Opening hours and entry fees

Opening hours

The Australian Museum is open everyday, except Christmas Day.

Opening hours are:

  • 10am - 5pm Monday to Sunday
  • 10am – 9pm on Wednesdays.

Entry fees

Experience the revamped Australian Museum with free entry!

General Admission to the Australian Museum is free for adults and children, for a limited time. Free entry includes all permanent exhibitions.

Entry fees may apply to special exhibitions and tickets are required for programs and events. Find out more in our What's On calendar.


Visitor information

Museum Map

View our visitor map for locations of exhibitions, amenities and information about low, medium and high sensory areas across our galleries. Discover expanded galleries, more of our collection on display, transformed gathering spaces, a new shop, a second café, a renovated Members Lounge and updated amenities during your visit to the Australian Museum.

Do you need to book a ticket?

Tickets are not required for General Admission 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.

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.

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.

Learn more about our Location and Access and Accessibility and (disability) inclusion programs webpages.

The AM Visual Story has also been created for visitors on the autism spectrum and those with sensory sensitivities to prepare for their visit.



COVID-19 safety

The AM is open with COVID-19 protocols in place including physical distancing, increased cleaning and hygiene practices.

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 experiencing flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, a sore throat or fatigue.
  • has been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
  • is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test or has returned a positive result.

Wearing a fitted face mask is encouraged.


Cloaking

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 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.

Please ensure items are collected ten minutes before closing.



Book a group visit

Discover the wide range of learning opportunities for groups of all ages, including school excursions.

Find out more

Events, kids programs, workshops and tours

Discover our exciting program of events including kids and early childhood programs, afternoon and evening lectures, cultural activities and tours in the What's On calendar of exhibitions and events.



Entry information

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.

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 Gold 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.


The main accessible entrance to the Australian Museum is located on the corner of College St and 1 William St, opposite Hyde Park, in Sydney.

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 via email visit@australian.museum or by calling +61 2 9320 6000.


Please contact the booking office to plan your Australian Museum educational program and visiting arrangements for groups.


To access the Museum’s complimentary Wi-Fi, look for ‘AMPUBLIC’ in your device’s available Wi-Fi network list.

Terms & Conditions apply.


Baby change and Parents Room

Baby change facilities are available on the Lower Ground floor toilets and there is a Level 2 Parents Room next to the Prehistoric Playground. 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.

An accessible Changing Places facility is located on Level 2.

Cloaking

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 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.

Please ensure items are collected ten minutes before closing.

First-aid or lost children

If you need assistance please contact the nearest staff member wearing a black or orange 'Welcome' t-shirt.

Photography

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.


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.


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.

All AM staff on AM premises are fully vaccinated*. We continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated and keep their vaccination status up to date. From Friday 25 February 2022, the AM no longer requires visitors to the AM to provide proof of vaccination status or medical exemption.

*or have provided proof of medical exemption.

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 but this is not mandatory.

Physical distancing is recommended

Physical distancing has also been shown to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and the AM has kept markers in queues to assist our visitors in maintaining social distancing. Use of these markers is encouraged but also 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 experiencing flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, a sore throat or fatigue.
  • has been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19.
  • is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test or has returned a positive result.



Why not join the family?

Discover even more by becoming a Member. Delve into the Australian Museum’s collections, join a vibrant community and support our groundbreaking research and cultural projects.

Join today

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