To call New Zealand from Australia, dial 0011, then 64, then the New Zealand number without its leading 0. On a mobile you can replace 0011 with + (hold the 0 key), so an Auckland landline written as (09) 123 4567 becomes +64 9 123 4567, and a Kiwi mobile written as 021 123 4567 becomes +64 21 123 4567.

That is the whole dialling rule. The rest of this guide covers the parts that are specific to calling across the Tasman: which Australian plans already include New Zealand, what a call costs when yours does not, and why the time difference changes twice a year.

The dialling sequence, digit by digit

Step	What you dial	Example (Auckland landline)	Example (NZ mobile)
1. Exit Australia	0011 (or + on a mobile)	0011	+
2. New Zealand country code	64	64	64
3. Area or mobile code, minus the 0	9 (from 09) or 21 (from 021)	9	21
4. The local number	7 digits on landlines, 6 to 8 on mobiles	123 4567	123 4567
What you actually dial		0011 64 9 123 4567	+64 21 123 4567

New Zealand landline area codes are short: 09 for Auckland and Northland, 07 for Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, 06 for much of the lower North Island outside Wellington, 04 for Wellington and 03 for the whole South Island. Mobile numbers start with 02, most often 021, 022 or 027. In every case the 0 disappears once you add 64.

Saving Kiwi contacts so they work from anywhere

Store New Zealand numbers in your phone as +64 followed by the number without the 0. A contact saved as +64 21 123 4567 dials correctly from Australia, from New Zealand, and from anywhere else you travel. A contact saved as 021 123 4567 only works while you are in New Zealand.

Does your Australian plan already include calls to New Zealand?

This is the question that decides your cost, and the answer is often yes. New Zealand is one of the destinations Australian telcos most often bundle. Here is what the providers' own pages say as of October 2026:

Telstra: Telstra's International Calling Packs page says its upfront mobile plans include 30 minutes a month of standard international calls from Australia to all destinations. The Zone 1 pack (A$10 a month) adds unlimited standard calls from Australia to 23 destinations, and New Zealand is on that list. The Zone 2 (A$20) and Zone 3 (A$30) packs keep the same unlimited list and add minutes to other countries.
Vodafone: Vodafone's international calls support page says selected Infinite, Plus, SIM Only and Business Flex plans include unlimited standard international minutes to Zone 1, and New Zealand is a Zone 1 destination.
amaysim: amaysim's New Zealand calling page says its 28-day SIM-only plans and international plans include unlimited international calls to New Zealand.
Optus and smaller telcos: many plans include a list of selected international destinations, and New Zealand is commonly on it. The list changes by plan and by year, so check your plan's Critical Information Summary before you assume it.

Two catches apply to almost all of these bundles. First, they cover standard New Zealand numbers (landlines and mobiles), not premium, satellite or special-rate numbers. Second, they cover calls made from Australia. If you are standing in New Zealand, your call is a roaming call, and roaming has its own rules and prices.

If your plan does not include New Zealand

You have four practical fixes, roughly in order of cost:

Add a pack to the plan you have. On Telstra, the Zone 1 pack is A$10 a month for unlimited standard calls to New Zealand and 22 other destinations. It is worth it once you call Kiwi numbers for more than a few minutes a week.
Move to a SIM-only or prepaid plan that names New Zealand. If your phone takes two SIMs or an eSIM, you can keep your main number and add a cheap prepaid service just for calls across the Tasman.
Call app to app over wifi. WhatsApp, FaceTime and similar apps cost nothing extra on wifi, as long as the person you are calling uses the same app on a smartphone.
Pay per minute. Your telco's casual rate, or a browser calling service, for the odd call to a landline or a number outside your inclusions.

What a 10-minute call to New Zealand costs

How you call	Rate	10-minute call
Telstra upfront plan, within the 30 included minutes	Included	A$0 extra
Telstra with the Zone 1 International Calling Pack	A$10 a month, unlimited to NZ	A$0 extra after the pack fee
Vodafone selected plan with Zone 1 included	Unlimited to NZ	A$0 extra
Vodafone pay-as-you-go, plans from 2 May 2018 (outside inclusions)	A$0.20 per 60 seconds plus A$0.28 connection fee	A$2.28
BoraPhone in a browser, NZ landline	US$0.07 a minute	US$0.70
BoraPhone in a browser, NZ mobile	US$0.19 a minute	US$1.90

Carrier figures are from the pages linked above, as of October 2026. BoraPhone rates are at the time of writing (October 2026); the live rate page always shows the current price.

The honest reading of that table: if your plan already includes New Zealand, use it. Nothing beats a call you have already paid for. A pay-as-you-go option only makes sense when your plan does not include New Zealand, when you have used up a capped allowance, or when you are calling from a laptop or a device without an Australian SIM.

When a browser call is the better option

BoraPhone lets you call New Zealand landlines and mobiles straight from Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox, with no app and no SIM. It is pay-as-you-go in US dollars from a $5 top-up, billed per minute (rounded up to the next full minute), and the rate shows before you dial. Your first call is free, and failed calls are refunded. That suits a few Australia to New Zealand situations: you are on a work laptop with no phone handy, you are an Australian travelling somewhere else and want to ring a Kiwi landline over hotel wifi without roaming charges, or you have a cheap prepaid SIM that does not include international calls. For regular long calls to a Kiwi mobile, an Australian plan that bundles New Zealand will usually work out cheaper.

The time difference changes in late September and early April

New Zealand is always ahead of every Australian state, but by how much depends on where you are and the time of year. Both countries use daylight saving, and Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia do not use it at all.

Per govt.nz, New Zealand daylight saving runs from the last Sunday in September to the first Sunday in April (27 September 2026 to 4 April 2027). New South Wales, Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania and South Australia start a week later, on the first Sunday in October (4 October 2026), and finish on the same day as New Zealand.

You are in	October to early April (both on daylight time)	April to late September (both on standard time)
Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Hobart	NZ is 2 hours ahead	NZ is 2 hours ahead
Adelaide	NZ is 2.5 hours ahead	NZ is 2.5 hours ahead
Brisbane	NZ is 3 hours ahead	NZ is 2 hours ahead
Darwin	NZ is 3.5 hours ahead	NZ is 2.5 hours ahead
Perth	NZ is 5 hours ahead	NZ is 4 hours ahead

Two practical notes:

The odd week at the end of September. For the week between New Zealand's start date and south-east Australia's, New Zealand is 3 hours ahead of Sydney and Melbourne instead of 2. If you have a regular weekly call, that is the week it lands an hour off.
Perth evenings are Kiwi bedtimes. In summer, 8pm in Perth is 1am in Auckland. A call after dinner on the west coast needs to move to the late afternoon.

The Chatham Islands, east of the mainland, keep their own time 45 minutes ahead of the rest of New Zealand and use the same 64 country code.

Common mistakes on the Australia to New Zealand route

Keeping the 0. 0011 64 021 123 4567 will fail. The 0 is a domestic prefix; drop it after 64.
Mixing + and 0011. Use one or the other. +0011 64 is not a valid number.
Calling an NZ 0800 or 0508 number. These freephone numbers are set up for callers inside New Zealand and often cannot be reached from Australia. Look on the organisation's website for a standard landline number (one that starts with 03, 04, 06, 07 or 09) or an "overseas callers" number.
Assuming "international minutes" means everything. Bundled minutes cover standard numbers. Premium and special-service numbers are charged separately, if they connect at all.
Forgetting that you are roaming. If you have crossed the Tasman with your Australian SIM, calls to New Zealand numbers are local calls in New Zealand but roaming calls on your bill. Check your telco's roaming pack before you dial, or use wifi.
Using a hotel room phone. Hotels often add their own charge on top of international calls from the room. Ask the front desk for the rate first, or use your mobile.

Calling home if you are a Kiwi living in Australia

If you are one of the many New Zealanders living in Australia, some of your calls home probably go to people who do not use apps, or to a landline. A few habits make that cheaper and easier:

Pick a plan that names New Zealand. If most of your calls go to New Zealand, choose an Australian plan or pack that lists NZ in its included destinations. Prepaid and SIM-only plans from several providers include it, as covered above.
Use wifi apps for mobiles, phone calls for landlines. WhatsApp and similar apps are free between two smartphones, but they cannot ring a landline. For a parent's home phone, a phone call (included in your plan, or a browser call) is the way.
Keep the NZ format in your contacts. Saving every number as +64 means the same contact works whether you are in Brisbane, back home for Christmas or anywhere in between.

For a wider view of plans and costs, see our guide to making international calls from Australia, our comparison of international calls plans in Australia and our look at Telstra international calls. Rates for every other country are on the rates page.

Frequently asked questions

How do you call a +64 number from Australia?

On a mobile, dial it exactly as written: + then 64 then the rest of the number. From an Australian landline, replace the + with 0011, so +64 9 123 4567 becomes 0011 64 9 123 4567. If the number is written in the New Zealand format with a leading 0, drop that 0 after the 64.

Can I make free calls to New Zealand from Australia?

Often, yes. Many Australian mobile plans include unlimited or capped calls to New Zealand at no extra cost, including Telstra upfront plans (30 minutes a month), Vodafone plans with Zone 1 included and amaysim SIM-only plans. App-to-app calls on WhatsApp or similar apps are also free over wifi, but only when both people have the app.

Why can't I call a NZ number from Australia?

The most common causes are keeping the leading 0 after 64, dialling an 0800 or 0508 freephone number that does not accept overseas calls, or having international calling barred on your account. Check the number format first, then check in your telco's app that international calls are enabled on your service.

Is it 0011 or + to call New Zealand?

Both work from a mobile. The + symbol tells the network to use the correct exit code for wherever you are, which is why it is the better habit. From an Australian landline you need 0011, because landline keypads cannot dial +.

What is the time difference between Australia and New Zealand?

From October to early April, New Zealand is 2 hours ahead of Sydney and Melbourne, 3 hours ahead of Brisbane and 5 hours ahead of Perth. From April to late September it is 2 hours ahead of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and 4 hours ahead of Perth. For about a week at the end of September, New Zealand is 3 hours ahead of Sydney because its daylight saving starts first.

How to Call New Zealand from Australia: Codes, Costs and Time Zones