Public transport in Sydney (Opal) and driving with an overseas licence

• Contactless card or device: for adult fares you can simply tap your credit or debit card, phone or watch. You get the same fares and benefits as an Opal card. This is the easiest option in your first days.
• Adult Opal card (age 16 and over): the card itself is free; you add value before you travel. Get one over the counter at Opal retailers such as convenience stores and newsagents, order it on the Opal website, or get it at selected Transport customer service centres and Service NSW locations. Minimum top-ups for adult cards are $10 online or in the app and $20 at retailers or machines.
• Child/Youth Opal card: for children aged 4 to 15, and full-time NSW or ACT high school students aged 16 or over with a senior secondary student card.
• Concession and Gold Senior/Pensioner cards: must be applied for online. Eligible people can also link their concession to a contactless card through a Transport Connect account, at least the day before they travel.
• Opal single trip tickets are sold at some stations, stops and wharves but cost more and get no off-peak discount.

Travel caps (October 2026):

• Adult: $19.30 a day Monday to Thursday; $9.65 a day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays; $50 a week.
• Child/Youth and Concession: $9.65 a day Monday to Thursday; $4.80 on Fridays, weekends and public holidays; $25 a week.
• Gold Senior/Pensioner: $2.50 a day; $17.50 a week.

Off-peak discount: fares are 30% cheaper on Fridays, weekends, public holidays and outside peak times. On metro, trains, buses and light rail the peaks are 6:30am to 10am and 3pm to 7pm, Monday to Thursday (intercity trains have a morning peak from 6am).

Transfers: when you switch between modes (for example bus to train) within 60 minutes of your last tap-off, adults get a $2 discount on the next trip ($1 for child, concession and senior fares). Changing between Sydney Metro, Sydney Trains and NSW TrainLink Intercity services counts as one journey without tapping off. Several trips on the same mode within 60 minutes count as one journey with one fare (130 minutes from tap-on for the Manly ferry).

The Sydney Airport station access fee is not included in the daily or weekly caps; a separate weekly cap applies to it.

• Temporary visa holders and visitors can drive in NSW on a current overseas licence for up to six months, as long as they remain temporary visitors and carry the licence. If you arrived on or after 1 July 2023 and intend to live in NSW for longer than six months, you need a NSW driver licence within six months to keep driving.
• Permanent residents and Australian citizens who arrive with an overseas licence can drive on it for three months from arrival and must get a NSW licence within that time to keep driving.
• New Zealand and interstate licence holders can drive for up to three months and must then apply for a NSW licence.
• If your licence is not in English, carry an English translation or an International Driving Permit.
• Depending on the country that issued your licence, you may have to pass the driver knowledge test and a practical driving test to get a NSW licence. Holders of licences from mainland China and, from 1 February 2026, Hong Kong (SAR) must take both tests.

Apply through Service NSW (13 77 88). Read the NSW Road User Handbook before you drive.