Articles: How to Forward Calls in Australia

Call forwarding is one of those things most of us set up once, years ago, and then forget about until it stops working. It's also the simplest way to change who answers your phone without changing your number. Your customers keep calling the number they already know, and the call goes wherever you point it: another mobile, a colleague, an answering service or an AI receptionist. Here's how to forward calls in Australia, whichever phone you use.

The four kinds of forwarding

Before you dial anything, decide when you want calls to forward. There are four common options, and most phones let you mix them.

• Unconditional (forward every call). Your phone doesn't ring at all. Every call goes straight to the new number. Good for after hours, holidays, or when someone else is answering for you full time.
• No answer. Your phone rings first. If you don't pick up within a set time, the call forwards. Good when you want to answer yourself whenever you can, and only hand off the calls you miss.
• Busy. If you're already on a call, the next caller forwards instead of hearing a busy tone or going to voicemail.
• Unreachable. If your phone is off, flat or out of range, calls forward instead of failing.

A common setup for a sole trader is to turn on the last three together: no answer, busy and unreachable. Your phone rings as normal, and anything you can't take goes to whoever is covering for you. Unconditional forwarding is the one to use when you don't want your phone to ring at all.

How to forward calls in Australia from a mobile

Most Australian mobiles accept the standard codes below. Replace "number" with the number you're forwarding to, dial the code from the phone you want to forward, and press call. You should hear or see a confirmation.

A few practical notes:

• Enter the number in full, including the area code for a landline (for example, 07 and then the eight digits). Some phones also accept the international format, starting with +61.
• No-answer forwarding has a timer. Your phone rings for a while before it forwards. Some carriers let you change how long; ask yours if calls are forwarding too quickly or too slowly.
• Your phone settings may do the same thing. Most smartphones have a call forwarding option in their settings, although on some it only offers unconditional forwarding. The codes give you the finer control.
• Some plans don't accept the codes. Some business plans and a few carriers use their own app or online account for forwarding instead. If a code returns an error, check with your carrier.

Forwarding a landline

Landlines vary more than mobiles. Many landline services have their own star codes for forwarding, and they differ from provider to provider. Others are managed through an online account or app, especially if your "landline" is actually a phone plugged into your internet modem.

The quickest way to find out is to search your provider's help pages for "call forwarding", or ring their support line. Ask them three things:

1. Which kinds of forwarding does my service support (every call, no answer, busy)?
2. How do I turn each one on and off?
3. What do forwarded calls cost on my plan?

That last question matters. Forwarded calls are often charged like a normal call made from your line, from your number to the number you forward to. On many plans that's included, but it's worth checking before you forward a busy line.

Business phone systems and 13, 1300 and 1800 numbers

If your business uses a phone system with extensions, forwarding is usually set in the system itself rather than with a code. It might be called a call flow, a ring group, a hunt group or an after-hours rule. If someone set the system up for you, ask them to do it, and make two requests:

• Forward external calls, not just one extension, so every customer call follows the rule you set.
• Keep the caller's number showing. Some systems replace the caller's number with your own when they forward. If that happens, whoever answers can't see who's calling or call them back.

For a 13, 1300 or 1800 number, there's no code to dial. These numbers point to an answering number behind the scenes, and your provider can change where they point, often with time-of-day rules (one destination during business hours, another after hours).

Testing your forwarding properly

Don't assume forwarding works because the code was accepted. Test it, and test each kind you've turned on.

1. Ring your number from a different phone. Not from the phone you've forwarded: calling yourself often behaves differently.
2. For every-call forwarding, check the call goes straight through to the new number without your phone ringing.
3. For no-answer forwarding, let your phone ring out. Don't decline the call, as declining can count as busy rather than unanswered. Check how long it rings before it forwards.
4. For busy forwarding, start a call on your phone and then ring it from a third phone. If call waiting is turned on, the second call usually beeps through to you rather than counting as busy, so you may need to turn call waiting off for busy forwarding to work the way you expect.
5. Check the caller's number arrives. Whoever answers the forwarded call should see the original caller's number, not yours.

If you're forwarding to Call Sure, there's a button for this. After you dial the code, press "Test my forwarding" on the Phone number page. We ring your business line (don't answer it), and if the call comes through to your assistant you'll see a tick within a few seconds. Your assistant only starts answering once that test passes. The Help centre has the steps.

Turning forwarding off

On most Australian mobiles, dial ##002# and press call. That cancels every kind of forwarding at once. To cancel just one kind, most phones also accept ##21#, ##61#, ##67# or ##62#, matching the codes above.

On a landline or business system, use the same app, account or code you used to set it up. If you're not sure what's active, ring your number from another phone and see what happens.

Common problems and how to fix them

Calls go to voicemail instead of forwarding. Your voicemail is itself a kind of no-answer forwarding. Setting up a new no-answer forward usually replaces it, but on some services voicemail has to be turned off separately. If calls still land in voicemail, ask your carrier to check.

The code returns an error. Check you've entered the number in full with no spaces, and that you're dialling from the phone you want to forward. If it still fails, your plan may use a different method. Your carrier can tell you.

Forwarding works, but the person answering sees your number, not the caller's. This is usually a business phone system setting. Ask whoever manages it to pass the caller's number through on forwarded calls.

Calls forward too fast or too slow. That's the no-answer timer. Some carriers let you change it; others don't.

Forwarding stopped working on its own. Changing SIM cards, porting your number or changing plans can clear forwarding settings. After any change like that, test again.

Calls loop back and forth. If two phones are forwarded to each other, calls can bounce between them until they fail. Make sure the number you forward to isn't itself forwarding back to you.

Choosing where to forward

Once forwarding works, the real question is who answers. A colleague can cover for you, but they have their own work. Voicemail is free but many callers hang up rather than leave a message. An answering service or an AI receptionist answers every time and takes the details for you.

Whichever you choose, keep giving customers the number they already know. Forwarding means nothing changes for them, and you can change your mind at any time.

Quick answers

What's the code to forward every call on an Australian mobile?

On most Australian mobiles, dial **21*number# from the phone you want to forward, with the full number you're forwarding to, and press call.

How do I turn call forwarding off?

Dial ##002# and press call. That cancels every kind of forwarding at once on most Australian mobiles. On a landline or business system, use the same app, account or code you used to set it up.

Which kind of forwarding should a sole trader use?

A common setup is no answer, busy and unreachable together. Your phone rings as normal, and anything you can't take goes to whoever is covering for you.

Why does the person answering see my number instead of the caller's?

That's usually a business phone system setting. Ask whoever manages it to pass the caller's number through on forwarded calls.