Call charges from landlines

Telcos must give you the option of a fixed cost for local calls, no matter how long the call.

They may offer you:

• calls between capital cities as part of your monthly cost
• free calls to some numbers at certain times of the day

We don't set call charges so contact your telco with any questions. The rates they charge depend on:

• what type of phone plan you have
• whether you are calling someone local, long distance or international
• what type of number or service you are calling, such as '13', '18' and '19' numbers

Always check the Critical Information Summary so you know what a plan or service will cost.

Often, telcos charge a rate similar to calling standard landline numbers.

Some phone plans include calls to 13 and 1300 numbers, others don’t. If you use more than the limit in your plan, you may have to pay extra.

1800 numbers are usually free from a landline.

On some phone plans, calls to 1800 numbers are part of your included minutes. If you use more than the limit in your plan, you may have to pay extra.

Mobile premium services cost more than standard calls. Find out about the costs and how to stop mobile premium services.

Your telco may charge:

• a fee to connect the call (connection fee or flagfall)
• a high cost-per-minute rate

Your telco may charge a connection fee for calls answered by voicemail, a message bank or services like voice-to-text. All phones have voicemail unless you choose to remove this feature. To remove it, contact your telco.

Some telcos may charge you for a call even if the phone you are calling is:

• engaged
• switched off
• out of range
• not answered

You can stop these charges. To do this, contact your telco.