Country code Australia, +61 or 0061?
There are two spellings for the Australia area code, namely +61 and 0061. Which area code do you have to use? What is the difference between the two country codes for Australia and what are the different versions for?
The country code of Australia that starts with a “+” (i.e. +61) is the so-called international code (international spelling). It is primarily used in the mobile communications sector. Most cell phones can make an international call to Australia using the +61 area code. This applies to almost every country in the world.
Unfortunately, there are phones (especially older models) that do not support the international spelling. The Australia area code with leading zeros (0061) is then used on these phones. The leading zeros are also referred to as the so-called traffic elimination number. When you call, they indicate that it is an international call.
Problem: Access code and area code 0061
In fact, the 0061 variant is used for calls to Australia, especially in Europe. In other countries of the world, the international code 0061 will not work. Example: In the USA, international calls to Australia begin with 011. An international call here begins with the area code 01161.
Conclusion
For calls from UK to Australia you can always use the country code 0061. In other countries, the two leading zeros must be replaced by a different access code. The international dialing code for Australia (+61) works in all countries in the world. However, it is not supported in all networks and by all telephone devices.
Example of phone calls to Australia
To illustrate the use of the international prefixes Australia (+61 or 0061) here is an example again:
You want to call 456789 with the area code 0123 in Australia. In this case you can use the following numbers (from UK/Europe):
0061 123 456789
If you are using a mobile phone, the following notation also applies worldwide:
+61 123 456789