Is there any way to renew my Malaysian passport from Brisbane instead?
I'm not sure, but if you call your embassy they may have an arrangement with a foreign embassy in Brisbane where u can go to fill out requisite paperwork with your new photos etc and then they can arrange it for you to have passport posted out to you. On occasion I've been in countries where a foreign embassy steps in to help Australians. If not I'd be surprised if there was not an embassy in Canberra which is closer to brisbane, but flights could work out cheaper between brisbane and Melbourne. Give it a try, if not Melbourne is a lovely city for a long weekend getaway. Good luck.