Guides

Voicemail & call forwarding, sorted

Getting carrier voicemail out of the way is the first thing we do with every new customer, and every carrier does it differently. These are the notes we'd otherwise be reading down the phone to you.

The short version: voicemail and a missed-call text-back both trigger on exactly the same thing — you didn't answer, you were engaged, or you were out of range. They compete for the same slot on your service, and whichever one the network reaches first takes the call. So if you want an unanswered call to do anything other than go to voicemail, voicemail has to come off first.

That's also why “it doesn't work on prepaid” is such a persistent myth. It isn't the plan. It's voicemail getting there first — and on some carriers there's a second thing doing the same job under a different name.

Each carrier page is checked against that carrier's own help page, and we only publish one once we've read it. Nothing here needs you to be a customer.

Start here

• Does call forwarding work on prepaid in Australia?Short answer: yes. What stops missed-call forwarding on prepaid is almost never the plan - it is voicemail answering first. Check yours in 10 seconds.
• When you should NOT buy missed-call softwareFour situations where a missed-call text-back is the wrong purchase, from someone who sells one. Read this before you spend anything.
• AI receptionist alternatives in AustraliaVoice AI, missed-call text-back, all-in-one platforms, a human answering service, hiring someone, or doing nothing. What each costs and who it suits.
• Voxworks alternative for Australian tradiesVoxworks answers your phone in a synthetic voice. We text the caller back instead. An honest comparison, including where Voxworks is the better buy.
• Fully Booked alternative — without the setup feeFully Booked publishes a $2,500 setup fee plus around $500 a month. Here is what you get for that, what you do not get from us, and how to decide.
• ServiceM8 and Tradify don’t answer your phoneJob management software runs the job after you win it. Neither one catches the call you missed. What actually sits in that gap, and what it costs.
• What an AI receptionist actually costs in AustraliaReal published prices, what the setup fees look like, and why the monthly figure tells you nothing until you know what the plan is actually metering.
• AI that answers the phone vs AI that texts backNearly every AI receptionist in Australia answers in a synthetic voice. Texting the caller back is a different trade-off - here is where each one wins.
• Call forwarding codes for Australian mobilesThe conditional call-forwarding codes that work on Australian networks, the two dial formats, how to check what your number does now, and how to undo it.

Turn off voicemail, by carrier

Prepaid or postpaid — the steps are the same either way.

• Telstraown network
• BoostTelstra network
• ALDI MobileTelstra network
• Optusown network
• amaysimOptus network
• Vodafoneown network
• felixVodafone network
• KoganVodafone network
• LebaraVodafone network

Carrier not listed? The generic code ##004# clears no-answer diversions on most Australian services, and *#61# tells you what yours is currently doing. We add carriers here once we've checked their documentation properly.