead on both occasions.
Bernard Foley set up both of Koroibete's tries, the first with a sizzling run that sliced the South African line and the second with a dazzling cut-out ball.
But as bodies tired in the testing high-altitude conditions, neither team could find a way to put their noses in front.
The Wallabies held a three-point lead with 10 minutes to play until Jantjies levelled the scores with a spectacular 49-metre penalty.
The visitors were ahead 13-10 at the break but were lucky to have all their men on the field.
Israel Folau somehow escaped sanction for pulling the hair of Springboks winger Dillyn Leyds in a tackle just before halftime to breathe fire into an already tense encounter.
The two teams nearly came to blows but Kiwi O'Keeffe deemed it only worthy of a penalty.
Folau opened the scoring in the 10th minute, finishing off a sizzling set-piece play from a scrum after a smart inside ball from Foley.
It was Folau's 11th try of the year - the most by an Australian player, overtaking Lote Tuqiri's previous record set in 2004.
The Springboks soon found a reply through prop Ruan Dreyer, who crawled over next to the right post to level the scores at 7-7.
They struck again through Jan Serfontein in the 43rd minute and Courtnall Skosan six minutes later, but Koroibete provided a response on each occasion.
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