Admission information
Feed your curiosity at the Australian Museum with free entry to our permanent exhibitions!
Opening hours
General Admission
The Australian Museum is open everyday, except Christmas Day.
- Monday - Sunday: 10am - 5pm
Please note: Burra learning space and Billabong Waterhole Café on Level 2 is open 10am- 4:30pm.
Entry fees
Experience the Australian Museum with free General Admission!
Free entry includes admission to permanent exhibitions at the Australian Museum and access to the Museum Shop and Burra learning and play space.
Entry fees may apply to our special exhibitions and tickets are also required for our school holiday programs, workshops, talks and education programs. Find out more and book special exhibition and program tickets in advance using the What's On calendar of events.
Become an AM Member and receive special benefits including access to the Members Lounge and purchase discounts in the Museum Shop.
Visitor information
The Australian Museum is located in the centre of Sydney city, opposite Hyde Park and St Mary's Cathedral, and is a short walk from Town Hall, Museum Station and St James train stations in Sydney's CBD.
Museum Map
View our visitor map for indoor locations of exhibitions, toilets and amenities as well as information about low, medium and high sensory areas across our galleries.
Discover the location of our special and permanent galleries spaces, Museum Shop, food with a view and Members Lounge to visit at the Australian Museum.
Accessibility and (disability) inclusion
The Australian Museum has wheelchair accessible entrances marked on the Museum Map and a range of accessible services and programs, including Audio Descriptive tours that you can access on your own mobile device.
The AM Visual Story has also been created for visitors on the autism spectrum and those with sensory sensitivities to prepare for their visit.
The main entrance to the Australian Museum is located on the corner of College St and William St in Sydney, opposite Hyde Park.
Car Parking
There is no public car parking available at the Australian Museum. We recommend parking at nearby car parks or use public transport. The nearest train stations are St James, Museum and Town Hall Stations. Each train station is approximately an 8 minute walk through Hyde Park to the Australian Museum. There are metered car parking bays in surrounding streets as well as a bus drop-off zone on William Street.
Terms of Entry
To ensure the safety and security of all our visitors and staff and to protect our valuable collections, we ask that you observe the AM's Terms of Entry.
If you have any concerns regarding these conditions of entry please talk to one of our customer service staff members at the Admissions Desk. You can also provide feedback our online form.
The AM reserves the right to deny entry to you and members of your party if:
- You, or members of your party, are argumentative, rude or aggressive with AM staff and security
- In the opinion of AM staff or Security, you or any member of your party fails to abide by authorised directions of AM staff or Security
- You or your party have prohibited items or large and bulky items which are not able to be cloaked at the present time
- In the opinion of AM staff or Security, any member of your party appears to have symptoms that may place other people at risk or pose a danger to public health.
Our cloaking room is located on Lower Ground (LG) and is open during business hours. The AM reserves the right to close the cloakroom without notice. Please ensure items are collected ten minutes before closing.
Please do not bring: bags larger than A3 size, carry-on luggage, wheeled shopping carts, long umbrellas, scooters, balance bikes, tripods, selfie-sticks or bulky items to the AM as you may be denied entry.
For more information on prohibited items, please refer to our Terms of Entry.
Baby Change & Parents Room
Baby change facilities are available on the Lower Ground floor toilets and there is a Parents Room on Level 2 next to Burra learning and play space pram parking area.
Please refer to the Museum map for specific locations.
Toilets
Toilets are available on every level of the museum.
Wheelchair accessible toilets are located on Lower Ground, Ground and Levels 2 and 3.
Changing Places Room
An accessible Changing Places facility is located on Level 2.
There are unsupervised pram parking spaces outside of Burra learning and play space on Level 2 and in Hintze Hall on the Upper Ground floor.
Prams are not allowed inside special exhibition spaces. There is limited, unsupervised pram parking space available in designated areas near entry to special exhibitions.
Tickets are not required for General Admission (GA) to the Australian Museum, with free entry to our permanent exhibitions.
Special exhibitions at the Australian Museum may require a ticket purchased online or at the Admissions Desk on entry. It is strongly recommended to pre-book tickets to our programs, tours and special exhibitions by visiting our What's On webpage, to secure a preferred session entry time.
As an AM Member you have access to FREE and/or discounted tickets to special exhibitions.
Group Bookings for education, tourism and adult groups can also be made in advance.
Do not buy tickets from unauthorised re-sellers. You risk buying fraudulent or invalid tickets to our special exhibitions.
Concession cards must be shown upon admission to receive the reduced ticket prices:
- Seniors Card-holders (all states)
- International seniors aged over 60 years
- International Student Card-holders
- Australian Student Card-holders
- Centrelink Healthcare Card-holders
- Australian Government Pension Card-holders
- Australian Veterans' Affairs Card-holders.
Companion Card
Special exhibition ticketed entry is free to those who hold a Companion Card and are assisting a ticket holder as a carer.
Carer's free entry is processed at the Australia Museum on presentation of their Companion Card.
Please contact the booking office to plan your Australian Museum educational program and visiting arrangements for groups.
As part of a NSW Government requirement, from 1 July 2012 the Australian Museum will apply a surcharge on all transactions made by credit cards. Surcharge rates are determined on a cost-recovery basis only. No surcharge will be incurred when paying with eftpos or cash.
Please refer to Ticketing Terms & Conditions for more information.
To access the Museum’s complimentary Wi-Fi, look for ‘AMPUBLIC’ in your device’s available Wi-Fi network list.
The AM remains committed to ensuring a safe environment for everyone on AM premises and in line with the NSW Government, the AM encourages everyone to get vaccinated as a key tool to limit the spread of COVID-19 and keep everyone safe.
The AM strongly encourages all Workers and Visitors who can safely be vaccinated to remain up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations, as recommended by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) in their clinical guidance for the use of COVID-19 vaccines.
You are encouraged to wear a face mask at the AM
Wearing a face mask has been shown to decrease the risk of transmission of COVID-19 and for this reason, the AM encourages visitors to wear a face mask while at the AM where it is difficult to socially distance, but this is not mandatory.
Physical distancing is recommended
Physical distancing has also been shown to reduce the transmission of COVID-19. Give some space. Maintain 1.5m physical distance between people where possible. This measure is not mandatory.
You may be denied entry in certain circumstances
The AM reserves the right to deny entry, or issue a direction to leave, to you and members of your party if:
- You, or members of your party, are argumentative, rude or aggressive with AM staff and security.
- In the opinion of AM staff or Security, you or any member of your party fails to abide by authorised directions of AM staff or Security
- You or your party have with you prohibited items in your possession.
- In the opinion of AM staff or Security, any member of your party appears to have symptoms that may place other people at risk or pose a danger to public health.
Consider visiting the AM at a later date
For the safety of everyone, please consider visiting the AM another time if you or someone in your party:
- is feeling unwell in any way.
- is positive to COVID-19 or experiencing flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, a sore throat or fatigue.
Video and flash photography are permitted in all galleries, except the Westpac Long Gallery and First Nations galleries.
Please check with Australian Museum staff before taking photographs in those exhibitions.
Learn more aboutmedia photography and filming.
If you need assistance, please contact the nearest Australian Museum staff member wearing a AM staff badge or 'Ask me' t-shirt.
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