Choosing between a 1300 or 1800 number affects how customers perceive your brand, what callers pay, and how easily your team handles peaks. If you run a local SME or manage multi-site teams across Victoria, the right choice can lift answer rates, reduce missed calls, and simplify your Phones and Internet setup.
This guide explains caller charges, business costs, common use cases, and a simple decision framework. It also outlines how DSP Communications provisions numbers, ports existing services, and builds call flows, IVR, and routing that keep customers connected to the right person first time.
The quick difference
- 1300 numbers: Callers pay a standard local rate in Australia. Good for nationwide presence without making calls entirely free.
- 1800 numbers: Toll-free for callers across Australia. Your business covers the call cost.
Both options are non-geographic. They work Australia-wide and point to one or many answer points that you control.
What your callers pay
- Calling a 1300 number: Charged at a standard local rate from most landlines and included in many mobile plans. Some prepaid or very low-cost mobile plans may charge per call or per minute. Always check your provider’s terms if you want absolute certainty.
- Calling an 1800 number: Free from Australian landlines and mobiles nationwide. If you are asking, is an 1800 number free from a mobile, the answer is yes, within Australia. Are all 1800 numbers free in Australia, yes for domestic calls from Australian services.
How do I call an 1800 number from my mobile? Exactly as shown, dial 1800 followed by the six digits. There is no prefix required, and it is toll-free across Australia.
What your business pays
- 1300 numbers: You pay monthly hosting plus per-minute inbound call charges that are usually lower than 1800. Because callers contribute at local-rate, your inbound costs are often modest, especially for long calls.
- 1800 numbers: You pay monthly hosting plus per-minute inbound charges at a higher rate because the call is free for the caller. Expect 1800 to cost more for popular lines or lengthy support calls.
In both cases you can control spend through smart routing, business hours logic, voicemail-to-email for off-peak, and queue tuning to reduce unnecessary hold time.
When to use each number type
Use a 1300 number when you want:
- Nationwide presence without covering all call costs.
- Marketing campaigns where you track response by region or channel.
- Professional first contact for trades, clinics, and professional services that handle longer conversations but do not need toll-free incentives.
Use an 1800 number when you want:
- Frictionless customer contact for sales or support, particularly for consumer-facing brands.
- High-volume inbound lines during promotions, recalls, or seasonal peaks.
- A clear promise of no cost to the caller, which can increase call volume and reduce hesitation.
For many SMEs, a blended approach works well. Use a 1300 number for standard enquiries and a dedicated 1800 line for sales offers, after-hours emergencies, or priority support.
Typical use cases for local SMEs and multi-site teams
- Nationwide brand presence: One number on vans, invoices, and ads. Route calls to the nearest store, franchisee, or territory team using caller location or IVR options.
- Marketing tracking: Assign unique 1300 numbers per campaign. Measure answer rates, call durations, and conversions. Retire or reassign underperforming numbers without changing your published main line.
- Peak routing: During sales or holiday peaks, route overflow to a secondary team, mobile users with softphones, or a queue with announcements and callback.
- After-hours and on-call: Use time-based rules to send calls to an on-call roster or voicemail-to-email with SLA targets for next-business-day.
Intelligent routing, IVR, and failover with DSP
DSP Communications designs call flows that fit your operations, not the other way around. Here is how we help:
- Number provisioning and porting: We can acquire new 1300 or 1800 numbers and port your existing numbers with minimal downtime. You keep your brand presence while moving to modern platforms.
- Call-flow mapping: We start with who should answer first, what happens on no-answer, and how to triage by topic or location. We add business hours logic, holidays, and emergency routing.
- IVR and queue design: Clear menu options, short announcements, and real-time changes for peak periods. We tune queue lengths, add voicemail-to-email, and set overflow to mobiles or alternate sites.
- Reducing missed calls: Features such as hunt groups, parallel ringing to softphones and mobiles, plus spend and fraud alerts. Staff can answer office calls while off-site using mobile apps.
- Reliability and quality: We pair your numbers with VoIP and fibre-backed internet, with tested 4G or 5G failover. This protects call quality during outages and busy periods.
If you operate across Cranbourne, Carrum Downs, Hallam, and Dandenong, consistent routing and performance matter. DSP brings local knowledge and proactive support so you do not have to micro-manage call handling.
Costs and examples
- Example 1, service business with long calls: A plumbing company runs a 1300 main line and unique 1300s on Google Ads and letterbox drops. The office answers first, overflow rings the on-call tech’s softphone. Monthly inbound costs stay low due to local-rate caller charges, while the business gains strong tracking by campaign.
- Example 2, retail brand with promotions: A multi-store retailer uses a 1800 sales hotline during TV and radio campaigns. Calls are toll-free, which lifts inbound volume. Overflow routes to a remote team with softphones; after-hours switches to a short queue and voicemail-to-email with next-day callbacks.
- Example 3, community services: A not-for-profit offers a 1800 support line to remove cost barriers. DSP caps queue wait, adds callback, and sends high-priority cases to on-call mobiles if the queue hits a threshold.
Is there a charge for 1300 numbers? Yes, there is a standard local rate for callers, and your business pays hosting plus modest inbound charges. What is the difference between a 1300 number and an 1800 number? Primarily who pays. 1300 shares the cost with the caller, 1800 makes it free for the caller and shifts more cost to your business.
How to get a 1300 or 1800 number for business
- Choose your goal: sales lift, support accessibility, national presence, or campaign tracking.
- Pick 1300 or 1800 based on your budget and desired caller experience.
- Map your call flow: first answer point, overflow, after-hours, holidays, and failover.
- Provision and port: DSP secures the number, ports your existing lines, and configures IVR, queues, and routing.
- Test and tune: We run live tests, verify voicemail-to-email, and set up reports for answer rates and call volumes.
Prefer to keep your existing PBX? We can integrate via SIP or move you to cloud phones for simpler management and mobility features.
A simple decision framework
- If you want maximum reach and zero caller cost, choose 1800.
- If you want national presence with lower inbound cost, choose 1300.
- If you run multi-site teams or campaigns, consider both, with different numbers per purpose.
- If your priority is fewer missed calls, prioritise the call flow first, the number second. The right routing saves more business than the number you choose.
Local support and next steps
DSP Communications supports businesses across Cranbourne, Carrum Downs, Hallam, Dandenong, and nearby regions with numbers, VoIP, and reliable internet that keeps calls clear. If you want a local partner to provision numbers and build call flows that work, we are ready to help.
- Discuss number provisioning and call-flow mapping: sales@dspcommunications.com.au
- Explore 1300 and 1800 options that fit your budget and call volume
- Set up testing so your team is ready for peaks and promotions
If your next step is a free-call presence in the south-east, learn about getting an 1800 number in Carrum Downs for your brand.