About Australia (Travel Information)

Domestically, the mail service has a poor reputation, at least for long distances: it can take a week for a letter to get from Wittenoom (WA) to Wagga Wagga (NSW), though major cities have a guaranteed express delivery service to other major cities – worth the expense for important packages. On the other hand international mail is extremely efficient, taking five to ten days to reach Europe, Asia and the US, depending on where it’s posted. Stamps are sold at some newsagents and general stores, as well as post offices and agencies. A standard letter or postcard within Australia costs 45¢; printed aerogrammes for international letters anywhere in the world cost 70¢; postcards cost 95¢ to the US and Canada, $1 to Europe; regular letters start at $1.05 to the US and Canada, $1.20 to Europe. If you’re sending anything bigger in or outside Australia, there are many different ways to do it – all at different prices; get some advice from the post office. Large parcels are reasonably cheap to send home by surface mail, but it will take up to three months for them to get there.

You can receive mail at any post office or agency: address the letter to Poste Restante (add “GPO” or “Central Post Office” for cities, unless you have the address of a particular branch), followed by the town, state and post code. You need a passport or other ID to collect mail, which is kept for a month and then returned; it’s possible to get mail redirected if you change your plans – ask for a form at any post office. Some smaller post offices will allow you to phone and check if you have any mail waiting.

Most hostels and hotels will also hold mail for you if it’s clearly marked, preferably with a date of arrival, or holders of Amex cards or travellers’ cheques can have it sent to American Express offices. Another option is Travellers’ Contact Point, 428 George St, Sydney (tel 02/9221 8744; www.travellers.com.au), which operates a mail and message service with far more flexibility than poste restante: for a $40 fee, they’ll hold and forward your mail as directed by you while travelling around Australia, up to a maximum of twelve months, and also offer free extras such as a voice-mail phonecard. For an additional $5 they’ll even give you an email account with fifteen minutes’ access a day.

Phones

You can make international calls from virtually any of them, though it’s a great deal easier with a card; instructions are provided. Many bars, shops and restaurants also have payphones, although they may cost more than a regular call box. In cities there are telecom offices with calling rooms, where you can talk privately in quiet surroundings, and also check phone directories and time differences; elsewhere post offices may be able to help. 

Following deregulation, Telstra has been joined by Optus, and competition has seen some good-value off-peak and holiday rates appear from time to time, especially for overseas rates – you’ll see prominent adverts for these in the papers or on TV when they’re available.

For more information on Australia's phones please visit Telstra Website
Or Australian White Pages (Australian home telephone directory)
Australian Yellow Pages (Australian business telephone directory)

The Telephone system in Australia is one of the worlds most efficient and easy to operate.

Crediphones accept most major credit cards such as Amex, Visa and Diners International, and can be found at international and domestic airports, central locations in major cities, and many hotels. Call boxes do not accept incoming calls. You can make reverse charge calls through the operator (tel 0176 from public phones, tel 011 from private ones), but it’s easier with Country Direct which, for the price of a local call, will connect you directly to an operator in the country you’re calling. Country Direct allows you to speak directly with an operator in your home country. Cash is not needed, as the call is charged to the receiving number or to your own phone credit card. Country Direct calling cards are available through hotels, travel agents and tour operators.

Rates for calls within Australia are cheapest in the evenings from Monday to Saturday, and all day Sunday; local payphone calls cost only 40¢, allowing you to talk for as long as you like. Many businesses and services operate free call numbers, prefixed tel 1800, while others have six-digit numbers beginning tel 13 that are charged at the local-call rate. Numbers starting tel 0055 are private information services (often recorded), costing between 35¢ and 70¢ a minute, but with a minimum charge of 40¢ from public phones. International calls have different hours for cheap rates, depending on the destination, but weekends will almost always be cheaper. Prices are reasonable – a call to Britain or North America costs between $1.03 and $1.35 a minute.

Public Phones

Contacting Australia from Overseas

Mobile-Cellular Phones