All plenary and parallel sessions will take place in Ainsworth Building at the Kensington Campus of UNSW Sydney. Plenary talks will be held in the lecture theatre G03 on the ground floor. This is the theatre surrounded by bright red walls. There is an entrance to the back of the theatre on the first floor that we encourage you to use if a session is in progress.
Parallel sessions will take place in rooms G01, 101, and 102 in the same Ainsworth Building.
Getting to the Campus from the Airport
Public transport
The international and domestic terminals of Sydney Airport are served by a regular Ariport Train service that is connected to Sydney's suburban train network. Take the train from the International Airport Station or Domestic Airport Station to Central Station. A single trip will set you back about AUD 18. To use the train service, you can either pay with an Opal Card, a reusable smartcard ticket valid on all forms of public transportation in Sydney, or any other form of contactless payment. More on this below.
At Central Station, switch to the light rail line L3 (direction: Juniors Kingsford). Again, you can pay for the ride with an Opal Card or any other form of contactless payment. The UNSW Kensington Campus stop is called "UNSW Anzac Parade".
(Should you find yourself on the L2 line instead, get off at "UNSW High Street" and walk downhill towards the southwest corner of the Campus.)
Taxi
About AUD 30 to AUD 50, depending on traffic and time of the day. There is absolutely no need to tip your driver. Payments by credit card/debit card/EFTPOS incur a 10% surcharge.
Getting around
Parking
Parking is available on the top level of Barker Street carpark. You have to pay for parking, on arrival, by using the Pay-By-Plate metre or the CellOPark app, to avoid any fines.
Public transport
Sydney's public transport system features a network of trains, buses, ferries, and light rail (trams). Official timetables can be found on the Transport Info website, but Google Maps also does a very decent job.
Opal Card and contactless payment on public transport
Contactless payments are the only acceptable forms of payment on Sydney's public transport system. You can either use an Opal Card, your own credit/debit card with contactless payment enabled, or a smart device. The fares are the same (for adults) no matter which mode you use. See here for more information on contactless payments.
Unlike some other smartcard systems in the world, contactless payment on Sydney's public transportation system is a two-step process: you tap the card/device on the card reader once when you get on (tap on), and once more when you get off (tap off). The latter action is required to calculate the correct fare for the distance travelled. You will be charged the maximum fare for your trip if you don't tap off. Note also that you must tap on and tap off with the same card/device.
Each passenger must have a separate valid card/device to travel. Persons travelling together cannot use the same card/device.
Opal Cards can be purchased at the ticket windows at the International Airport and Domestic Airport Stations, at Transport Customer Service Centres at major train stations (including Central Station), and at many retailers such as newsagents, post offices, supermarkets, and convenience stores (e.g., 7-eleven). There is no deposit on the Card: what you pay is the actual value loaded on the Card. You can top up the Card at the same places that sell them, or using a top-up machine at select train stations.
When leaving Sydney you can in principle request a refund of the balance on your Opal Card. However, the refund is made either by bank transfer to an Australian bank account, or by cheque sent to an Australian address. So best not to overload your Card too much.