Travel concessions for tertiary students

Eligibilty

To be eligible for tertiary student concession travel, you must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident who lives in NSW and are:

1. Enrolled as an internal student in an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) accredited higher education or vocational education and training course, delivered by a tertiary institution in NSW or the ACT.
2. Undertaking a full time study load which, for the purpose of obtaining a NSW concession, varies according to the type of institution where the course is being undertaken:
   • At universities, students must be enrolled in a course rated by the university as full-time based on credit points.
   • At TAFEs and private colleges, students must be enrolled in a full year course or a short course/single semester course of at least 9 weeks and attend 20 hours a week of face-to-face classes.
   • For full time prevocational courses funded by DEC or TAFE, where the full time course hourly content is met but the course has been condensed into a shorter delivery timeframe than 9 weeks, a minimum course requirement of 6 weeks applies and the 20 hour class time requirement can include a compulsory, unpaid work experience component.
3. Attending day classes.
4. Not engaged in business or paid employment, or receiving any remuneration. (Scholarships and allowances such as Austudy and Youth Allowance are not considered to be remuneration).

Students on temporary visas, such as fee paying overseas students, are not eligible for tertiary student concessions, except when they receive an approved Australian Government international exchange or sponsorship program and also meet all other eligibility criteria.

Concession fares

Half fare concessions are available on most timetabled services for travel at all times (that is, not just to and from classes or work experience placement).

Concession fares under MyZone

Under MyZone, concession entitlements remain the same or similar to previous arrangements, although some ticket products or prices may have changed. Entitlements and ticket products will remain the same on services not covered by the MyZone structure, such as private ferries, monorail and CountryLink services. From 1 July 2011, the MyMulti tickets, the Pensioner Excursion Ticket and Family Funday Sunday have been available for use on light rail. These tickets are not sold on light rail and must be purchased before boarding. See the Buying Tickets page .

Half fare concessions are available for eligible tertiary students on all MyZone ticket products, (except monthly, quarterly and yearly MyMulti products and the off peak return ticket on rail). For more information, see MyZone .

Entitlements

Rail

Bus

Ferry

Light Rail

Monorail

A Yes indicates that concession rates are available for this product.

A No indicates that this product is not available to this category of beneficiary at the concession rate.

General - Concession entitlements are not available on special or premium services, charter services, special event services or tourism services.

1. Not covered under MyZone, with a few exceptions (see MyZone ). Private bus operators may offer other ticket products at discounted or concession rates. Check with the operator before travelling.
2. The fast ferries between Manly and Circular Quay, light rail and Monorail services are privately owned and operated services. Any concession benefits or discounted tickets are provided by the operators of these services at their discretion. Check with the operator before travelling. However, as indicated, from 1 July 2011 MyMulti, Family Funday Sunday and PET have been available for use on light rail.
3. Most contracted private ferry services recognise the standard concession entitlements but may have different arrangements, based on their existing contractual obligations. Check with the operator before travelling. Private ferry operators may also offer other ticket products at discounted or concession rates. For more information, contact the operator.

Proof of eligibility

Eligible tertiary students must hold either:

• A valid NSW Tertiary Student Concession card with a concession foil sticker, or
• A valid student identification card, issued by their tertiary institution, with a NSW concession printed image or foil sticker.

They must show their concession card when purchasing concession fares and carry it at all times when travelling using a concession ticket. Students must produce their card when requested to do so by a transport officer to verify entitlement to concession fares.

• Conditions of use

Tertiary student cards

• The standard tertiary concession cards are student identification cards (issued by tertiary institutions) and the NSW Tertiary Student Concession Card produced by RailCorp, where they display a valid NSW concession foil sticker or printed concession symbol.
• Student identification cards will vary in design and some may have a prepay facility with the logo of the associated financial institution.

Sample of student identification card with the printed concession image or concession foil, and the NSW Tertiary Student Concession Card with the concession foil.

Where to apply

• Tertiary institutions generally issue concession cards/entitlements on behalf of Transport for NSW to students who meet the eligibility criteria. The standard application form (pdf 136KB) can be downloaded or obtained from the student’s tertiary institution or from RailCorp's Passes and Concessions office.
• Students attending institutions that, historically, have not issued their students with concession cards will need to use a non-standard application form (pdf 75KB). This version of the form has additional space so the institution can certify that the student is enrolled and verify their study status.

How long the card can be used

• Students enrolled in full year courses who have a student identification card with a printed concession symbol on it are entitled to concession fares from the date of course commencement/card issue for a full year (to 31 March of the following year at the latest).
• Students enrolled in single semesters or short courses who have a NSW Tertiary Student Concession Card are entitled to concession fares from the date of course commencement/card issue for the duration of the course, with the final date of the course shown on the card as the expiry date.

Fees

There is no application fee for the initial issue of a transport concession card/entitlement, although tertiary institutions may charge a fee for the issue of a student identification card on which the concession entitlement is shown.

For replacement cards, a fee applies. See Clause 231 of the CityRail Passenger Fare Handbook .