As of today the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has introduced digital park passes to make visiting a NSW National Park much easier.
The new digital park passes can be renewed annually, and they are immediately linked to a vehicle’s rego/number plate, so there’s no more having to wait for a physical windscreen sticker to show up in the mail.
NPWS Executive Director Andrew Nicholls said visitation to parks surged during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Service experienced one of its busiest summers.
“With more and more people visiting national parks we want to make their trip as enjoyable and relaxed as possible, including streamlining the collection of entrance fees,” Mr Nicholls said.
“From 20 April 2021 digital passes will be available when people purchase or renew their annual or concession pass.
“This means no more waiting for stickers in the mail or needing to display them on your vehicle, you can get your digital pass from your mobile or other connected device.
“Digital passes will be linked to vehicle registration and NPWS will start to use number plate recognition technology to confirm that entrance fees have been paid.
“The move to digital passes will occur in stages over the next two years, starting with annual and concession passes and day tickets in Sydney.
“Ticket machines in Royal, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Lane Cove and Sydney Harbour National Parks will soon have the option to link your day entrance fee to your vehicle license plates so you don’t need a ticket on your dashboard.
“This new way of paying will help to reduce queues at entrance stations, ticket machines and visitor centres.
“Eligible pensioners and concession card holders will continue to get free entry to national parks.
“They will soon be able to move to this more secure system that links their pass to their vehicle, or one registered at their home address,” Mr Nicholls said.
All passes issued before 20 April, including existing annual passes, remain valid until their expiry date and are still required to be correctly displayed on the vehicle.
More information on the changes, including how to purchase or renew a pass and a full list of where digital day passes are available, can be found at nswparkspass.info
