Calling within
Australia
Public phones are easy to find nearly
everywhere you go in Australia.
- Local calls made from phone booths
cost $0.40 and are untimed. Note that you will not
get change if you insert more than a call costs.
Public phones (often small blue- or orange-coloured
boxes) can also sometimes be found in select bars
and hotels; note that local calls placed on these
often cost $0.50.
- Long-distance calls within Australia
use STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) services... You
must first dial an area code before the eight-digit
number... (02) for NSW, (03) for VIC and TAS, (08)
for SA, WA and the NT, and (07) for QLD, although
anomalies occur in VIC/NSW/QLD state border areas.
Australia has two main telecommunications companies:
Optus and Telstra... Telstra operates the local market
and much of the long distance facility. Optus concentrates
on mobile phone service and long distance. Most phone
cards have a toll-free access telephone number and
personal identification number (PIN), though some are
designed to be inserted into the phone... As phone
cards grow in popularity, so do the number of booths
accepting cards only. Therefore, if heading to a remote
area, it might be best to have both types of cards.
A few public phones (at airports, city centre locations,
and major hotels) will take credit cards. For directory assistance, you can
call toll-free 013. Six digit phone numbers beginning
with 13 are information numbers that can be dialled
from anywhere in Australia for the price of a local
call. Numbers beginning with 1300 operate
similarly. Numbers beginning with 1800 or 0800 are
toll-free. Mobile phones
Mobile phones are available for rent, or bring your
mobile phone with you. Australia's mobile network operates
on the 900 and 1800 bands for GSM and 800 for CDMA.
Contact your telecommunications carrier for activating
international roaming while you are visiting Australia.
Calling
to Australia
The country code for Australia is 61. When you dial
an Australian number from overseas, if you see a
zero before the STD code, ignore it. After your country's
international access code, dial 61 then the STD code
followed by the phone number. e.g. 02 1234 5678 becomes
61 + 2 + 1234 5678
Calling from Australia
A calling card is probably your cheapest
option. You can frequently call collect without even
possessing a company’s calling card just by calling
their access number and following the instructions...
Prepaid calling cards from Australian phone companies
are often sold at newsstands and grocery stores.
If you wish to make an international call from within
Australia, follow the instructions provided or simply
dial 0011 then the country code, area code and the
local number. You can make reverse charge, person to
person and point to point calls via the operator for
an extra charge to most countries. You can usually make direct international calls from
pay phones in Australia but if you're not using a calling
card make sure you have a ready supply of coins...
Prepaid phone cards and occasionally major credit cards
can be used for direct international calls as well,
but they tend to be less cost effective... In-room
hotel calls invariably include an arbitrary and high
surcharge. The expensive alternative to dialling direct or using
a calling card is using an international operator to
place a collect call. In an emergency, though, this
is sometimes the only way to reach home. Email & internet
Most of the larger Australian cities have internet
shops that also offer discounted international calling.
In addition, virtually all public libraries now offer
free access to the web, though sometimes you are restricted
from checking email or must have prior reservation.
Australia uses RJ-45 telephone plugs and Telstra Exicom-610
six pin plugs. If your connection is not correct go
to a local electronic shop. Also check that your PC-card
modem is suitable in Australia. An easy way to access
internet and email is via one of the many free web-based
email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo. Sending mail from Australia
Post offices are usually open 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday
to Friday with some city post offices open on Saturday
morning. Stamps are usually available from hotels and
motels and selected retail outlets.
- Air mail:...is the best way to
send mail home
- Aerogrammes:... printed sheets
that fold into envelopes and travel via air mail.
These are available at post offices. Write "par
avion" or "air mail" on the front.
- Surface mail:... is the cheapest
but slowest way to send mail. It takes one to two
months to cross the Atlantic and two to three across
the Pacific - ok for items you won't need to see
for a while, such as souvenirs or other articles
you've acquired along the way.
The Australia Post website (www.auspost.com)
has a postage calculator for international deliveries.
Sending mail to Australia
Mark envelopes "air mail" or "par avion" or
your letter or postcard will take forever to arrive.
In addition to the standard postage system, Federal
Express handles mail services from the following countries
to Australia. They can get a letter from New York to
Sydney in three business days.
Federal express contact numbers:
- Australia - 13 26 10
- US & Canada - 800 247 4747
- New Zealand - 0800 73 33 39
- United Kingdom - 0800 12 38 00
- www.fedex.com
Receiving mail in Australia
There are several ways to arrange pick-up of letters
sent to you by friends and relatives while you are
abroad. Mail can be sent fairly reliably via Poste
Restante (general delivery) to almost any city or town
in Australia with a post office. Address Poste Restante
letters like so:
John Smith
C/-Poste Restante
City State
Postcode
The mail will go to a special desk in the central
post office unless you specify a post office by street
address... Mail can be redirected for a small charge.
It's best to use the largest post office, since the
mail may be sent there regardless. Bring passport (or
other photo ID) for pick-up. |
