How to make a phone call in Australia

Telephone is one of the basic means of communication these days. While you land in Australia one of the first thing you need is telephone, to contact your friends and families. If you bought your mobile phone with you, you could connect it to internet in the airport you land. All Australian airports offer free internet services. And, to call back home you will find telephone booth.

Australia has variety of technologies and services available to keep people connected and communicating with each other. There are different mobile phone services, basic telephone services, internet service providers offering best connectivity with minimum charge. You can find public telephone booths almost every corner of the country, a fixed-line phone (or landline), a payphone or your mobile phone all give you reliable connection in Australia. 

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Australia Country Code

Country code for Australia is 61. If you need to call an Australian telephone number from overseas, you need to dial 061 or +61 then Australian number. When you use Australian country code +61 you need to remove first 0 from mobile number as well as fixed line number.

Example: usually Australian mobile number starts with 04 and fixed line number 02 if you are calling from overseas you need to dial +61 4XXXXXXX for mobile and +61 2XXXXXXXX for fixed line.

How to make a phone call in Australia? 

 Making a phone call in Australia is similar to another countries. You need to know local area code and dialling rules.

 Australian phone numbers   

 Australia has different phone number allocation based on services and area. Some began with 13 some 18 and some with 0. It depends on service:

Toll free numbers

Australia has toll free numbers which business and other organisation offer expecting more calls and feedback from customers. Such toll-free number has prefix number 18 or 1800. You wouldn’t charged to call on these numbers. (Some mobile phone provider companies my charge for these numbers, you should check)

13/1300 Numbers

You would see many businesses using phone numbers starting with 13 or 1300. While you make a call to these numbers often you will be charged similar to local call cost. For those numbers some mobile phone service providers may charge higher.

Premium numbers

There are numbers prefix with 190, they are premium numbers. These numbers are used for recorded information, competition lines. Call or text to such numbers often charge higher price.

Australian mobile numbers

Australian mobile numbers usually start with 04.

Australian landline numbers   

Australian landline or fixed phone number has prefix of 02,03,07 or 08. These are area codes. Area codes are based on geographical location.

Local Area code	Australian Region	State or territory using the code
02	Central East	New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory
03	South East	Victoria, Tasmania
04	Mobile telephones	Australia-wide
07	North East	Queensland
08	Central and West	Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory

 While calling a number that does not begin with 13, 1300, or 1800, follow these steps: 

 The area code must be entered first and then the number if you are calling from Australia. For example, dial area code 02 (for Sydney) and call Sydney from Melbourne.  

 When calling from outside Australia: 

• Using a landline, dial the international dialling code for the country you are calling from, followed by the Australian prefix 61, the area code without the 0, and then the number you wish to dial.  

• When using a mobile phone, you need to dial +61 followed by the area code without the 0 followed by the number.  

• The +61 international dialling code is used to call an Australian mobile number; the number should be dialled without the area code, followed by the number. 

• The 0011 is Australia's international dialling code for calls to international numbers.

The phone numbers that have the same area code do not require the area code. A mobile phone call from one mobile phone to another does not require an area code. 

Phone Cost in Australia

Cost of a phone call depends on the type of phone service you are using, the telephone service provider you in, and the phone plan you choose. You should check critical information summary before you buy a telecom product, services, and plan. 

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Emergency Contact in Australia

If you are in Australia and need emergency help from police, ambulance or fire brigade 000 triple zero is the contact you should ring.  

 Australian telephone directory  

Similar to your home country Australia also has telephone directories to help find phone numbers of businesses and services. Telephone directories help business to reach potential customers and people to find services they need.

Australian telephone directories are divided into two main categories. The Yellow Pages include a listing of businesses, such as shops and merchants, with information about their services and products. Residents and businesses are listed in the White Pages by name in an alphabetic order.

Every household receives a free copy of directory. These directories can be obtained from the post office or the library. Online, you can access the Yellow Pages and the White Pages or call Directory Assistance on 1223 (free call).  

 

Most Asked Questions and Answers  

 1.    What is the Australian country code?

+61 is country code for Australia. If you are calling Australia from overseas, you need to dial country code at first.

 2.    Does Australian cities have STD codes or Local Area Codes?

Yes, Australian cities and states has their own local area codes. 02, 03, 04, 07, and 08 are Australian local area codes. These are based on geography.

 3.    What is yellow page?

 Yellow Page is an Australia-wide classified telephone directory. It enlists businesses with address and phone numbers.

 4.    What is White Pages?

 White Pages is Australian telephone directory which enlists people and businesses on alphabetical order. This helps to find person and business easily.  

 5.    What is the emergency contact number in Australia?

 000 Triple Zero is the number you should dial in case of emergency. This phone no connects police, ambulance, and fire brigade in case of emergency.