The Six Kinds of Australian Number
The ACMA, which manages Australia's numbering plan, lists six main types of phone number on its choose your phone number page. Five of them are useful to a business. The sixth, numbers starting 09, is reserved for internet of things devices.
| Type | Looks like | What it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic (local) | 02, 03, 07 or 08, then 8 digits | A landline style number tied to an area code. On a cloud phone system it rings anywhere, but callers read it as "this business is in Sydney" (or Melbourne, or Perth). |
| Mobile | 04, then 8 digits | A mobile service. Common for sole traders and tradies, because it is the number on the phone in their pocket. |
| Local rate | 1300 plus 6 digits, or 13 plus 4 digits | One national number. Calls from landlines cost about a local call. 13 numbers are the short, scarce version. |
| Freephone | 1800 plus 6 digits (or 180 plus 4) | One national number that is generally free to call. The business pays for the call. |
| Smartnumber | A memorable 13, 1300 or 1800 number | Patterns like 1300 222 222, or words spelled on the keypad such as 13 VETS. Bought from the ACMA, not your provider. |
A 1300 or 1800 number is an "inbound" number. It has no phone line of its own. It points at one you already have, whether that is a landline, a mobile or a cloud phone system, and the provider routes each call to wherever you tell it to. That is why the question is rarely "which one number", and usually "which number do we publish, and which do we call out from".
Who Pays When a Customer Calls
This is the part people get wrong most often, partly because the rules for mobiles have changed over the years. The ACMA's current guidance on call charges from mobile phones puts it simply:
- 1800 numbers are generally free to call. The ACMA notes that some mobile providers charge, so callers should check, but for most people on most plans a call to an 1800 number costs nothing. The business receiving the call pays for it instead, usually per minute.
- 13 and 1300 numbers from a mobile are either included in the caller's plan or charged at a fixed rate similar to a landline call. From a landline they cost about the same as a local call. The business usually pays a per minute charge as well, which is why these are called shared cost numbers.
- Local and mobile numbers are charged to the caller like any other call to that type of number. Most mobile plans in 2026 include unlimited standard national calls, so for the majority of callers a local or mobile number is effectively free.
That last point changes the old maths. When most calls came from landlines and calls to mobiles were expensive, a 1300 number genuinely saved interstate callers money. Now that most of your customers ring from a mobile with unlimited national calls, a local number usually costs them nothing either, while a 1300 number may be the one call that falls outside their plan. It is worth asking yourself whether the national number is doing a job for your callers, or only for your letterhead.
The cost lands somewhere
An 1800 number moves the cost of every call onto you, including the long ones. That is the right trade for a business whose customers would otherwise hesitate to call, such as a support line or a national sales line. It is an odd one for a local business whose customers ring for two minutes to book a time.
What Each Number Says About You
Before a customer hears your voice they have already read your number, and they draw conclusions from it. None of these are rules, but they are consistent enough to plan around.
Local number
Says "near you, with an address". It suits anyone whose customers prefer a nearby business: clinics, trades, venues, shops, professional practices. A Brisbane customer seeing an 07 number assumes you can be there today.
Mobile number
Says "you will get the owner". Customers like that for a small trade job. Some hesitate for larger work or anything that feels like it needs an office behind it.
1300 or 13
Says "established, national, organised". Good for businesses that serve the whole country or several cities. It can feel corporate for a one person business, and some callers do still avoid them because they are not sure what the call will cost.
1800
Says "we want you to call, and it is on us". Strong for national sales, support and anything where cost could stop someone ringing. It also hides your location, which helps an online business and hurts a local one.
There is a newer factor too. Australians have been trained by years of scam calls to be careful about who they answer. When you ring a customer back, a number they recognise from your website or invoice gets answered. A number they have never seen often does not. Our piece on why answer rates are falling goes into that in detail, and it leads straight into the next section.
The Caller ID Catch With 1300 and 1800
Here is the detail that surprises many owners who publish only a 1300 number. According to the ACMA, 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers cannot be used for caller ID overstamping. In plain terms, when you or your staff call a customer, the number on their screen can be a local or mobile number, but never your 1300 or 1800 number.
So a business that advertises 1300 000 000 everywhere and then calls customers back from an 02 number they have never seen has a problem: the customer does not recognise the call, and may not answer it. It also means a business with only a 1300 number has to have some other number to make outgoing calls from, whether or not it ever thought about it.
The fix is simple. Choose one local or mobile number as your outgoing caller ID, put it on your website and invoices alongside the 1300 or 1800 number, and point both at the same people. Customers learn both, and callbacks get answered.
Check what your staff are actually sending
If people call customers from personal mobiles, those customers now have a private number for your business, and you lose the relationship when that staff member leaves. A cloud phone app on the same mobile can present the business number instead.
Your Number on Google and Your Website
For many businesses, the number that matters most is the one in the Google Business Profile, because that is where a large share of calls now start. Google's own guidelines for representing your business ask for a local phone number instead of a central call centre helpline number whenever possible, and require that the number is under the business's direct control.
That does not make a 1300 number a breach. "Whenever possible" is guidance, not a ban, and plenty of profiles show 1300 numbers. But for a business that wants to appear in local results, a local number on the profile is the safer choice, and it matches what a nearby customer expects to see. If you have several sites, give each profile its own local number, so Google and your customers can tell the branches apart.
A few housekeeping rules help on the website as well:
- Show the same number everywhere: website header, contact page, Google Business Profile, directories, invoices, signage and the van. Inconsistent numbers confuse customers and look careless.
- Make it tappable on mobile. Most website visitors will call from the phone they are reading on.
- Write it the way Australians say it: 02 9000 0000, 1300 000 000, 0400 000 000.
- Pick a number you can keep for ten years, because every listing that carries it is work to change.
Smartnumbers and Phonewords
A smartnumber is a memorable 13, 1300 or 1800 number, either a numeric pattern like 1300 456 789 or a word spelled with the letters on the keypad. The ACMA's own examples are 13 VETS (13 8387) and 1300 FLIGHT (1300 354 448). They are sold by the ACMA through its numbering system, not by phone providers, and the ACMA's smartnumber page sets out how it works:
| ACMA classification | Based on | 13 number | 1300 or 1800 number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum | Numeric pattern | $16,000 | $20,000 |
| Diamond | Word value | $8,000 | $8,000 |
| Gold | Numeric pattern | $6,000 | $4,500 |
| Opal | Word value | $2,400 | $1,500 |
| Silver | Numeric pattern | $1,200 | $750 |
| Standard | Little or no pattern or word value | $400 | $250 |
Those are the allocation charges set by the 2025 numbering charges determination. On top of them there is a one off registration charge, an annual numbering charge, and no refunds, so the ACMA tells buyers to make sure they have the right number first. Auctions are a thing of the past: the last one was on 9 July 2015. Once you hold a smartnumber, you ask a provider to connect a service to it, and you keep the rights for as long as it stays connected, plus three years after it is disconnected. Holders can also trade a smartnumber or licence it to someone else.
Is one worth it? A phoneword earns its price when people need to remember the number without writing it down: radio ads, the side of a truck, a billboard. If customers mostly find you through Google and tap to call, memorability matters much less, and a standard number does the same job. Who holds the rights to a number, and why that matters when you leave a provider, is covered in our piece on the 1300 number rental trap.
Can You Take It With You?
Usually, yes. The ACMA's page on keeping or porting your phone number confirms that local numbers, mobile numbers, and 1800, 13 and 1300 numbers can usually be ported to a new provider. A few details are worth knowing before you print a number on anything permanent:
- Only active numbers port. If a number is disconnected it goes into quarantine for 6 to 12 months and you lose the rights to it. Never cancel the old service before the port completes.
- Timing differs by type. The ACMA says mobile ports usually take about 3 hours, single local numbers generally 8 to 15 days, and complex ports with several local numbers up to 30 days.
- Out of area local numbers depend on the provider. Some will let you keep a Melbourne 03 number after moving to Sydney. Ask before you sign.
- Whose name is on the account matters. The account holder has to authorise a port. If a former IT contractor or a reseller set the number up in their own name, sort that out first.
When you are ready to move, our guide to what goes wrong when switching provider covers the traps in order.
Which Number for Which Business
Here is how we would set up five common businesses. Treat these as starting points rather than rules. The right answer depends on where your callers are and how they find you.
| Business | Publish | Call out from | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tradie working one region | Local number, or the mobile customers already have | The same number | Customers want someone nearby who answers. One number on the van, Google and invoices, ringing the mobile app, keeps it simple. |
| Clinic or practice | Local number | The same local number | Patients search locally, Google prefers a local number, and recall and reminder calls get answered when they come from the number on the appointment card. |
| National online shop | 1800 for sales and support | A local number in your home city | No location to signal, customers everywhere, and a free call removes friction before a purchase. The local number covers callbacks. |
| Multi-site franchise | A local number per site, plus one 1300 or 13 number for head office or bookings | Each site's local number | Each Google profile gets its own local number; the national number routes callers to the nearest site or a central team. |
| Sole trader | One local or mobile number | The same number | Two numbers is one too many to manage alone. Keep a business number separate from your personal mobile, on the same handset. |
If you run a multi-site business, our guide to many locations on one phone system covers the routing. Sole traders setting up for the first time can follow putting a business number on your mobile.
How Many Numbers Do You Need?
Fewer than you think. Every extra number is another listing to keep accurate and another thing for customers to choose between. A sensible ceiling for most small businesses:
1
number to publish, everywhere, for a business serving one area
2
numbers at most for a national business: one inbound, one for caller ID
+1
local number per site, for businesses with more than one location
There are good reasons to add more. A separate number on a single advertising campaign tells you whether the campaign produced calls. A direct line for accounts keeps billing questions away from reception. But add them on purpose, and point every one at a call flow you have actually designed, rather than letting them accumulate. If your numbers already ring in confusing places, a call flow audit is the quickest way to straighten them out.
If you are starting a business, choose the number before you print anything. It is one of the decisions that is cheap now and expensive later, alongside the others in our piece on getting the hard to change things right after your ABN.
One System, Every Number
On an old landline system, each number was a line in the wall, and each one rang where it was plugged in. On a cloud phone system the number is just an address. A local number, a 1300 number and an 1800 number can all ring the same people, follow the same business hours, play the same menu and fall back to the same voicemail, which then lands in your email.
That is how VOCPhone is set up. Every user gets a local number, the desktop and mobile apps, smart routing, IVR menus, call queues, voicemail to email and business SMS, so the number a customer rings and the number they see when you call back can be the same one, on whatever device you are using. You can add 1300, 1800 and 13 numbers on top and route them through the same flows. Ask us for current pricing on those, because it depends on the number and the call volumes.
Plans start from $84.90 a month with three users included on a 36 month term, then $30 for each additional user, or $104.90 a month with no lock-in. Setup is $0 and porting your existing numbers is $0, and we will price match a like for like quote. We are Australian owned, we run our own network hosted in Australia, and we have been keeping Australian businesses talking for more than 15 years. If you want to know how to get a new 1300 or 1800 number set up, our step by step guide covers it.
Prefer to see the numbers first? Check the full VOCPhone pricing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a 1300 and an 1800 number?
Both are national numbers that point at whatever phones you choose, and both can usually be ported between providers. The difference is who pays. Calls to an 1800 number are generally free for the caller, including from most mobiles, and the business pays for the call. Calls to a 1300 number cost a landline caller about the same as a local call, and from a mobile they are either included in the caller's plan or charged at a fixed rate, while the business usually pays a per minute charge too. Choose 1800 when you want nothing to stop a customer calling, such as a national sales or support line. Choose 1300 when you want one national number and are happy to share the cost.
Is a local number or a 1300 number better for a small business?
For most small businesses that serve one city or region, a local number is the better choice. It tells callers you are nearby, it can be used as your caller ID when you ring customers back, and Google's Business Profile guidelines ask for a local number instead of a central helpline number whenever possible. Most mobile plans now include unlimited national calls, so a local number costs most callers nothing. A 1300 number makes more sense when you serve customers across several states or want one number for several sites.
Are 1800 numbers free to call from a mobile?
Generally, yes. The ACMA's guidance is that calls to 18 and 1800 numbers are generally free, but notes that some mobile providers charge for them, so callers should check their own plan. For the business, an 1800 number means you pay for each inbound call, usually per minute, so it suits lines where removing any cost for the caller is worth paying for.
Can I use my 1300 number as caller ID?
No. The ACMA states that 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers cannot be used for caller ID overstamping, so they can never appear on a customer's screen when you call them. Outgoing calls have to show a local or mobile number. The practical fix is to choose one local or mobile number as your caller ID, publish it alongside your 1300 or 1800 number, and point both at the same people, so customers recognise your callbacks.
How much does a smartnumber or phoneword cost?
Smartnumbers are sold by the ACMA, not by phone providers. The allocation charge depends on how memorable the number is: from $250 for a standard 1300 or 1800 smartnumber and $400 for a standard 13 number, up to $20,000 for a platinum 1300 or 1800 number and $16,000 for a platinum 13 number. There is also a one off registration charge and an annual numbering charge, and no refunds. Once you hold it, you ask a provider to connect a service to it, and your phone provider charges separately for that.
Can I keep my business number if I change provider?
Usually. The ACMA says local, mobile, 1300, 13 and 1800 numbers can usually be ported to a new provider. Mobile ports typically take around 3 hours, single local numbers 8 to 15 days, and more complex ports up to 30 days. Keep the old service active until the port completes, because a disconnected number goes into quarantine for 6 to 12 months and cannot be ported. Some providers can also take an out of area local number, such as keeping a Melbourne number after moving to Sydney, so ask before you sign.
