Key findings
We’re still moving away from landlines
- 63% of us have only a mobile for phone (voice) calls at home, with no landline.
- That has more than doubled since 2015 (29%)
- But the increase is now slowing, after faster increases from 2018 to 2020 (41% in 2018 and 60% in 2020).
Fewer of us have both a mobile and a landline
- 34% of us have both a mobile and a landline – fewer than in 2020 (38%).
- Only 1.6% of us have just a landline, similar to 2020.
- This suggests most people going mobile-only since 2020 already had a mobile and have just abandoned their landline.
Younger Australians are more likely to be mobile-only
- Australians aged under 45 years are more likely to be mobile-only for voice calls (78%, vs 50% of those aged 45 and over).
- 25 to 34-year-olds are the most likely to have only a mobile for voice calls (82%).
- That’s 3 times more likely than those aged 75 and over (27%).
Mobile-only Australians
Most Australian adults have only a mobile to make voice calls at home, with the move away from landlines continuing.
Two-thirds (63%) have a mobile but no longer have a landline for voice calls at home. This is a slight increase from June 2020 when 60% of Australians were mobile-only for voice calls at home – and the increase is slowing.
Since 2015, the proportion of Australians who only have a mobile for voice calls at home has more than doubled. In June 2015, 29% of Australians were mobile-only for voice calls at home. In June 2018, 41% of Australians were mobile-only, with 51% in June 2019 and 60% in June 2020. As shown in Figure 1, the proportion of Australians becoming mobile-only has slowed in recent years.
Figure 1: Mobile-only for voice calls at home, 2015 to 2022 (%)
Base: Australians aged 18 and over. Total sample sizes for each year are provided in the Methodology and data tables.
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source. Data is for the 12 months to the month shown.
Australians who have a mobile and a landline
Fewer Australians now have both a mobile and a landline at home. 38% had both a mobile phone and a landline in June 2020, falling to 34% in March 2022.
There has been no real change in the very small proportion of adults who still have a landline at home but do not have a mobile phone (1.6% in March 2022 vs 1.4% in June 2020).
This shows that the increase in those who are mobile-only for voice calls has not come from those with a landline getting a mobile phone but those who have a mobile phone abandoning their landlines.
The effect of age
Age remains the most significant factor influencing rates of mobile-only for voice calls. Australians aged 25 to 34 years are the most likely to be mobile-only for voice calls (82%), and 3 times more likely than those of those aged 75 and over (27%).
Younger women are even more likely than younger men to be mobile-only for voice calls (85% of women aged 25 to 34 were mobile-only for voice calls in 2022, compared to 78% of men of the same age group).
However, for those aged 75 plus, older men are slightly more likely to be mobile-only than women of the same age group (30% compared to 24%).
Figure 2: Mobile-only for voice calls, age group and gender (%)
Base: Australians aged 18 and over. Total sample sizes for each year are provided in the Methodology and data tables.
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source. Data is for the 12 months to March 2022.
The effect of location
There is little difference between capital cities and their regional areas around Australia, apart from in Western Australia and South Australia.
Australians in those 2 states are less likely to be mobile-only for voice calls if they live in the regional part of their state than if they are in the capital city.
Figure 3: Mobile-only for voice calls, capital cities and other areas (%)
Base: Australians aged 18 and over. Total sample sizes for each year are provided in the Methodology and data tables.
^ Data for Darwin–Alice Springs is combined and does not include other areas of the Northern Territory.
Source: Roy Morgan Single Source. Data is for the 12 months to March 2022.
Methodology and data tables
- Data is from Roy Morgan Research’s Single Source Survey.
- 2022 data is for the 12 months ending March 2022. Data for previous years is for the 12 months to June.
- Data is weighted to represent the total population of Australians aged 18 and over based on the latest ABS population data available for the appropriate time period shown. Base sizes represent the unweighted count of respondents on which the weighted estimates and proportions are based. Base sizes are shown in Table 1 and Table 2.
- All percentages are based on weighted data and have been rounded to the nearest whole number. As a result, there may be discrepancies between sums of the component items and the total.
- Roy Morgan Single Source implemented a multi-mode methodology in April 2020, collecting consumer data via telephonic and online personal interviews. The multi-mode methodology enables Roy Morgan to interview hard-to-reach consumers, ensuring the continuation of a nationally representative and statistically-robust sample. The Single Source survey sample size is now more than 60,000 per annum of Australians aged 14 years and over. The ACMA has used data for Australians aged 18 and over in this report.
Table 1: Mobile-only for voice calls, capital cities and other areas in the 12 months to March 2022
|
State/territory |
Capital city/other area |
City/region sample size (n) |
Mobile-only (%) |
Mobile phone and landline (%) |
Landline-only (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
NSW |
Sydney |
11,801 |
60 |
36 |
1.3 |
|
Rest of NSW (excluding ACT) |
7,093 |
58 |
38 |
2.3 |
|
|
ACT |
Australian Capital Territory |
1,393 |
67 |
30 |
1 |
|
Vic. |
Melbourne |
13,284 |
63 |
34 |
1.2 |
|
Rest of Victoria |
4,274 |
63 |
34 |
1.6 |
|
|
Qld. |
Brisbane |
5,948 |
67 |
31 |
1.4 |
|
Rest of Queensland |
5,790 |
67 |
29 |
2.4 |
|
|
WA |
Perth |
5,062 |
65 |
32 |
1.6 |
|
Rest of Western Australia |
1,488 |
60 |
36 |
2.6 |
|
|
SA |
Adelaide |
3,582 |
66 |
32 |
1.9 |
|
Rest of South Australia |
1,340 |
54 |
41 |
3.5 |
|
|
Tas. |
Hobart |
829 |
62 |
35 |
1.3* |
|
Rest of Tasmania |
1,047 |
58 |
39 |
1.9* |
|
|
NT |
Darwin–Alice Springs^ |
402 |
73 |
26 |
0.5* |
| TOTAL – all areas | 63,333 | 63 | 34 | 1.6 | |
Base: Australians aged 18 and over.
Note: Weighted percentages represent the total population of Australians aged 18 and over in each category.
* Data for Hobart, Rest of Tasmania and Darwin-Alice Springs for landline-only is indicative only due to the statistical variation of the data with those sample sizes.
^ Data for Darwin–Alice Springs is combined and does not include other areas of the Northern Territory.
Table 2: Mobile-only for voice calls, age group by gender in the 12 months to March 2022
|
Male |
Age group sample size |
Mobile‑only (%) |
Mobile phone and landline (%) |
Landline-only (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
18–24 years |
2,024 |
73 |
24 |
1.8 |
|
25–34 years |
3,818 |
78 |
18 |
0.5 |
|
35–44 years |
4,023 |
74 |
22 |
1.2 |
|
45–54 years |
4,325 |
63 |
34 |
0.8 |
|
55–64 years |
5,530 |
54 |
43 |
2.2 |
|
65–74 years |
6,181 |
43 |
53 |
3.1 |
|
75 years and over |
4,041 |
30 |
64 |
5.6* |
|
Female |
Age group sample size |
Mobile-only (%) |
Mobile phone and landline (%) |
Landline-only (%) |
|
18–24 years |
2,313 |
75 |
21 |
1.2 |
|
25–34 years |
4,023 |
85 |
13 |
0.2 |
|
35–44 years |
4,507 |
78 |
20 |
0.6 |
|
45–54 years |
4,752 |
65 |
34 |
0.9 |
|
55–64 years |
6,137 |
53 |
45 |
1.6 |
|
65–74 years |
6,981 |
42 |
55 |
2.6 |
|
75 years and over |
4,678 |
24 |
70 |
5.3* |
| TOTAL – all ages and genders | 63,333 | 63 | 34 | 1.6 |
Base: Australians aged 18 and over.
Note: Weighted percentages represent the total population of Australians aged 18 and over years in each category.
* Data for males and females aged 75 years and over is indicative only due to the statistical variation of the data with those sample sizes.