Prime Minister Tony Abbott will travel to Johannesburg to attend a memorial service for Nelson Mandela.

Mr Abbott said in a statement on Saturday he would extend an invitation to Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to accompany him on the trip to South Africa in the coming week.

It is also the last parliamentary sitting week of 2013.

“There is a long bipartisan history of Australian support for South Africa and the campaign to abolish apartheid,” the prime minister said.

Australian flags will be at half mast on the day of the former South African president’s official memorial.