Australia has wrapped up a comprehensive innings-and-182-run victory over South Africa on the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG, winning a home series against the Proteas for the first time since 2006.

The victory was all the more impressive given that Cameron Green was unable to bowl with a broken finger, while Mitch Starc battled through pain, bleeding his way to a wicket and run-out with a damaged digit of his own.

With injuries impacting two bowlers and favourable batting conditions, one might have expected South Africa to display some resilience.

However, despite some brief resistance in the opening session of the day, Australia's diminished bowling attack still ran through the South African line-up with consummate ease to wrap up victory before tea.

David Warner was named player of the match and winner of the Mullagh Medal for his energy-sapping 200 in his 100th Test.

"I thought the way Davey Warner and Steve Smith batted in the heat was as gutsy a cricket [performance] as you're ever going to get," Australia captain Pat Cummins said.

"For Starc to come out with a pretty big injury, to come and bowl the way he did; Greeny, injured and in pain, to go out and bat the way he did … I'm really proud of this team."

The comfortable win wraps up another series victory for Australia, with just one Test remaining of a disappointingly one-sided summer of cricket.

"It's not easy at the moment," South Africa skipper Dean Elgar said at the post-match presentation.

"I'd say it's a bit of a hammering, that.

"We've got to do a lot of reflection going forward, again."

Having lost Elgar for a duck last night, South Africa had to pin its hopes on unbeaten batters Sarel Erwee and Theunis de Bruyn when they resumed 371 runs short of making Australia bat again.

But Starc and Cummins had other ideas with venomous opening spells in which they extracted swing and seam movement to severely test their opponents.

Starc, hampered by a broken finger that will need six weeks in a splint after this Test match, bowled brilliantly throughout his six-over opening spell.

However, it was only after he attempted to field a shot played back to him with his injured finger that he really got fired up, snarling at de Bruyn for taking liberties at the non-striker's end when backing up, warning him twice to get back in his ground.

After the first warning, he unleashed a ferocious in-swinging yorker that caught the toe of Erwee (21), who was given out LBW on review.

Scott Boland got in on the act soon after, finding the edge of de Bruyn (28) who was well caught at slip by Steve Smith.

With a long tail, South Africa needed everything to go perfectly in the middle to have any chance of batting out the day, so when Temba Bavuma took a very ill-advised single to run out Khaya Zondo (1) after an excellent pick-up and throw from Travis Head, the wheels looked wobbly.

Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne combined for 98 runs in the first Test at Brisbane, but could not match that in Melbourne, as Boland had the Proteas wicketkeeper trapped LBW for 33.

With Australia's bowling stocks already down a man due to Green's broken finger, the last thing Australia needed was another injury scare, so there was understandable concern when Nathan Lyon stayed down clutching his shoulder after diving to attempt a catch at point.

But despite leaving the field for a spot of treatment, he returned to the field and promptly took a wicket, Jansen LBW for 5 after another successful review.

South Africa has been its own worst enemy at times and another comical run-out highlighted the plight of the tourists.

Bavuma again was guilty, turning down a third run when halfway down the pitch, sending Keshav Maharaj back to the wicketkeeper's end.

Starc, despite nursing that injured finger, picked up the throw from Labuschagne on the cover boundary and — in one motion — threw down the stumps to complete South Africa's third run-out dismissal of the Test.