That sounds great but online is tricky. I ordered a SIM online for Telstra a year ago to deliver to the Sydney hotel but they wanted a signature for a 10 AUD SIM. Real PITA.

The other day I was trying to register for an Opal account but they will only let you register if you have an Australian mobile number.

So Australian companies seem to have little interest in accommodating foreign tourists.

Try Optus
AUD$10 is too much for a local SIM card. Are $2 in any Aussie supermarket, including Telstra

How about if you want a lot of data and want the best connection possible?

I visited in November 2016 and Telstra had a real good deal going on.

I'm going back in a little over a week. Telstra has this offer but it's confusing how the bonus data works, whether you just get it outright or you have to top up at least once to get it:

https://www.telstra.com.au/mobile-ph...im-starter-kit

Australian phone plans are very very confusing. And for ever changing. Are not written in simple terms.
It is hard to get a true comparison. https://www.whistleout.com.au/

Coverage 4G/3G in built up - populated - metropolitan areas all 3 providers (Telstra, Optus & Vodaphone) is OK.
All others are just resellers. Some IT phone companies have several/many brands

If out in the bush / remote areas Telstra have the best coverage. But not 100% of the land area. But high 90's of where people are (~small towns).

Well I'm going to be spending time in Torquay, Apollo Bay, Warrnambool, Halls Gap and Ballarat.

I figure Halls Gap and some of the lookouts further away from HG would have marginal or maybe even no coverage.

Not sure about the coastal areas, but they draw huge crowds right, especially Port Campbell and most of the GOR? So one would hope there's good coverage there.

No issues with coverage on the coast / GOR.

Have not been to Halls Gap for years, but would expect to have to coverage in the valley where where the buildings are. Up in the hills/walks my be scratchy coverage in places.

https://www.whistleout.com.au/Mobile...overage-in-vic
Coverage: Vodaphone is poor at Halls Gap VIC 3381 (no surprise)
https://www.whistleout.com.au/Mobile...1&tab=postpaid

Telstra Enter "Halls Gap 3381" https://www.telstra.com.au/coverage-...s/our-coverage


Halls Gap is a nice area
Halls Gap, Destinations, Grampians, Victoria, Australia
https://visithallsgap.com.au/

I'd recommend Telstra, it's a little pricey but for short trips the coverage, reliability and performance really pay off. You can grab them at Woolworths or Coles supermarkets. One gotcha is that Australia requires identification by passport when signing up online, so budget some time.

I would suggest checking out something like the forums on Whirlpool - you'll get a lot more information on questions like this there, especially for questions that aren't really travel related.

I often refer to the Prepaid SIM wiki for answers to questions like this. It seems like Australia has a lot of convoluted plans though.

As the question was first asked on 11 Dec, the OP probably has it sorted now.

There are comparison web sites, including, but not limited to
https://www.whistleout.com.au/
http://youcompare.com.au
http://whatphone.com.au

And yes, AU phone/data/internet plans are convoluted & confusing

Edit
Master thread--->https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...australia.html

anyone ever use the Telstra wifi network? I see one of the included benefits to their SIM cards is use of their wifi hot spots. For a city like Melbourne it looks like their hotspots cover all of downtown. How seamless is it? Do I have to log in to a new hot spot every time I move or does the app automatically connect me to the best hotspot option as I go?

Any ongoing specials in MEL? Will be heading there next week.

Tempted to just pick up a mifi so I could share it with a few devices, but those don't look so cheap.

Think its best to buy in the airport or downtown/docklands? Looking for a couple gigs for a week.

You will get more options in the CBD (=downtown)/docklands. Look in the Coles & Woolworths supermarkets. They will have display with options.

Look at the links info in above posts

I've hit a snag.

Got what seemed like a good deal at the Woolworths $10 for 10 gb of data and 10 days of service.

Went to activate online. Twice. Failed to validate.

Just tried the online chat for a half hour.

I'm flying thru SYD again tomorrow; tempted to try and get another card there... :( Just want to be able to navigate tomorrow.

Data SIM for Australia
 

Any recommendations for a data only SIM provider for Australia?

Going to be spending most of August there - my current carrier (Three) allows me to use my data allowance for free but it's going to be slow as all the traffic will be routed via the UK.

So I'm looking for a local SIM that I can put in my MiFi

Thanks