Getting online in Australia
A travel eSIM is a data plan you install before departure and switch on when you land, so your phone is online in Australia without roaming charges and without hunting for a SIM counter at arrivals. Your home number stays where it is — the eSIM sits alongside it.
Plans, prices, data amounts and validity are set by our partner and shown on their own page. We do not repeat them here because they change and we do not measure them.
Where you land in Australia
These are the airports in Australia with scheduled flights and an IATA code. The minute you step off one of them is the minute an eSIM stops being optional.
| Airport | Code | City |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide International Airport | ADL | Adelaide |
| Brisbane International Airport | BNE | Brisbane |
| Cairns International Airport | CNS | Cairns |
| Darwin International Airport / RAAF Darwin | DRW | Darwin |
| Gold Coast Airport | OOL | Gold Coast |
| Hobart International Airport | HBA | Hobart (Cambridge) |
| Melbourne Airport | MEL | Melbourne |
| Melbourne Avalon International Airport | AVV | Geelong/Melbourne |
| Newcastle Airport | NTL | Williamtown |
| Perth International Airport | PER | Perth |
| Port Hedland International Airport | PHE | Port Hedland |
| Sunshine Coast Airport | MCY | Maroochydore |
Where you will actually use the data
The largest towns and cities near those arrival airports, by population (GeoNames). Coverage is the partner's to state, not ours — this is simply where travellers in Australia tend to be.
- Sydney5 638 830 people
- Melbourne5 435 590 people
- Brisbane2 780 063 people
- Perth2 384 371 people
- Adelaide1 469 163 people
- Gold Coast640 778 people
- Newcastle508 437 people
- Sunshine Coast398 840 people
Before you buy
Two things worth checking on your own handset, because they decide whether any eSIM works at all: the phone must be eSIM capable, and it must be carrier unlocked. Most phones sold in the last few years are both; phones bought on a carrier contract often are not until the contract ends.
We do not test handsets and cannot tell you whether yours qualifies — your phone's settings screen and your carrier can.