The public transport smartcard will be available on the line, which runs from Central to Dulwich Hill, from Monday, December 1, well ahead of the government's previously scheduled start date of early 2015.

The Opal card will also offer a different fare structure than the paper tickets, which will continue to be sold.

Individual fares will be cheaper using the Opal card, while the "zones" used to calculate fares will also change for the card.

A journey of less than three kilometres will cost $2.10 for an adult under the Opal card; the same as the bus fares are calculated.

A journey of between three and eight kilometres will cost $3.50 for an adult under the Opal card.

"From next week, light rail customers will be able to tap on and tap off services from 23 stops between Dulwich Hill and Central and interchange seamlessly on trains, ferries and buses," Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian said.

"This government allowed pensioners and concession holders to take advantage of discount travel on light rail for the first time, and now everyone will be able to use their Opal card on light rail services,"  she said.

Paper tickets sold on light rail vehicles will retain different fare bands. Under this system, there are two zones for light rail travellers: one between Central and the Convention Centre and a second, longer zone between Pyrmont Bay and Dulwich Hill.

Under the Opal pricing policy, an adult travelling between Glebe and Central will pay $2.10, compared with $4.60 under paper tickets.

Opal fares on light rail are scheduled to change again in 2019, when the planned light rail line between Circular Quay and the eastern suburbs begins. From 2019, people changing between a bus and a light rail vehicle will be charged for one trip. However, this fare structure will not be in place in the inner west until the eastern suburbs line opens.