To think we have to be let in??

[yummyubereats]

I am currently in Australia visiting a friend. We have travelled from Brisbane towards Sydney for the last few days. We are spending New Year’s Eve in a theme park next to the harbour bridge to watch the fireworks. We bought the tickets ages ago.

My friend and I, who have travelled together, didn’t bring our passports with us to sydney, just our drivers licenses.

We have just received an email from said theme park, saying that they ID on entry and do not accept foreign driving licenses as a valid form of ID. Only passports and Australian licenses. This was not made clear when we bought.

So now, we are panicking. We spent £120 on these event tickets and now we probably won’t even be let in.
NSW government guidance says any country license can be accepted as ID, so they’re not following this.

What can we do?? It’s tomorrow and we don’t have time to get our passports.

I love the people saying rock up and give it a go from the other side of the world! Grow a pair and make a fuss and they will let you in - at Luna Park on NYE you are more likely to have security called to remove you if you make a fuss, keep making a fuss and it will be the police. I live in Sydney, I am not joking. They are not IDing people for age, they are IDing against tickets bought as the tickets are probably non-transferrable and there will be plenty of fakes out there. It is an absolute shit and you have my every sympathy but this might have to be a harsh lesson learnt.

I'm another who says just give it a go. I'm British and lived in Sydney for a year, and never experienced anything like this. Have a Plan B in case you aren't let in, but definitely give it a go! Mad not to try.

Confirming that Australia is strict in a way you can’t understand unless you’ve encountered it. (Held for landing till the right time, eh, @notimagain? 😉😉)

I cannot imagine, that having had the T&Cs in big letters clearly set out on the website, that they will let anyone in because they turn up and try and blag their way in. It’s possibly worth a phone call to the organisers in advance, but honestly - the staff on the gate on the night will have a set of criteria and it will be more than their job is worth to let someone in who does not fulfil the criteria. They simply won’t have the authority to allow someone in without the correct ticket and ID no matter what sob story you tell.

Wrt travelling around a continent without your passport - you should always have it with you, not necessarily on your person but at the very least kept in the safe wherever you are staying. Usually it will be the identity document you will need in any sort of emergency situation such as needing the police or medical treatment. Certainly if you needed repatriating for any reason it would be handy to have your passport within reaching distance rather than a couple of days drive away.

As for asking the British Consulate to help you get into a party, whoever suggested that is an idiot - embassy and consulate staff overseas are usually snowed under with real emergencies. They are there to help citizens of their country in serious trouble and it would be a waste of their time to even call them.

Lots of posts here that show how most Brits don't understand how truly disliked they are in the rest of the world...especially in Australia.

I'm Australian, my father was French and we spent the first 10 years of my life there...he had to carry his passport everywhere (this was back in the 1970s) until he got his international driving licence as it was the only id that would be accepted.

Australia now has some of the strictest homeland laws in the world - I had to change my name back to my maiden name the last time I renewed my Australian passport as since 2011 a passport will only be issued with the name on your birth certificate. You can apply to change the name on your birth certificate but doing so from abroad is a long involved process...and I didn't want to do it anyway.

Without your passport so it can be scanned, you won't be getting in. Australia expects to be the victim of a terrorist attack at any time and UK passport are worth less than toilet paper to them, especially since Brexit...

Ha ha, I'm in Oz and no we are not used to 10 hour drives to deliver someone's passport ! It's a helluva drive and most people would only do it if they were going on a holiday.

A blanket dislike of an entire nation? Seems odd.

@KenAdams If you saw how most UK tourists behave in Australia, you wouldn't call it odd.

I’ve just checked Webjet (Oz flight search) you can get a return flight from syd to bris tomorrow for $400.00… if one of you gos and splits the cost between you it’s only $200.00 each.. might be cheaper than making new plans…
and for those not used to flying in Oz, no you won’t need a passport for a domestic flight

Lots of posts here that show how most Brits don't understand how truly disliked they are in the rest of the world...especially in Australia.

Do you think that's our failing?

It’s pretty clear on their website, so I’d try all avenues to get the passport.

if you can’t get them, then turn up as early as you can and try pleading ignorance. Def take your driving licence and print a copy of your passport for good measure. Hopefully you get someone nice on the door… Oh and please don’t be angry at them if they say no, it was on you for not reading the website properly.

So a country that is apparently expecting a terrorist attack (why?), won’t let you into a theme park without ID, but will let you on a plane without a passport?

That's the most British response ever

Airports have more advanced ways of identifying fake IDs than a theme park.

@yummyubereats I am currently in Australia visiting a friend. We have travelled from Brisbane towards Sydney for the last few days. We are spending New Year’s Eve in a theme park next to the harbour bridge to watch the fireworks. We bought the tickets ages ago

Okay, so you’re not even in Sydney when realising this! Just turn around, back to Brissie, pick up passports and hightail it back down to Sydney without stuffing around on the way. It’s not even a 10hr trip given you have not reached Sydney yet, so if you left now extremely doable and should have done this rather than posting and hand wringing in the first place. There are two of you so just swap drivers every few hours and go straight through and back. 10hr drives are not ‘long drives’ for long term Australians who actually get about in Australia, especially if more than one driver!

At risk of sounding kiwi... I read this post and just thought 'yeah... nah.'
Brits aren't especially disliked, they just don't have special status either. Recent colony bullshit notwithstanding. Had a good giggle about that one!!
OP is it worth checking if the fine print when you booked had this requirement clearly stated? Not trying to shame you if you didn't read/notice, it's just I think you'd have a stronger argument calling Luna Park esrly tomorrow and pointing out that 24 hours notice that they won't accept your license (despite that meeting your/their legal obligations according to government advice) is pretty poor, and they need to work with you to find a solution.

The harm in just turning up is you'll end up with no other plans when you get turned away and will have wasted a lot of time and effort.

The Australian MNers have told us over and over how strict it is. It's not when you forget your gym ID and they'll let you in "just this once".

Yep.. if you check in online, download boarding pass, then go straight through security and onto the plane, you won’t interact with anyone until you get to the boarding gate… when you’ll show your boarding pass.

i think the issue with the theme park is they’re trying to avoid tickets being on-sold and people being scalped… rather than about security as such

@Tulipvase Because like the rest of the world, we have religious extremists etc who are considered a risk. Until recently, the national threat level for terrorism was 'probable'...it's still at 'possible'. My family still lives there, I hear about it all the time.

I found Australian immigration far stricter the last time I went back than any of the times I've visited the USA. I got pretty grilled about why I have an Australian passport if I don't actually live there.

Yeah it's bullshit

@yummyubereats I know it will be disappointing if you can't sort something out and hopefully you'll be able to but if things don't go your way can I suggest making your way to one of the vantage points around the Harbour? It's free and the atmosphere is fantastic.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-12-29/nsw-sydney-harbour-new-year-eve-fireworks-where-when/103270314#content

Some of the posts are just ridiculous!

@yummyubereats Did you really think your passport would be safer in a hostel than with you? Hopefully you’ve been journeying back to Brissy to get your documents as there is time to get there and back, you just have to share the driving between you. Please don’t take up the advice to call the British Consulate or any other mad idea. Passports being harder to fake are exactly why they are required for identity and age.

I can’t remember the name of the poster who said that they had to change their name to their maiden name because since 2011 only birth names would be on passports, but that’s not true! Yes, you have to show any documents that track name changes such as marriage certificates but that’s true of most countries! I’ve linked the passport office for the PP, as whoever told them birth names only, seriously misled them!

https://www.passports.gov.au/getting-passport-how-it-works/how-get-adult-passport

Even if they have arrived in Sydney and even allowing for time difference that there's less time left there before NY than here there are flights almost hourly between Sydney and Brisbane on 31 December. Out of curiosity I looked on Quantas. Quantas has return flights for around AD$460- that's only £246 and there's plenty of time to do it.

"Oh and please don’t be angry at them if they say no, it was on you for not reading the website properly."

Why would she get angry?

@JoanOfAllTrades I did my name changes by deed poll in the UK, which the Australian government don't accept as a legal name change. I do know what I'm talking about, I've been through it twice!

Yes she should have but your comment isn’t helping her now is it? She’s posting for help not judgement about her mistake.
(This is for @Sagealicious)

I don’t have time to drive back, I’m staying an hour from Sydney tonight and we’re staying just above Brisbane. Currently 9 hours from home and 10 hours back to Sydney - it’s 11:35pm now so I won’t make it to Sydney until 6pm with zero stops!
And flight could be an option so I’ll look into that

thank you all for posting helpful replies xx