Optus includes standard calls from Australia to 35 "Group 1" countries, including India, the UK, New Zealand and mainland China, on all its SIM plans except Choice Plus Small. For other countries you buy an International Talk & Text add-on for A$10 or A$20, and with no inclusion or add-on Optus postpaid charges pay-as-you-go rates of roughly A$1 to A$2.50 a minute plus a 35c flagfall per call (as of October 2026).

So what you pay depends on which of three billing paths your call falls into. Below: how to tell, what a 10-minute call costs on each path, and when you should simply use what Optus already gives you.

The three ways Optus can bill a call abroad

Path	Who gets it	What you pay
Plan inclusion	Optus SIM plans, except Choice Plus Small	Nothing extra for standard calls to the 35 Group 1 countries
International Talk & Text add-on	Choice Plus Small customers, or anyone calling outside Group 1	A$10 or A$20 per add-on, bought in the My Optus app
Pay-as-you-go "International 'yes' Call Rates"	Postpaid customers with no inclusion left for that country	A per-minute rate per country plus 35c flagfall per call

The add-on prices and the Group 1 inclusion come from Optus's International Talk and Text add-ons page, as of October 2026. If you are on an older plan (My Plan Plus, Optus Flex, a Cap plan), your inclusions may be different. Optus says the place to check is your Critical Information Summary in My Account, or the My Optus app.

Optus International Talk & Text add-ons explained

Optus splits the world into three destination groups. Each add-on covers one group.

Add-on	Price (as of October 2026)	Talk	Text	Example countries
Group 1	A$10	Unlimited standard calls	Unlimited	India, UK, New Zealand, mainland China, USA, Canada, Vietnam, Poland, Germany (35 in total)
Group 2	A$10	Up to 200 minutes	Unlimited	Philippines, Pakistan, South Africa, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Spain, Netherlands (53 in total)
Group 3	A$20	Up to 200 minutes	Unlimited	Fiji, Afghanistan, Mauritius, Ghana, Jamaica, Ukraine, Austria (54 in total)

The fine print that matters:

Group 1 is already on most plans. Optus states Group 1 destinations are "included in all SIM plans except Optus Choice Plus Small Plan". Small plan customers pay A$10 to add it.
Standard numbers only. The add-ons cover standard international talk and text. Premium, satellite and similar special numbers are not standard calls.
They expire early if you use them up. The add-on "expires/renews once inclusions are used or at end of payment cycle (whichever is first)". So if you burn through 200 Group 2 minutes in week two, a recurring add-on renews and you pay again.
Australia only. Optus says the add-on "can only be used in Australia". It does nothing for calls you make while travelling.
Usage alerts. Optus sends alerts at 50%, 85% and 100% of your talk and text inclusions.
Mobiles and landlines. The add-on page talks about standard international calls and does not split them by number type. If you mostly call landlines in one country, confirm with Optus before relying on it.

Optus does not publish a fair-use cap on that page. Unlimited calling on Australian mobile plans is generally for normal personal use, so check your Critical Information Summary if you plan to spend hours a day on the phone.

What Optus charges pay as you go

For postpaid customers with no inclusion left for a country, Optus publishes per-country rates on its International Call Rates page. Every call also carries a 35c flagfall (40c on the A$10 Optus Cap BYO), and calls are charged in the same increments your plan uses for national calls: per second, per 30 seconds or per minute. Rates as of October 2026:

Country	To a landline	To a mobile
India	A$2.18/min	A$2.18/min
United Kingdom	A$1.13/min	A$1.13/min
New Zealand	A$1.03/min	A$1.03/min
Mainland China	A$1.77/min	A$1.72/min
Philippines	A$2.52/min	A$1.48/min

Optus points Choice Plus, Optus Plus Family and Optus Plus Kids customers to the add-ons rather than these rates, so if you are on one of those plans, look at the My Optus app to see what happens when you dial a country you have no inclusion for.

What a 10-minute call costs on each option

Here is the same 10-minute call priced three ways. Optus figures are in Australian dollars and BoraPhone figures are in US dollars, as each company bills them. BoraPhone rates are at the time of writing (October 2026) and the live rate is always shown before you call.

10-minute call to	Optus pay as you go	Optus add-on or inclusion	BoraPhone
India	A$22.15	A$0 extra on most SIM plans (A$10 Group 1 add-on on Choice Plus Small)	$1.11 (about US$0.11/min, landline or mobile)
UK	A$11.65	A$0 extra on most SIM plans (A$10 on Small)	$0.40 landline, $0.70 mobile
New Zealand	A$10.65	A$0 extra on most SIM plans (A$10 on Small)	$0.70 landline, $1.90 mobile
Mainland China	A$18.05 landline, A$17.55 mobile	A$0 extra on most SIM plans (A$10 on Small)	$7.20 landline, $7.60 mobile
Philippines	A$25.55 landline, A$15.15 mobile	A$10 Group 2 add-on, up to 200 minutes	$4.61 landline, $6.50 mobile

Pay-as-you-go figures are 10 minutes at the published rate plus the 35c flagfall. Example for India: 10 x A$2.18 = A$21.80, plus 35c = A$22.15.

How to read this honestly:

If your plan includes Group 1 and you call India, the UK, NZ or China, use your plan. You are already paying for unlimited standard calls to those countries. Nothing beats an inclusion you already have.
If you call the Philippines for hours every month, the Group 2 add-on wins. A$10 for up to 200 minutes works out at about 5c a minute if you use it all. BoraPhone is not cheap to the Philippines, and we would rather say so.
China is the same story. At US$0.72 a minute and up, BoraPhone is a poor deal next to an Optus inclusion.
Pay as you go is the trap. A$22 for ten minutes to India is what happens when someone on an older plan dials without checking.

Where Optus's options fall short

The Optus deal is strong if you call one or two included countries regularly from your mobile in Australia. It is weaker in a few situations:

You call occasionally and your plan has no inclusion. A recurring add-on for one or two calls a year is wasted money, and pay-as-you-go rates are steep.
You are overseas. Add-ons only work in Australia. Calling a foreign number while roaming is billed under roaming rules.
You want to call from a laptop or tablet, or from a phone without an Optus SIM.
The country is in Group 3, or in no group. You pay A$20 for 200 minutes, or the pay-as-you-go rate. Group 3 includes Fiji, Ghana, Jamaica, Ukraine and Austria.

That is the gap BoraPhone fills. It runs in a web browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox), calls real landlines and mobiles in 180+ countries, and needs no app, no SIM and no subscription. You top up from $5, see the rate before each call, and pay per minute (rounded up to the next full minute). Your first call is free and failed calls are refunded. A 10-minute call to the UK is about 40 US cents to a landline; the UK rates page shows the live price.

How to add or remove an Optus international add-on

Optus manages these add-ons in the My Optus app:

Open the My Optus app and sign in.
Go to the Service tab, then Add-on, then Int'l Talk & Text.
Pick the destination group, then choose once-off or recurring.
Review and tap pay now. You get an order confirmation.

Optus says you may be charged by card on activation, and if no payment is made the amount is added to your next bill. Optus's page does not spell out how to cancel a recurring add-on. Look in the same Add-on section of the app first, and if there is no remove option, ask Optus through the app or live chat before your next payment cycle so it does not renew.

How to dial an international number from an Optus mobile

From a mobile in Australia, Optus's dialling guide says:

Press + (hold 0 on most phones), or dial 0011, Australia's international exit code.
Enter the country code.
Enter the area code and number, dropping the first 0 if the area code starts with 0.

Example: a London number written as 020 XXXX XXXX becomes +44 20 XXXX XXXX or 0011 44 20 XXXX XXXX.

If the call will not connect, Optus lists two common causes:

An international restriction on your service. Optus has to remove it, so contact them through the app or chat.
Your caller ID is set to private. Some countries, mainland China among them, only connect calls that show the caller's number. To show your number for a single call, Optus says to dial 1832 before the + on a mobile (or before 0011 on a home phone), for example 1832 +86 and then the number.

Calling from Australia vs using your phone overseas

These are two different products, and mixing them up causes most surprise bills.

Calling abroad from Australia is what this page covers: plan inclusions, Talk & Text add-ons and pay-as-you-go rates.
Using your Optus phone while travelling is international roaming. It has its own passes and rates, managed separately in the My Optus app. Talk & Text add-ons do not apply overseas.

If you are travelling and need to call a foreign number (a hotel, a clinic, a local office), a browser call over hotel WiFi is often simpler than working out roaming rules. Our guide to international calls from Australia covers the options, and if you are comparing carriers, see Telstra's International Calling Packs and our roundup of international calls plans in Australia.

Frequently asked questions

Do I get charged for international calls on Optus?

Only if the country is not covered by your plan or an add-on. On Optus SIM plans other than Choice Plus Small, standard calls to the 35 Group 1 countries are included. Otherwise you need an add-on, or Optus postpaid charges a per-minute rate plus a 35c flagfall per call.

Why isn't my phone letting me make international calls?

The most common reason is an international restriction on your service, which Optus can remove. For some destinations, including mainland China, a private caller ID can stop the call connecting, so show your number or dial 1832 before the number. Also check you dialled + or 0011, then the country code, and dropped the leading 0 from the area code.

How do I call an international number from Australia?

Press + or dial 0011, then the country code, then the number without its leading 0. For example, an Indian mobile is +91 followed by the 10-digit number. The same format works on any Australian mobile.

Is the Optus Group 1 add-on worth A$10?

If you are on Choice Plus Small and call India, the UK, NZ or another Group 1 country more than once or twice a month, yes: unlimited standard calls for A$10 is hard to beat. If you call once every few months, paying per call through a pay-as-you-go service usually costs less.

Do Optus international add-ons work when I'm overseas?

No. Optus says its International Talk & Text add-ons can only be used in Australia. Calls you make while abroad fall under international roaming, which is a separate product with its own pricing.

Optus International Calls: Add-ons, Rates and What's Included