Mobile phones
There are several telecommunication providers in Western Australia providing mobile phone, internet and fixed line services. If you package your home phone, internet service and mobile phone together most companies offer discounts for doing so.
Generally local phone calls in Australia are low cost and not timed. Higher rates apply to long distance and mobile calls. Find out more about the packages available from telecommunication providers Telstra, Optus and Vodafone.
International rates vary from country to country and depend on your service provider and your contract. Pre-paid phone cards are often the most cost-effective option for international phone calls. These cards can be purchased at newsagents, convenience stores or online and used in conjunction for a small flat fee on a landline or mobile phone.
Telephone directories
The two main directories for telephone contact information are:
- Yellow Pages – (business listings) is organised by category of business; and
- White Pages – (residential and business listings) arranged alphabetically.
White Pages and Yellow Pages are available online and are also easily accessible with applications for most phones available for download.
Important and emergency telephone numbers
- 000 is the emergency number for Police, Ambulance and Fire Brigade. This is a free call.
- Australia's international country calling code is +61.
- To make an international call from Australia, dial 0011 followed by the country code, the area code, again dropping the zero and then the regular phone number.
- Western Australia’s area code is 08. When calling a Western Australian number from overseas, the 0 is dropped, so the code you need to dial is +618 followed by the regular phone number.
- Dialling interstate you have other area dialling codes too.
Interstate area dialling codes
- Northern Territory 08
- New South Wales 02
- Queensland 07
- South Australia 08
- Australian Capitol Territory 02
- Victoria 03
- Tasmania 03
- Western Australia 08
Mobile phone numbers in Australia start with 04. When calling a mobile phone from outside Australia, again the 0 is dropped, so the number starts with +614, followed by the regular phone number.
1800 phone numbers are free from fixed line/home phones. Charges may apply if you call from a mobile phone, check with your provider.
13 or 1300 phone numbers are the cost of a local call from anywhere in Australia.
Mobile phone services
Calls to and from mobile phones are usually more expensive than calls to and from fixed lines. There are several mobile phone service providers offering different phones and packages. Pre-paid mobile phones are an alternative option.
You may be able to use your existing handset in Western Australia provided you have it unlocked from the carrier service before you leave your country. You will pay for making a call as well as receiving a call if you use a phone and SIM card from another country, making it very expensive.
Check out the best deals and options for mobile phone plans at Best Phone Deals.
Internet speeds
Broadband internet service is available in most metropolitan and regional areas of Western Australia. There are lots of internet service providers available across Western Australia. Some telecommunication companies offer packages that bundle internet services with mobile and landline services which are sometimes cheaper than having all of your telecommunication services separated.
Visit Best Phone Deals for information and advice on internet access.
Mail system
Australia Post operates Australia's postal system. Mail is delivered to households and businesses Monday to Friday- there are no mail deliveries on a weekend. Australia Post also offers many other services including allowing you to pay your utility bills, vehicle registration fees, apply for passports and send money overseas etc.
Standard letters cost around 60 cents to send domestically both local and interstate. Stamps can be purchased from Australia Post shops or from newsagents and convenience stores.
Express Post delivery costs more but ensures your package will arrive the next business day anywhere in Australia.
Australian suburbs and towns are identified by a four-digit post code. Western Australian post codes begin with the number 6. Always use the four digit postcode in Australian mailing addresses to ensure prompt and accurate delivery.
To search for a postcode, or to track items you have recently posted Australia Post has a great website which offers these functions. You can pay your bills online, you can calculate how much a parcel will cost to post, and you can apply for a passport and even arrange for your mail to be held onto while you are away. There is a great section on employment with Australia Post too; current vacancies are listed on the ‘Working with us’ section. To find out more on the Australian postal system including the location of postal offices in Western Australia, visit the Australia Post website.
Media services
The range of media services in and around Australia is extensive and multiplying all the time. You can grab just about anything from the television, radio, newspaper, internet, your phone, your iPad. The digital age of television and radio has recently seen an increased number of television channels and high quality radio. The internet also provides news and information from local and international sources, updated on a regular basis.
Television
Western Australia has great coverage for free to view channels and extra channels are available through the pay TV Foxtel network. The Australian Government funded channel, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (The ABC) offers 24 hour news, documentaries, dramas and a dedicated children’s channel. ABC also offers digital channels ABC2, ABC3, ABC24. SBS (Special Broadcasting Service), which is part publicly funded, concentrates on foreign language programming offering news and information in over 60 different languages. SBS also offers digital channel SBS 2.
Western Australian metropolitan services include the Seven Network, Nine Network and Network Ten. These are sometimes available in Western Australian regional areas. The main regional services offered are WIN Television, Golden West Network (GWN) and TEN West. These channels are commercial channels and offer a wide spread range of programming, from news to reality TV programmes. A local community channel, channel 44 or West TV, operates a community based information schedule of programmes for Western Australia.
Radio
There are many radio stations available in Western Australia from AM, FM and digital frequency. The most popular metropolitan FM stations listened to are 92.9, Nova 93.7, Mix 94.5, 96FM, and Triple J. For AM stations the following are most listened to 6PR, SBS radio and 720 ABC Perth.
Digital radio stations have only recently been introduced and can be listened to via your television or from your digital radio.
As with the television, there are extensive regional radio stations available. A list of all radio stations available with frequency ranges are listed here.
Newspapers
Newspapers are published on a daily and weekly basis and on a state and regional level. You have two main newspapers in Western Australia and extensive free local and regional newspapers which are published on a daily or weekly basis. If you want to read a newspaper from another state you can find all of Australia’s daily newspapers online here.
The main newspapers for Western Australia are:
Other national daily newspapers which are popular are:
Useful Internet sites for Perth
There are numerous websites which offer you current information on social events, breaking news, restaurant reviews and recommendations, sites offering discount coupons and social networking for the people of Perth with common interests. A few of these are listed below for you to have a search around, look out for the great links and advertising within each site which also offer great opportunities for you to link up to events and people within Perth.
perthnow – offers up-to-date news and stories including business, sport, travel, lifestyle topics, entertainment, weather and heaps more.
truelocal – you can search for almost anything within true local directory, similar to yellow pages where services are categorised, you can find restaurants, trades, businesses, dentists, accommodation or where your local sports centre is.
streetsofperth – you can find all you need to know to plan a night out, check the lotto numbers, book a dinner with friends, a trip away or even check out your favourite team’s sport result here.
eatingWA – find the latest and greatest places to eat with reviews on Western Australian restaurants, cafes and bars. Join the VIP club and save money while eating at the recommended restaurants.
facetime – a lively social network for people to meet up online and face to face. Events organised in and around Perth on a daily basis for dinners, parties and activities. Focussed around younger groups of people.
thedinnerclub – If you want to meet people and socialise without the dating game, The Dinner Club offers you exactly that. Events are scheduled for Friday and Saturday nights each week and activities are also scheduled most Sundays for members to enjoy.
enjoyperth – find out all the events happening in and around Perth for this week and this month. Plan ahead and book your social activities.
theperthsocialclub – Family and adult friendly social networking group that like to organise regular events focussed around great food, wine, good company and uplifting experiences in and around Perth.
kidspot – search for ideal playgrounds and activities for toddler and school-aged children to enjoy in and around Perth.