The NSW Government will recover unused balances on millions of dormant, unregistered Opal cards that have not been used for at least five years and invest in active transport initiatives, including more Opal bike lockers.

A Bill is being introduced to NSW Parliament this week that will for the first time allow Transport for NSW to make use of dormant funds on cards that have not been tapped for five years or more.

There are an estimated 17 million Opal Cards with positive balances that will not have been used for five years by 2026-27 – many of which are thought to be interstate or international visitors who have purchased one-off Opal credit on unregistered cards.

The average unused balance per card is $4.

There is an estimated total balance of about $70 million across those cards.

A 12-month communications campaign will precede the recovery of unused balances and anyone with a card that has not been used in five years can recover their funds during that time.

There is no way to contact people directly if they have an unregistered card.    

The one-off revenue source will be invested into active transport-related initiatives, including more Opal bike lockers and establishing a better system for shared e-bikes, including taking them off footpaths.

The Bill will propose amending the Passenger Transport Act 2014 to allow Transport for NSW to recover unused balances under a new scheme, subject to conditions set in the regulations.

The current terms of use cannot be amended without user consent, which requires a tap-on event.

Minister for Transport John Graham

“Sydney is a global destination and a magnet for visitors which is one reason why there may be so many Opal cards – 17 million of them – left unused with dormant balances for five years or more.

“This Bill proposes to put those otherwise unused funds into Transport investments, particularly much-needed initiatives that will connect people to transport hubs by better active transport infrastructure and Opal-powered bike lockers.

“These are things that will benefit the people of NSW using the network every day.”