Oak Flats is a suburb of Shellharbour, New South Wales, Australia situated on the south western shores of Lake Illawarra and within the South Coast region of New South Wales. It is a residential area of 6,400 people (2006 census)
Oak Flats is one of the 324 suburbs that sits within the Wollongong Statistical District which covers the local authority areas of Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama. Oak Flats is locally governed by the Shellhabour City Council which governs 22 suburbs within the area.
The Indigenous people of Yuin are the traditional owners of the South Coast. Traces of Aboriginal occupation of Oak Flats date back to around 15,000 BC.
The area was discovered by George Bass and Matthew Flinders in 1796, whilst free settlers arrived in the nearby town of Shellharbour between 1817 and 1831. As the population in the suburbs around Oak Flats grew, the need for more residential areas became more important. The eastern end of the suburb is commonly known as Balarang.