Explore at your pace
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This museum doesn’t just share history; it tells personal stories of leaving home, starting over, and finding belonging in a new place.
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Exhibits like Leaving Home and Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours invite you to reflect on what it means to belong, and how that meaning shifts over time.
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Interactive spaces, including a simulated immigration interview, let you engage with the complexities of policy and personal choice in a way that feels real.
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Housed in the Old Customs House, the museum’s setting adds another layer of story, once a place of processing, now a place of reflection.
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It’s a space that invites reflection, whether you’re tracing your own heritage or simply curious about how people find their place in the world.
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Entry ticket to the Immigration Museum in Melbourne
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Access to permanent and temporary exhibitions
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- Special events
These tickets can't be cancelled or rescheduled.
Step inside Melbourne’s historic Old Customs House and begin a powerful, reflective journey through the stories that shaped modern Australia.
What to expect
The Immigration Museum invites you to explore Australia’s migration story through deeply personal accounts, cultural memory, and the policies that defined who could call this country home. Through a mix of permanent and rotating exhibitions, the museum balances emotion, history, and interactivity in a space designed for reflection.
Features
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Begin in Leaving Home, where global stories of migration—driven by conflict, love, and hope—come to life through personal artifacts and multimedia.
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In Identity: Yours, Mine, Ours, explore questions of who we are and how we see each other through immersive installations and storytelling.
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Getting In traces Australia's shifting immigration policies with hands-on exhibits like the Interview Room, where you take on the role of an immigration officer.
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Voices Across Time highlights the intersection of First Peoples’ and migrant stories through artworks and lived experiences.
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Admire the architectural beauty of the Long Room, a former customs hall that now frames the museum’s historical narrative.
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End with Threads, a poetic stop-motion film exploring memory, identity, and belonging through Māori and Iranian perspectives.
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Temporary exhibits like Joy and Notre-Dame add fresh, creative layers to each visit, combining art, tech, and storytelling.
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What to bring
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Bring a valid photo ID to match the name on your booking if requested at the entrance.
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Wear comfortable clothing and shoes suitable for walking.
What’s not allowed
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Alcoholic beverages, illegal drugs, and controlled substances may not be brought onto Museums Victoria premises.
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Smoking is not permitted at the venue.
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Food and drinks are not allowed in the exhibition areas.
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Pets are not permitted, except for registered assistance animals.
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Flash photography, tripods, and filming equipment are not allowed inside the exhibition spaces.
Accessibility
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The museum is wheelchair accessible, with ramps and elevators available throughout the building.
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Wheelchairs and mobility scooters (with a 130kg weight limit) are available free of charge at the ticket desk. It's recommended to book a wheelchair or mobility scooter by calling ahead of a visit.
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Accessible restrooms are available on site.
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For visitors with sensory sensitivities or those feeling overwhelmed, free sensory bags are available. These bags, containing noise reduction earmuffs, fidget tools, and a communication card, can be borrowed from and returned to the admissions desk in the entrance foyer.
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There are no hearing loops at the Immigration Museum.
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Guide dogs and other registered assistance dogs are welcome.
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On the first Saturday of every month (excluding Victorian school holidays), Immigration Museum offers low-sensory sessions for visitors who experience sensory sensitivity. Loud sound effects and music will be muted, and bright or flashing lights will be dimmed in all permanent exhibitions included with museum entry.
Additional information
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The museum is open daily from 10am to 5pm, and closed on Good Friday and Christmas Day.
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Your exhibition ticket grants entry for up to 30 minutes past your booked session time. If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, Museums Victoria reserves the right to refuse entry.
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Some exhibitions and special events may require a separate ticket; check the museum website for current details.
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First Peoples are advised that the site may contain voices, images, and names of people now passed and content of cultural significance.
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You may access online Museum at Home experiences with your ticket.
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All children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult at all times during your museum visit.
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Your voucher will be emailed to you shortly.
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Display the voucher on your mobile phone with a valid photo ID at the redemption point.
Ticket redemption point
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Show your ticket at Immigration Museum.
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Address: 400 Flinders St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia.
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