How to Call Australia from Overseas Using Skype

This travel guide gets quite a few hits from people searching how to call Australia from overseas, and we have that guide which works from standard phones and cell phones. But, did you know there’s an easier — and possibly cheaper — way to do it?!

It’s called Skype, and if you aren’t on it yet, I highly recommend that you look into it.

Most people think that Skype is only used for people to call and video call from one computer to another, but Skype can do so much more. Yes, with Skype you can actually make a basic (non-video) call from your computer to landlines and mobile phones anywhere in the world at decent rates. All it takes is a little Skype credit.

How to Call Australia from Overseas Using Skype

What you need: free Skype software, an internet connection, a headset with microphone or a computer with one built-in, Skype credit.

1. Download Skype software from their website and install.
2. Once you’ve installed the software and created an account, you can purchase credit (a minimum of $10) by going to Skype > Buy Skype Credit in your menu bar. You can pay via PayPal, Visa or Mastercard, and as long as you make one outgoing call every six months, the account stays active.
3. Check that your headset and microphone settings are working. You can do this by going to Call > Audio Settings and choosing to “make a free test call” at the bottom.
4. To make your call, choose the option under your friend list to “Call phones”.
5. Choose “Australia” from the country drop-down list where the flag is shown.
6. Enter the Australian phone number you wish to enter. You should leave out the country code (+61) since it is automatically entered after choosing the country from the menu. Finally, hit the big “Call” button.

Using Skype, you can call Australian landlines from 2.3 cents per minute, and mobiles from 20.8 cents per minute. Please see the official site for full pricing details and connection fees.

Photo credit.