Telephone numbers in Australia


The Australian telephone numbering plan describes the allocation of phone numbers in Australia. It has changed many times, the most recent major reorganisation by the Australian Communications and Media Authority taking place between 1994 and 1998.

Overview

For landline telephony, Australia is now geographically divided into four large areas, most of which cover more than one State and/or Territory. All "Local" telephone numbers within these four areas are of eight digits, consisting of a four digit "Exchange" code plus a four digit number. The "National 'Significant' Number" consists of a single digit "Area" code followed by the "Local" eight digit number – a total of nine digits. Within Australia, to access the "Number" of a landline telephone in an "Area" other than that in which the caller is located, firstly it is necessary to dial the Australian "Trunk Access Code" of 0 plus the "Area" code, followed by the "Local" Number. Thus, the "Full National Number" has ten digits: 0x xxxx xxxx.
The current numbering plan would appear to be sufficient to cope with potential increase in demand for services for quite some time to come. The 06 and 09 area codes are completely unused. In addition, each current area code has large number "ranges" unallocated.
When dialling from outside Australia, after dialling the appropriate International Access Code it is necessary to dial the Country Code for Australia followed by the nine digit "National 'Significant' Number".. Some numbers beginning with a 1 may be dialled without any replacement, after dialling the required International Access Code and the Country Code for Australia.
Australian "Local Area" numbers are of eight digits in length, conventionally written in the form xxxx xxxx. "Mobile" numbers are written in the form of ten digits in length since, when dialed within Australia, the Trunk Access Code 0 must be included, plus 4, which indicates the Service required is a "Mobile" number. Mobile numbers are conventionally written 04xx xxx xxx. If a landline or mobile number is written where it may be viewed by an international audience then the number is often written as +61 x xxxx xxxx or +61 4xx xxx xxx respectively.

Geographic numbers

Fixed line telephone numbers in Australia
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In major centres, the first four digits specify the CCA, and the remaining digits specify a number at that exchange, up to 10,000 of which may be connected. Smaller Exchanges in more remote areas may mean that no more than 1,000 or 100 numbers respectively could be connected to such exchanges.
To access numbers in the same area, it is necessary only to dial the eight digits concerned. To access a number in another "Area" it is necessary firstly to dial the "Trunk Access Code" of 0, followed by the area code and then the specific "Local" number.
The area codes do not exactly match State/Territory boundaries. Notable are the part of New South Wales around Broken Hill, which uses 80xx numbers, and Wodonga, which is in Victoria but is within the New South Wales ' area code. Similarly NSW border towns including Deniliquin and Buronga are within the South East ' area code. Physical exchanges can be allocated one or more prefixes and modern technology allows sub-sets of these number ranges to be allocated to switching entities physically located at a distance from the "exchange" in which their controlling computer is located.
Landlines use an open dialling plan: if the caller's phone shares the same area code as the called phone, the area code may be omitted. For example, a call from the number 5551 5678, to the number 7010 1111, will be connected if the caller dials only 7010 1111. Similarly, a person who dials 7010 5678 on a land-line or mobile phone in Melbourne will be connected to 03 7010 5678. For this reason, landline numbers are often specified without the area code. If a person's number and the destination number share the same area code, then the area code is not required, even if it is not a "local" call.
However, the "Full National Number" may always be dialled. In fact, the full "International Number" may always be dialled, since the Australian telephone network has the "intelligence" to recognise when the destination required is either "International", in a different "National" area or within the "Local" area and to switch and charge the call accordingly. Thus, it is strongly recommended that telephone numbers should be stored in mobile phones in the form of the full "International Number", should the owner of the phone be likely to use the phone concerned in an area away from "home", either within Australia or internationally.

Mobile phones

Within Australia, mobile phone numbers begin with 04 or 05 – the Australian National "Trunk Access Code" 0, plus the Mobile indicator 4 or 5 – followed by eight digits. This is generally written as 04aa bbb ccc or 04aa bb cc dd within Australia, or as +61 4aa bbb ccc for an international audience. Whilst this format may be viewed as incorrect, it is the result of mobile carriers advertising numbers in such a way so as to clearly identify the owning telco prior to mobile number portability, introduced on 25 September 2001. Prior to MNP, mobile operators generally reserved number ranges in blocks of 04aa.
The y-digit codes are allocated per network, although with the introduction of number portability, there is no longer a fixed relationship between the mobile phone number and the network it uses.
In 2015 the 05 prefix was also reserved for Digital Mobile Phones as a part of the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015. However, as of 2019 there have been no numbers allocated with this prefix.
Within Australia, mobile numbers must always be dialled with all 10 digits, regardless of the caller's location.

Geographic numbers

Geographical areas are identified by the first few digits of the local number:

Central East region (02)

Mobile phone numbers (04, 05)

Each mobile phone company is allocated numbers in blocks, which are listed below. However mobile number portability means an individual number might have been "ported". There are also many MVNOs which use numbers from their wholesaler or might have their own ranges. A search function is also available .
ACMA planned to introduce the "05" range for mobile numbers in 2017, when the "04" range was expected to be exhausted. So far, no such numbers have been introduced.
MultiRangeProvider
042000420 000 000 – 0420 019 999Rail Corporation New South Wales
042000420 020 000 – 0420 029 999Dialogue Communications Pty Limited
042000420 030 000 – 0420 039 999Symbio Network Pty Ltd
042000420 040 000 – 0420 089 999Spare
042000420 090 000 – 0420 099 999CLX
042010420 100 000 – 0420 109 999Pivotel Satellite Pty Limited
042010420 110 000 – 0420 119 999COMPATEL Limited
042010420 120 000 – 0420 199 999Spare
044450444 500 000 – 0444 599 999MBLOX
048880488 800 000 – 0488 899 999Pivotel
048900489 000 000 – 0489 099 999Novatel Telephony Pty Ltd
048980489 800 000 – 0489 839 999Spare
048980489 840 000 – 0489 849 999Victorian Rail Track
048980489 850 000 – 0489 899 999Spare
048990489 900 000 – 0489 999 999Pivotel
049150491 500 000 – 0491 569 999Spare
049150491 570 000 – 0491 579 999ACMA
049150491 580 000 – 0491 599 999Spare

The numbers 0491 570 156, 0491 570 157, 0491 570 158, 0491 570 159 and 0491 570 110 are reserved for fictitious use.

Satellite phone numbers (014)

Numbers beginning with 014 are predominantly used for satellite services. Parts of the 014 prefix had previously been used as a 9 digit, AMPS mobile phone access code.
The 01471 prefix is the ten-digit replacement for the previous, nine-digit ITERRA satellite phone code 0071 xxxxx. Prior to its use for ITERRA. These numbers were allocated in March 1999.
0145xxxxxx numbers are used for services utilised on the Optus network in Australia. This is predominantly used for MobileSat and Thuraya mobile satellite services. These numbers were allocated in December 1992: 222,000 with the rest "spare".
The prefixes 0141, 0142, 0143, 0145 and 0147 are set aside for satellite systems; the rest of the 014 prefix range is currently not allocated to any other service type. There is not a lot of demand for these services, and many satellite phones now have normal mobile phone numbers, so it is not likely for the entire 014 range to be allocated to satellite services.

Location independent communications service (0550)

These numbers are designed for VoIP systems, where they work like a fixed number but not allocated on a geographical level. It is possible that LICS numbers will be absorbed into mobile numbers in the future, as they provide similar features. Indeed, the July 2012 variation of the numbering plan allocated the rest of the 05 range to digital mobile numbering.

Data numbers (0198)

All calls to 0198 numbers are a "local call" cost like 13 and 1300 numbers but are used for Internet service provider access numbers. They are used both with dial-up modems and ISDN. e.g. 0198 308 888 is the dial-up PoP number for Telstra Internet

Obsolete numbers

Most numbers that are no longer used have been removed from the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2015, whether in previous variations or in this complete replacement.
However, the 0163 prefix is still allocated for use with pagers. This was reduced from 016 in a variation to the previous numbering plan. As of March 2011 only 1000 numbers were allocated, and by the end of 2012 there were none allocated.

Non-geographic numbers (domestic use)

The following codes are not generally dialable from international points, but used in domestic dialling:
Some notes:
000 is the primary emergency telephone number in Australia. Secondary emergency numbers are 106 and the international GSM mobile emergency telephone number 112.
Increased in Australia has led to the potential for confusion over which number to call in an emergency. As a secondary emergency number, 112 is not guaranteed to work from all technologies; most notably, it does not work from landlines. In order to encourage use of 000, mobile telephones imported commercially into Australia are required to be programmed to treat 000 in the same fashion as 112. On older or privately imported telephones, 000 may not receive such preferential treatment.
A proposed amendment to the Telecommunications Act 1999 would prevent carriers from providing emergency services access to SIM-less devices, i.e. mobile telephones that do not have a SIM installed.

Local Rate and FreeCall numbers (13, 180)

Australia uses the free call prefix 1800 for 10 digit freecall numbers. This is similar to the North American or NANPA prefix 1–800, but while in North America, the 1 is the long-distance or toll prefix and 800 is the area code; 1800 in Australia is itself a "virtual area code". There are also seven digit freecall numbers beginning with 180 – the only numbers currently allocated begin with 1802.
The 13 and 1300 numbers are known as Local Rate Numbers or SmartNumbers. They are also known as priority 13, and priority 1300 numbers. These work across large areas and charge the caller only a low cost, routing the call to the appropriate place in a given area. For example, a company could have the number 139999 and have the telephone company set it up so that calls made in Melbourne would route to their Melbourne number, calls made in Brisbane to their Brisbane number, and calls made anywhere else in Australia route to their Sydney number, all at a local charge cost to the caller. 13 numbers were not available before the introduction of the current 8-digit local numbering plan. Businesses looking for local callers tend to connect to a "1300" number. Note that these numbers are called "Local Rate" and not "Local" numbers, so do not necessarily cost the same as a local call: Indeed, many phone plans do not even include them in the "included" credit and/or charge them at a higher rate than "normal" numbers.
Though promoted as "local call rate" calls, calls to 13 and 1300 numbers cost more than a local call fee for those people using VoIP and having all local and national calls free.
1800, 1300 and 13 numbers are reverse charge networks. Other than the length of the number, the differences between a 13 number and a 1300 number is that the shorter number has a higher fee for the owner of the number: there should be no difference in cost to the caller. A call to an 1800 is free when dialled from a landline, and mobile phones since 2014. It depends on the individual mobile plan as how 13 and 1300 numbers are charged: all plans no longer charge for 1800 but 13 and 1300 may still be charged at a high rate, or outside included calls.
These numbers "forward" to a geographic or mobile number. The recipient is usually charged at a set rate per second for each call, depending on plan and destination.

Premium numbers (19)

190x is the prefix for premium rate services. 190 numbers incur a rate as charged by the provider – either at a per-minute rate or a fixed rate. The latter method is most often used for fax-back services, where a timed charge is not appropriate. Costs of 190 calls for competitions involving chance are also often limited by state legislation to $0.55 per call.
Other numbers beginning with 19 are used for premium-rate SMS services. These were originally trialled using the 188 prefix. These can range from a standard SMS cost, up to 55c for competition use, to several dollars for other uses, such as unique bid auctions.

International access

Default (0011)

The main international prefix is 0011.

Others

There are other codes for using a non-default carrier or a special plan:
However, carrier selection codes are now also used, and carrier pre-selection is widely used.

Override prefixes/Carrier Codes

Provider override codes (14)

These four-digit numbers are dialled before the destination number to complete and bill a call by a carrier other than the subscriber's service provider. For example, to use AAPT to call a number in Tokyo, Japan, subscribers would dial 1414 0011 81 3 xxxx xxxx, or to use Optus to call a number in Perth they would dial 1456 08 xxxx xxxx. It is not clear if all these prefixes will actually work.
Unlike the feature codes below, these caller-id prefixes work with all/most carriers.

Other numbers and codes

Feature codes – Telstra

These codes are only true for Telstra-infrastructure based landline phones

2010s

A lot of old numbers were officially removed from the Telecommunications Numbering Plan in the 2015 version, whether in the replacement version or a previous variation.
0055 numbers were previously premium-rate numbers, but have been moved into 190 numbers before 1999.
The original toll-free area code was 008, but the format was changed to 1800.
Directory assistance used various numbers: 013 for local calls, 0175 for other national calls, and 0103 for international. The two domestic numbers have been replaced with 1223, while 0103 has been replaced with 1225. Other numbers for directory assistance, often with a call connection option, exist depending on the carrier.
0011 was initially the code for the operator, which later became the international exit code.
014 was originally the number for the time,, which was changed to 1194 in 1976.
0176 was previously the reverse-charge call operator, which has been moved to 12550. Alternatively 3rd-party companies exist. See Collect call#Australia

1960s

Up to this time, the maximum size of an Australian telephone number was six digits.
Until the early 1960s, the first one or two digits of telephone numbers in metropolitan areas were alphabetic, with each letter representing a distinct number on the telephone dial. Each one-letter or two-letter code signified an exchange within an urban area. Rural and regional areas typically relied on manual exchanges, or only one automatic exchange for the whole town, so rural and regional numbers did not feature these letter prefixes. The use of a letter-number combination also served as a memory aid as it was easier to remember than a string of digits in the days when such things were not as common.
Unlike the three letters associated with each of the numbers on the dials of telephones of the UK Director telephone system, which was used in London and other large British cities, Australia used a system of letters associated with the ten digits available on a telephone dial, where each of these letters were chosen because their "name" could not be confused with any of the other nine letters of the English/Latin alphabet which were also used.
Since the initial digits of 1 and 0 were not used, this gave the telephone company concerned up to 8 regions with main exchanges and up to ten sub-exchanges in each metropolitan area – a total of up to 80 individual exchanges of 10,000 numbers in each with up to only 800,000 individual "numbers" in any metropolitan area concerned. This limited capacity led to the need for a seven- or eight-digit numbering system, to allow for more "numbers" within a given area.
Because of the growth of the telephone network, Australia now has eight-digit telephone numbers within four areas.
Please note that this former alphanumeric scheme was significantly different from the current system used for SMS messages.
The former alphanumeric scheme was:
The letters did not relate to any exchange name. For example, the exchange prefix for Essendon was FU. Although Melbourne city numbers began with 6, it was only rarely, and probably by accident, that any other exchanges had matching letters. Numbers using the old alphanumeric scheme were written as ab.xxxx, for example FU 1234 or MW 5550. Seven-digit numbers started appearing as early as 1960, and were all numerical from the start. There were still some six-digit numbers and at least one five-digit number in Melbourne as late as 1989, but by the 1990s, they all had been converted to seven-digit numbers. Footscray used six-digit numbers in exchange code 68 until 1987, when they were changed to 687 or 689.
The old call back number was 199, and could be used on public payphones, and private numbers too. This has been moved to a new number 12722199.