Travel & Accommodation

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Travel to Sydney
Visa requirements
Transport within Sydney
Staying in Sydney

General travel tips for Australia

The currency is the Australian dollar ($AUD 1 ~ $USD 0.68). Most international ATM cards and credit cards can be used alongside other electronic payment methods. Some smaller shops and restaurants prefer cash payments.
If you are travelling from outside Australia, you may need adapters for electrical appliances to meet Australia’s unique plug design; the standard voltage in Australia is 240 V and the frequency is 50 Hz.
Sydney enjoys warm weather in February with daytime temperatures between 20-35º C. Be careful with the strong sun and use adequate protection!
At the beach, be careful to swim where lifeguards deem it safe as strong currents can be dangerous.
Australia features amazing nature and wildlife but be wary of wild animals, Sydney drivers, and drop bears.

Travel to Sydney

Sydney Airport is located just 12km south of the city’s centre. The airport has direct flights from many international airports, although the vast distances involved in getting to Australia may require a stop-over at an intermediate airport. From the airport, frequent trains run towards Sydney’s Central station and other inner-city destinations. Taxis are also available outside the arrivals hall.

When traveling into Australia, make sure you are aware of Australia’s on-arrival screening practices which prohibit many items from entrance into the country. Sydney Airport has a handy guide for clearing security.

Health concerns

The novel Coronavirus is a global public health issue that is impacting travel to Australia. As of 1st February, the Australian Government has taken precautionary measures and issued a travel ban to any foreigners arriving from or travelling through China. Citizens and permanent residents are encouraged to self-quarantine for 14 days.

We are awaiting advice from the ACM regarding the impact to any of our conference attendees. Please let us know if you are affected by the above restrictions, by emailing the General Chairs via general_chairs@tei.acm.org.

Visa requirements

Attendees are advised to contact the nearest embassy, consulate or travel agency for information about the passport and visa requirements from their country for entry into Australia. More information can be found on the Australian Government’s immigration visas website.

Most attendees are best served with a subclass 600 Business Visitor visa, which allows for conference attendance. This costs $149, payable upon application. The Department of Home Affairs indicates that 75% of applications are processed within 13 days, and 90% within 17 days. Most but not all attendees will be able to apply online, others might have to visit the nearest Australian embassy or representative.

As of September 2019, there are 8 countries and regions that are exempted from visa requirements when entering Australia for tourism, commerce, conferences, visiting relatives/ acquaintances, etc. This list includes the USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Brunei. After applying online (at a cost of $20) for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), nationals from these countries and regions will be permitted 12-months access to Australia from the date the ETA is granted or until the expiry of passport, whichever is earlier. See the ETA webpage for further details. Approval should be fast (under 12 hours), with some applications requiring additional processing before approval can be granted.

We strongly advise arranging for a visa or ETA early and certainly before arriving in Australia, as the Department of Home Affairs does not entertain on-arrival visas.

Visa invitation letter

If you need an invitation letter to apply for a visa, the ACM will generate these themselves, so please request your letter of support for the visa directly to supportletters@acm.org.

In this email you should include:

Your Name (as it appears on your passport) and mailing address.
The conference name: The ACM International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction – TEI 2020.
Your registration confirmation number.
If you are presenting work in any of the tracks then include the title of that submission.
A fax number or email address where the letter can be sent.

Requests will be checked and sent out by the ACM in the order they are received. Those requesting a letter should allow up to one week to receive it.

You need to register for the TEI2020 main conference before your request for an invitation letter can be processed. No invitation letter will be issued until your registration has been completed, processed and paid in full, and the eligibility of your request can be assessed and you have a registration confirmation number.

Please note that TEI2020 will not refund attendees due to visa issues after the cancellation deadline (see the Registration page for info).

Transport within Sydney

The city is served by a comprehensive range of public transport services, including local and regional trains, ferries, and buses. To plan your trip within the city, you can use the TransportNSW website, Google Maps, and a range of apps. You pay for public transport with an Opal card, available at most stations, and some supermarkets and convenience stores. At these locations, you can also top-up the remaining credit on the card. Note that paying in cash is often not possible on public transport. Expect a single trip to cost between AU$2.00 and AU$4.80 depending on the distance. On Sundays, you can travel anywhere on public transport for a daily maximum of AU$2.70. Trips by train from and to the airport incur a surcharge: for example, a trip from the international airport terminal station to Sydney’s Central station costs AU$16.77.

Taxis and rideshare services like Uber, Lyft and Ola are also available. Taxis are widely available around the conference venues.

Around the city centre, there is some ability to rent bicycles and scooters as you go. These services fluctuate in availability as Australians ponder whether throwing bikes into the river is a worthwhile new national sport.

Staying in Sydney

There are hotels, AirBNBs, and if you’re daring, plenty of backpacker hostels around the city. Below we have included a list of options nearby the conference venues along with price indications and (where available) special codes for attendee discounts.