Communications

Telephone
Public Pay phones are located across numerous street corners in and around Melbourne. Pay phones accept either coins or Phone Cards. If you intend on making numerous calls during your visit then it is highly recommended that you purchase a prepaid Phone Card as it saves you time & hassle for the need to look for coins. Phone cards also come in a handy variety of denominations and can be purchased at newsagents, local milk bars, and convenience stores.

Local calls are $0.40 and are untimed. Calls to interstate, long distance and to Mobiles are charged based on the duration of the call and vary in cost. Check with the carriers directly for rates.

Dialling Codes

• Melbourne Area Code - 03
• Australian Country Code - 61
• International Direct Dial - for dialling Internationally from Australia 0011 + Country Code + Area Code + Phone Number
• International Direct Dial - rings you back with the cost of your call 0012 + Country Code + Area Code + Phone Number

Mobiles
Two digital phone networks cover Australia. Telstra being the national landline and mobile network carrier, and Optus. There are a number of retail outlets, such as petrol stations, convenience stores, newsagents and supermarkets where you can pick up a pre paid mobile phone, that provides you with the actual phone and a certain amount of credits depending on the plan you have chosen.

Within Melbourne and Australia, if you are using a mobile phone you only need to pay for the calls that you make. There are a number of billing structures charged depending on the duration of the call, time of day and where you are calling.

Postage
Post offices are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. In selected shopping centres they are also open on Saturday's. Post Boxes are located across numerous street corners in and around Melbourne.

• Stamps can be purchased at Posts offices, Newsagents, Convenient stores and Milk bars.
• Local postage (size of average letter envelope) is $0.50 cents
• Letter to overseas is around $1.00

Internet
Getting on line is easy as there are a vast number of outlets within Melbourne and across the popular precincts. Try the public libraries within the City Centre, precinct you are staying at, or Internet cafes located around St Kilda, Carlton, Richmond, South Yarra, to name a few.