Are 1300 Numbers Free in Australia?

Are 1300 numbers free in Australia? No — and the long-standing confusion is understandable, because the inbound family has two formats with different cost splits and similar-looking numbers. The accurate answer: a 1300 call costs the caller up to a local call rate from a fixed line, and the business pays the balance. Free calls for callers are the 1800 format's job. Here is the whole cost map, so the two stop being confused.

What "not free" means for a 1300 caller

From any Australian fixed line, calling a 1300 number costs up to a local call rate — the same as ringing a business across town, no matter where in the country the number terminates or how long the call lasts. That cap is the format's core promise to callers: never a distance charge, never a premium. What varies is the phone you dial from — on mobiles, your carrier and plan decide how the call is treated, with many plans including 1300 calls as standard calls and others billing them separately. The caller-side mechanics are detailed in 1300 number cost to call.

What "free" actually means in the inbound family

| Format | Caller pays (fixed line) | Business pays | |---|---|---| | 1800 | Nothing — genuinely free | The entire call | | 1300 | Up to a local call rate | The balance | | 13 | Up to a local call rate | The balance (plus access fees for the short format) |

So when a business publishes an 1800 number, it is making a statement: calling us costs you nothing. A 1300 makes a softer statement — calling us costs you no more than a local call. Both are national, both carry the same features, and the choice between them is purely about who carries which share. The caller's view of the toll-free side is in is an 1800 number free in Australia.

The business side of "free"

If the question came from the business side — can I get a 1300 number for free? — the answer is also no, but the floor is low. Standard numbers connect on plans from $10 a month with per-second call charges for the traffic received; only premium phonewords add lease costs on top. Any offer of a genuinely free 1300 number deserves the same scrutiny as any free thing in telecom: the cost has not vanished, it has moved somewhere less visible. The full anatomy of the business bill is in the 1300 cost and pricing guide.

Which format should you publish?

Use the caller's answer to decide. If your audience rings from landlines and a local call rate is no barrier — most B2B and general enquiry lines — 1300 is the standard, affordable choice, described on 1300 numbers. If your audience must never hesitate to call — support lines, crisis services, high-value sales — the free-call format earns its higher running cost, on 1800 numbers. The caller-side "free to call" question for the shared-cost format is treated in more depth in are 1300 numbers free to call.