World Telephone Numbering Guide

Updated 21 November 2005

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Australia

+61

Number Format

Area Code:            1 digit [see note]
Subscriber Number:    8 digits [see note]
Trunk Prefix:         0
International Prefix: 0011

Note: special numbers can have total national number length from 5 to 15 digits.

Area code information

1 July 2005 - telecom regulator merged to new authorith

ABA (Australian Broadcasting Authority) and ACA (Australian Communications Authority) were merged to form Australian Communications Media Authority (ACMA) on 1 July 2005.

(report courtesy Sergui Rosenzweig).

February 2005 - exceptions to 9-digit national numbers

Calling into Australian numbers normally requires 9 digits following the international prefix and country code +61.

Exceptions to 9-digit rule (most of these numbers are not reachable from other nations except some Incoming international access numbers):

Number range             Service
============             =======
+61 10 xxxxx(xxxxxxxxxx) Incoming international - Telstra [5-15 digits]
+61 12 xxxxx(xxxxxxxxxx) Incoming international - Optus [5-15 digits]
+61 13 xxxxxx(xxxx)      Local rate
+61 1800xxxxxx           freephone
+61 1801xxxx             Telstra customer assistance
+61 1900xxxxxx           premium rate - no international access
+61 1901xxxxxx           carriage service (restricted access/premium rate)
+61 1902xxxxxx           premium rate
+61 1906xxxxxx           carriage service (premium/paging)
+61 2001                 Incoming international - assistance operator (Code 11)
+61 2002                 Incoming international - delay operator (Code 12)
+61 2003                 Incoming international - directory enquires

Only PowerTel provides international access to the 1800xxxxxx freephone service. All these other services listed have no access from outside Australia.

Source: ACA announcement (8 February 2005, via ITU, no longer online).

Completed 1999 : national renumbering

Australia completed its national telephone numbering plan restructuring for geographic numbers. There were changes expected to be completed for certain services such as operator, calling card and satellite. All geographic telephone numbers in Australia are now a standard single-digit area code followed by an 8-digit subscriber number.

Geoff Dyer has information on Australian 8-digit numbering (website as of June 2004).

The Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997 took effect 31 December 1997 under the auspices of the Australian Communications Authority (now ACMA).

For other details, see:

ACMA Telephone Numbering and Number Portability Index.

ACMA numbering plan information.

ACA News Releases, including numbering topics.

(Note: the ACA was formed from Austel and another Australian government agency July 1997. Some numbering information was released by Austel until the formation of the ACA.)

(Corrected information courtesy Vince Humphries, ACA).

Other information

Regulator is ACMA (formerly ACA).

Telecommunications Numbering Plan 1997 from the former ACA (PDF)

Current Australian numbering plan laws and regulations are available via Australian law site (Comlaw).

ACMA register of allocated numbers

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