Calling within Australia
Public phones are easy to find nearly everywhere you go in Australia.

• Local calls made from phone booths cost $0.40 and are untimed. Note that you will not get change if you insert more than a call costs. Public phones (often small blue- or orange-coloured boxes) can also sometimes be found in select bars and hotels; note that local calls placed on these often cost $0.50.
  
• Long-distance calls within Australia use STD (Subscriber Trunk Dialling) services... You must first dial an area code before the eight-digit number... (02) for NSW, (03) for VIC and TAS, (08) for SA, WA and the NT, and (07) for QLD, although anomalies occur in VIC/NSW/QLD state border areas.

Australia has two main telecommunications companies: Optus and Telstra... Telstra operates the local market and much of the long distance facility. Optus concentrates on mobile phone service and long distance. Most phone cards have a toll-free access telephone number and personal identification number (PIN), though some are designed to be inserted into the phone... As phone cards grow in popularity, so do the number of booths accepting cards only. Therefore, if heading to a remote area, it might be best to have both types of cards. A few public phones (at airports, city centre locations, and major hotels) will take credit cards.

For directory assistance, you can call toll-free 013. Six digit phone numbers beginning with 13 are information numbers that can be dialled from anywhere in Australia for the price of a local call. Numbers beginning with 1300 operate similarly. Numbers beginning with 1800 or 0800 are toll-free.

Mobile phones
Mobile phones are available for rent, or bring your mobile phone with you. Australia's mobile network operates on the 900 and 1800 bands for GSM and 800 for CDMA. Contact your telecommunications carrier for activating international roaming while you are visiting Australia.

Calling to Australia
The country code for Australia is 61. When you dial an Australian number from overseas, if you see a zero before the STD code, ignore it. After your country's international access code, dial 61 then the STD code followed by the phone number. e.g. 02 1234 5678 becomes 61 + 2 + 1234 5678

Calling from Australia
A calling card is probably your cheapest option. You can frequently call collect without even possessing a company’s calling card just by calling their access number and following the instructions... Prepaid calling cards from Australian phone companies are often sold at newsstands and grocery stores.

If you wish to make an international call from within Australia, follow the instructions provided or simply dial 0011 then the country code, area code and the local number. You can make reverse charge, person to person and point to point calls via the operator for an extra charge to most countries.

You can usually make direct international calls from pay phones in Australia but if you're not using a calling card make sure you have a ready supply of coins... Prepaid phone cards and occasionally major credit cards can be used for direct international calls as well, but they tend to be less cost effective... In-room hotel calls invariably include an arbitrary and high surcharge.

The expensive alternative to dialling direct or using a calling card is using an international operator to place a collect call. In an emergency, though, this is sometimes the only way to reach home.

Email & internet
Most of the larger Australian cities have internet shops that also offer discounted international calling. In addition, virtually all public libraries now offer free access to the web, though sometimes you are restricted from checking email or must have prior reservation.

Australia uses RJ-45 telephone plugs and Telstra Exicom-610 six pin plugs. If your connection is not correct go to a local electronic shop. Also check that your PC-card modem is suitable in Australia. An easy way to access internet and email is via one of the many free web-based email services such as Hotmail and Yahoo.

Sending mail from Australia
Post offices are usually open 9.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday with some city post offices open on Saturday morning. Stamps are usually available from hotels and motels and selected retail outlets.

• Air mail:...is the best way to send mail home
• Aerogrammes:... printed sheets that fold into envelopes and travel via air mail. These are available at post offices. Write "par avion" or "air mail" on the front.
• Surface mail:... is the cheapest but slowest way to send mail. It takes one to two months to cross the Atlantic and two to three across the Pacific - ok for items you won't need to see for a while, such as souvenirs or other articles you've acquired along the way.

The Australia Post website (www.auspost.com) has a postage calculator for international deliveries.

Sending mail to Australia
Mark envelopes "air mail" or "par avion" or your letter or postcard will take forever to arrive. In addition to the standard postage system, Federal Express handles mail services from the following countries to Australia. They can get a letter from New York to Sydney in three business days.

Federal express contact numbers:

• Australia - 13 26 10
• US & Canada - 800 247 4747
• New Zealand - 0800 73 33 39
• United Kingdom - 0800 12 38 00
• www.fedex.com

Receiving mail in Australia
There are several ways to arrange pick-up of letters sent to you by friends and relatives while you are abroad. Mail can be sent fairly reliably via Poste Restante (general delivery) to almost any city or town in Australia with a post office. Address Poste Restante letters like so:

John Smith
C/-Poste Restante
City State
Postcode

The mail will go to a special desk in the central post office unless you specify a post office by street address... Mail can be redirected for a small charge. It's best to use the largest post office, since the mail may be sent there regardless. Bring passport (or other photo ID) for pick-up.