Australian Phone Area Codes by State: The Complete Guide

What are the four Australian area codes?

Australia's geographic phone numbering plan uses four two-digit area codes, each covering an entire state or group of states. They were introduced in the 1990s when the previous local numbering scheme was retired and standardised under the ACMA Telecommunications Numbering Plan.

Every Australian landline number is 10 digits long, starting with one of these four area codes followed by an 8-digit local number. So 02 9123 4567 is a Sydney number, and 07 3123 4567 is a Brisbane number.

The reason this matters for any business spending on marketing: the area code on the number you publish is itself a trust signal. A Perth buyer dialling an 02 number on a website knows the business is not local. That changes whether they pick up the phone. The fix is not to pick one national number, it is to publish the right area code to the right buyer. Gibson does that automatically through call tracking.

Which states does each area code cover?

Each Australian area code covers a region rather than a single city. Here is the complete map.

• 02 covers New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory. Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Canberra, and all NSW regional towns share this code.
• 03 covers Victoria and Tasmania. Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Hobart, and Launceston all use 03.
• 07 covers Queensland only. Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Townsville, and all regional QLD towns use 07.
• 08 covers Western Australia, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, and Alice Springs share this code.

Why does the area code on your advertising matter?

The single most common phone-numbering mistake an Australian business makes is publishing one 1300 number across the country and assuming the area code does not matter. It does. Trust signals matter. A Sydney buyer is more likely to call an 02 number on a Sydney ad than a 1300 number on the same ad, because the 02 says local. A Perth buyer is more likely to call an 08 number than a 1300 number on a Perth ad, for the same reason. Through call tracking, the same business can publish different area codes to different audiences, all routing back to the same line. The buyer never knows.

“The right area code is not about where your business is. It is about where your buyer is.”

How is 1300 different from 1800?

1300 and 1800 numbers are non-geographic. They do not belong to a state. They route to whichever business owns the number, regardless of where the caller is dialling from.

“1800 numbers are free for the caller. 1300 numbers cost the caller the price of a local call. Both cost the business per call received.”

What about mobile numbers?

All Australian mobile numbers start with 04. They are not tied to a geographic area code. A Perth mobile and a Sydney mobile both start with 04. The mobile number itself is portable, so a Melbourne person who moves to Brisbane keeps their original 04 number.

Can a business use any area code for marketing?

Yes, and most national businesses should. Through call tracking, a single business can publish a different geographic area code to each region, with every call routing back to the same line. A Brisbane plumber advertising in Sydney publishes an 02 number on the Sydney ads. A national franchise publishes 02 in NSW ads, 03 in VIC ads, 07 in QLD ads, and 08 in WA, SA, and NT ads. Same head office, four local numbers. The same approach works for AI-engine traffic: a dedicated tracked number on each page that ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Google AI Overviews cites lets you attribute the calls back to the AI source. None of this requires changes to your existing phone system. Gibson provisions the numbers, installs the swap script on your website, and connects the routing.

• Sydney campaign → 02 9xxx xxxx tracked number → routes to your real line
• Melbourne campaign → 03 9xxx xxxx tracked number → routes to your real line
• Brisbane campaign → 07 3xxx xxxx tracked number → routes to your real line
• Perth campaign → 08 9xxx xxxx tracked number → routes to your real line

What is the right number range for my Australian business?

Three rules of thumb apply for most Australian operators. First, geographic numbers (02, 03, 07, 08) signal local presence and tend to outperform 1300 and 1800 numbers in regional and trade markets. Second, 1300 numbers signal a national business and are common for service providers operating across multiple states, particularly enterprise software, professional services, and franchise head offices. Third, 1800 numbers signal customer service or enquiries where call cost is itself a barrier (free for them, you pay per call), typically for returns lines, warranty claims, and B2C support. The strongest setup, for any business with more than one state's worth of advertising spend, is a combination: geographic tracked numbers for each region's ads, plus a 1300 or 1800 for general national branding. Gibson configures this from a single $99/mo tiered package.

How fast can I get tracked numbers in different area codes?

Three business days for new geographic tracked numbers in any area code, including 02, 03, 07, 08, plus 1300 and 1800 ranges. Five business days end-to-end including dynamic number insertion on your website and CRM webhook integration. No setup fee. No lock-in. Gibson runs the entire setup remotely. If you want to see what numbers across each area code look like for your specific marketing mix, the free 15-minute call audit shows exactly that, with findings delivered within 24 hours.

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