NSW Minister for Digital Government Victor Dominello has announced significant progress to the digital Opal card, stating that the trial was successful and that plans have been made to release it to the public.

“Many people have asked when we will digitise the opal card,” he said in a LinkedIn post.

“I am informed by Transport that the trial of the Digital Opal Card went well and that they are aiming to implement roll-out of the digital opal card end 23/Q1-24.”

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Minister Dominello also responded to a comment from a LinkedIn user who expressed that the rollout of the digital Opal card would be faster if it was left to private enterprise rather than Transport NSW.

“I share your frustration… I [also] raised the same questions about speed to implementation,” he replied.

“Transport have informed me that whilst the trials went well, the digital opal card product needed more work, and this would be better accomplished as part of the Opal Next-Gen program.”

According to Australia and New Zealand Infrastructure Pipeline (ANZIP), the Opal Next-Gen program is an infrastructure-led project that will focus on NSW’s ticketing infrastructure. The program will see to the upgrade of the NSW Opal system including integrating the cards into a digital wallet.

An NFCW article also states that Transport NSW was developing and trialling a Mobility-as-a-Service app “Opal Plus” for multimodal journeys across private and public transport services.

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Trials for the digital Opal card, which will allow commuters to use public transport via their digital wallet, began last year as another measure taken by the NSW Government to deliver accessibility and improved choices for customers.

“We have seen the increased popularity of using a digital wallet to conduct shopping and access membership cards, so we’re delighted to be taking Opal digitally for the first time while providing the same benefits to adult customers,” a Transport for NSW spokesperson said in a media release.

“With so many different contactless payment solutions going digital, we look forward to seeing the benefit and convenience customers will experience from being able to move around the network using their smartphone or watch.”

According to ITNews, the NSW Government’s $567.9 million transport ticketing upgrade will see the cards becoming a permanent fixture in the state’s public transport network.

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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