The South Korean, Indian and New Zealand consulates were all evacuated after receiving packages, while emergency services attended the Greek and Pakistani consulates.

The Turkish consulate in South Melbourne also received a package, while there were unconfirmed reports that packages were sent to the Italian, Spanish, Thai, Swiss and Egyptian consulates.

Embassies in Canberra were also targeted, the AFP said. Australian Federal Police and firefighters attended the US Embassy in Yarralumla, but it was not known whether their presence was related to the packages.

Firefighters wearing Hazmat suits entered the South Korean and Indian consulates on St Kilda Road in Melbourne shortly after 2pm, and staff were evacuated.

A spokesman for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the country's consulate in Melbourne received a suspicious package and "staff were evacuated from the consulate as a precautionary measure".

The US consulate was placed in lockdown at 1.30pm after staff discovered a suspicious package. It is understood staff scanned the package and discovered an "undetermined white powder" inside, before raising the alarm.

The British consulate, located on Collins Street, was also affected.

Emergency Victoria issued eight “Hazardous Material” alerts, with workers reportedly evacuated across the city shortly after packages were discovered.

Police, firefighters and paramedics attended the St Kilda Road consulates, but there were no reports of anyone being injured.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade confirmed shortly before 3pm that it was assisting Australian Federal Police at consulates across Melbourne.

"Further information will be provided by the AFP when it becomes available," the MFB tweeted.

The British consulate confirmed it was closed "for a short time", but was re-opened before 3pm.

"We are aware of reports of suspicious packages being received and are co-operating with the AFP," a British consulate spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for the British High Commission said: “We are liaising closely with the Australian Federal Police and the local authorities regarding the situation.”

The scare comes comes two days after a large emergency response was prompted in Sydney's CBD after the discovery of a possibly suspicious substance inside parcels at the Argentinian consulate.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews arrived at a building on Market Street just before 9.20am on Monday and evacuated one floor as a precaution.

Fire crews liaised with police on the scene, before handing over a sample of the substance to police for testing.

A Fire and Rescue NSW spokeswoman said crews left the scene about 10.40am after the building was handed back to the occupants and medical forms were given to consulate staff who had been potentially exposed to the unknown substance.

Authorities are yet to make an official statement.