Call Forwarding to AI Receptionist in Australia: Keep Your Number, Answer Every Call
The Complete Guide for Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and more
You’ve got that number on the ute.
On the website. On the fridge magnets you handed out at the Bunnings car park expo in 2021. Probably on a vinyl banner somewhere, too, faded but functional.
So when someone tells you that an AI can answer every call, book appointments, and handle after-hours enquiries — your first question isn’t *”how does it work?”*
It’s *”Do I have to change my number?”*
No. You don’t. Not even close.
This article explains exactly how call forwarding works in Australia, which types exist, the codes to dial on Telstra, Optus and Vodafone, what it costs (usually nothing extra), and how businesses like yours use it to let Sam — BeAI Expert’s AI voice agent — pick up every call that would otherwise disappear into voicemail hell.
We have come across these kinds of doubts over and over, so we decided to illustrate the answer using our AI friend Daniel, who represents the HVAC industry. But of course, these questions are definitely not limited to the home service industries.
And if you want to see what other Australian business owners are saying about it, jump into the conversation on LinkedIn.
But if you want the full technical picture, this is it.
First, Let’s Talk About Missed Calls
Before we get into codes and carriers, let’s be honest about what’s actually happening on your phone.
The average small business misses somewhere between 30% and 40% of incoming calls. And of the callers who hit voicemail? Most of them hang up without leaving a message. They just… move on. To the next tradie on the list. To the competitor down the road.
That’s not a voicemail problem. That’s a revenue problem.
Now, you could hire a full-time receptionist. In Sydney, that’s going to cost you somewhere between $55,000 and $70,000 per year before super, leave, and the occasional sick day when you really need cover. Please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not pitching that AI Voice Agents should replace human beings. But I’m pretty sure there are moments where humans are busy, unreacheable or simply might decide not to perform particular tasks.
For example, Martha is our charismatic AI character who represents human receptionists. In her example, we illustrate when humans prefer doing something more rewarding than certain repetitive operations.
Circumstances like this add up to moments when you can’t pick up your phone, and then you have a wide range of scenarios where you should consider setting up call forwarding to an AI voice agent that answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Without ever taking a lunch break or complaining about the parking situation.
The setup? About 30 seconds on your phone.
That’s what this guide is about.
What Is Call Forwarding, Actually?
Call forwarding (also called “call diversion” in some carrier documentation) is a feature built into the mobile network itself — not an app, not a third-party service, not something that requires a new handset. It’s been part of the GSM standard that every Australian mobile network runs on for decades.
When you set up a call forward, you’re essentially telling the network: *”If X happens to a call coming to my number, send it here instead.”*
The caller dials your number. Your number doesn’t change. They just hear ringing — and whoever (or whatever) you’ve nominated picks up.
There are four types of call forwarding available on Australian mobile networks, each triggered by a different condition. We’ll cover all of them, plus a fifth configuration — the one we actually recommend for most business owners — that combines three of them into a single safety net.
A Quick Note on How These Codes Work
The codes below are called GSM feature codes (or MMI codes). You type them directly into your phone’s keypad as if you were dialling a number, then press call. The network processes the instruction and confirms it with a message on the screen.
The format looks like this:
**[code]*[forwarding number]*[optional ring time]#
That leading ** on some codes means “activate.” A # at the start means “deactivate.” A *# at the start checks the current status.
Each carrier uses slightly different syntax. We’ll spell them all out.
Operation 1: Unconditional Call Forward (CFU)
“Forward Every Single Call — No Questions Asked”
This is the nuclear option. Every call that comes in gets diverted immediately to your nominated number. Your phone doesn’t ring. The caller doesn’t know. They just get answered by whoever you’ve set up on the other end.
When to use it:
– You’re going on leave, to a remote job site, or somewhere with no coverage
– You want to fully hand over a phone line to Sam Beai during business hours and never have your own handset ring at all
– You’ve got a secondary business number and want 100% of calls going straight to your AI agent
When not to use it:
– If you still want to be able to answer some calls yourself. See Operation 5 instead
### Activation Codes
| Carrier | Activate | Deactivate | Check Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra | **21*04XXXXXXXX*10# | ##21# | *#21# |
| Optus | *21*04XXXXXXXX# | #21# | *#21# |
| Vodafone | *21*04XXXXXXXX# | #21# | — |
Telstra also lets you do this by SMS — text CFU ON 04XXXXXXXX to 144 to activate, and CFU OFF to turn it off. Handy if you’re already on-site and don’t want to fumble through menus. (Telstra Support)
Operation 2: Conditional Forward — No Answer (CFNA)
“Forward If I Don’t Pick Up”
This is the one most business owners end up loving.
Your phone rings exactly as it always has. If you answer — great, it’s your call. But if you don’t pick up within a set number of seconds (15 to 30, depending on your carrier), the call silently transfers to your nominated number. The caller keeps hearing ringing the whole time. They never hit voicemail. They never get a busy tone. They just… get answered.
By Sam.
You get the first right of refusal on every call. Sam gets everything you miss. Checkout how Janet, our AI character who represents Personal Trainers, relies on Sam to pick up her calls when she’s busy doing her actual work.
When to use it:
- You’re a tradie on the tools and can’t always grab your phone mid-job
- You’re in a meeting with a client, or up a ladder
- You want after-hours coverage without changing a single thing about how your number works during the day
This is the most recommended setup for BEAI Expert clients. It requires zero change to your daily workflow. Your number stays. Your habits stay. The only thing that changes is that missed calls stop being missed.
Activation Codes
| Carrier | Activate | Ring Time | Deactivate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telstra | **61*04XXXXXXXX*[seconds]# | 15–30 sec (5-sec increments) | ##61# |
| Optus | *61*04XXXXXXXX**[seconds]# | 10–30 sec | ##61# |
| Vodafone | *61*04XXXXXXXX# | 15 sec (fixed) | #61# |
Telstra example with a 25-second ring time: **61*0412345678*25#
Then press Call. Done. (Telstra Support)
The ring time is worth thinking about. Too short (15 seconds), and you’ll miss calls you could have answered. Too long (30 seconds) and callers may hang up before the forward kicks in. For most business owners, 20–25 seconds hits the sweet spot.
Operation 3: Conditional Forward — Busy (CFB)
“Forward If I’m Already Talking to Someone”
Picture this: you’re mid-conversation with a supplier. Another call comes in. Normally that caller hears an engaged tone, or your call waiting beeps and interrupts you, or they hit voicemail.
With CFB active, they get silently forwarded to your nominated number instead. Sam answers. She gets their details, books the appointment, or handles the enquiry. You finish your conversation none the wiser.
No engaged tone. No lost lead.
When to use it:
- You’re a sole trader who handles all calls personally
- Call clusters are common in your industry (think: HVAC on a hot Sydney day, or a plumber on a Friday afternoon)
- You want Sam as a second line, not a fallback
This one pairs beautifully with CFNA. Together, they cover the two most common reasons a call goes unanswered: you didn’t pick up in time, or you were already talking.
Activation Codes
| Carrier | Activate | Deactivate |
|---|---|---|
| Telstra | **67*04XXXXXXXX*10# | ##67# |
| Optus | *67*04XXXXXXXX# | ##67# |
| Vodafone | *67*04XXXXXXXX# | #67# |
(Vodafone Australia Support) (Access Comms — Australian Network Feature Codes)
Operation 4: Conditional Forward — Unreachable (CFNRc)
“Forward If I’m Completely Off the Grid”
This one is different from the others. And most people don’t even know it exists.
When your phone is switched off, in flight mode, out of coverage, or has a flat battery, callers would normally hit voicemail or get a network error. But with CFNRc active, the network itself intercepts the call before it ever reaches your handset and routes it to your nominated number.
Your phone doesn’t need to be on. It doesn’t need coverage. The network handles it all at the carrier level.
When to use it:
- You work in basements, roof cavities, tunnels, or rural properties where the signal is patchy
- Your business phone gets powered down overnight or on weekends
- You want zero missed calls even in worst-case scenarios
This is the silent backstop. Most people set it and never think about it again — but it’s working every single time you go underground or the battery dies.
Activation Codes
| Carrier | Activate | Deactivate |
|---|---|---|
| Telstra | **62*04XXXXXXXX*10# | ##62# |
| Optus | *62*04XXXXXXXX# | ##62# |
| Vodafone | *62*04XXXXXXXX# | #62# |
(Telstra Support) (Vodafone Australia Support)
Operation 5: The Triple Conditional Combo
“The Sam Setup” — CFNA + CFB + CFNRc Together
Here’s the configuration we actually recommend.
Not a single network feature. A setup — three conditional forwards all pointing to the same number, all active at once. Your phone rings as normal. You answer what you can. Sam catches everything else: the call you didn’t pick up in time, the call that came in while you were already talking, and the call that arrived while you were in a roof space in Penrith with zero bars.
100% of calls answered. Zero change to your number. Zero change to your daily workflow.
This is the answer to the question every new client asks: “But do I need to change my number?”
You don’t. You just dial three codes, or in Telstra’s case, one shortcut.
Telstra Shortcut
| Action | Code |
|---|---|
| Activate all three conditional forwards to one number | *004*04XXXXXXXX# |
| Deactivate all three at once | ##004# |
For Optus and Vodafone, run the three individual codes from Operations 2, 3, and 4 above. Takes about 90 seconds.
What Does It Cost?
Honest answer: it depends on your plan and carrier. Here’s the breakdown.
Telstra
Call forwarding is included at no additional charge on all Telstra plans with unlimited call inclusions, which covers most current postpaid business plans. Ring time on CFNA is adjustable between 15 and 30 seconds in 5-second increments. (Telstra Support)
Vodafone
No additional charge for call forwarding to Australian numbers on any postpaid plan. One important caveat: Vodafone prepaid plans cannot forward calls to a custom number — prepaid can only divert to Vodafone’s own voicemail service. If you’re on Vodafone prepaid, you’ll need to upgrade to postpaid to use Sam’s number. (Vodafone Australia Support)
Optus
Included on most postpaid plans with standard call inclusions. If you’re on an older or more basic plan, check your inclusions — some legacy Optus plans treat forwarded calls as standard outgoing calls and charge accordingly. (Optus Feature Access Codes)
MVNOs (Amaysim, ALDI Mobile, TPG, Kogan, etc.)
This is where it gets more expensive. MVNOs — the smaller carriers that piggyback on the Telstra, Optus, or Vodafone networks — often charge a per-minute surcharge for forwarded calls on top of your standard rate.
Amaysim, for example, charges a combined rate of approximately 32c per minute for forwarded calls (standard rate plus a diversion surcharge). (Amaysim Support) ALDI Mobile similarly applies forwarding charges that are not included in any standard plan pack. (ALDI Mobile Blog)
If you’re on an MVNO and your business takes a high call volume, it’s worth checking whether moving to a major carrier plan saves you money on forwarding costs over the course of a month.
The Smart Way to Minimise Costs
The Triple Conditional Setup (Operation 5) actually helps here. Because calls only forward when you genuinely can’t answer — busy, no answer, or unreachable — the volume of forwarded minutes is naturally lower than with unconditional forwarding. You answer what you can. Sam handles the rest. You’re not paying forwarding charges on calls you could have taken yourself.
What About My Landline or Office Number?
If your business runs a landline or NBN voice service, call forwarding works there too, but the activation method is different. Most Telstra landlines are used *21*[number]# for unconditional forwarding and *21# to cancel. For NBN-based VoIP systems (through providers like Aussie Broadband, Leaptel, or Superloop), forwarding is usually managed through a web portal rather than a keypad code.
Worth a call to your internet service provider if you want to forward a landline to Sam — it’s almost always possible, and most providers walk you through it in under five minutes.
Your Rights: You Can Always Keep Your Number
One thing worth saying clearly: your phone number belongs to you, not your carrier.
Under Australian telecommunications regulations administered by the ACCC, you have the right to keep your mobile or fixed number when you switch carriers or services. This is called number portability and it’s been a legal right in Australia for decades.
That means if you’re on a plan that’s charging you for forwarding and you want to switch to Telstra or Vodafone for free forwarding, you can take your number with you. Your clients never notice a thing.
So, Where Does Sam Fit Into All of This?
Sam is BeAI Expert’s AI voice agent. She answers calls, books appointments, handles common questions, and — when it’s genuinely urgent — escalates to a real person. She works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and she doesn’t mind being called at 2 am by a homeowner with a burst pipe.
The way it works in practice is straightforward. You set up call forwarding (we’d suggest Operation 5 — the Triple Conditional Combo), pointing to Sam’s dedicated line. That’s it. Your number doesn’t change. Your clients dial the same number they always have. They just stop hitting voicemail.
Sam answers within seconds. She’s trained on your business — your services, your pricing, your availability, your trade area. She books directly into your calendar. She sends confirmation texts. She follows up with reminders that reduce no-shows by 30–40%.
And while she’s doing all of that, you’re finishing the job, eating your lunch, or spending a Saturday morning not glued to your phone.
Want to see what that looks like in practice? Start here.
Quick Reference: All the Codes in One Place
Telstra
| Operation | Code | Cancel |
|---|---|---|
| All calls (CFU) | **21*04XXXXXXXX*10# | ##21# |
| No answer (CFNA) | **61*04XXXXXXXX*[sec]# | ##61# |
| Busy (CFB) | **67*04XXXXXXXX*10# | ##67# |
| Unreachable (CFNRc) | **62*04XXXXXXXX*10# | ##62# |
| All three at once | *004*04XXXXXXXX# | ##004# |
Optus
| Operation | Code | Cancel |
|---|---|---|
| All calls (CFU) | *21*04XXXXXXXX# | #21# |
| No answer (CFNA) | *61*04XXXXXXXX**[sec]# | ##61# |
| Busy (CFB) | *67*04XXXXXXXX# | ##67# |
| Unreachable (CFNRc) | *62*04XXXXXXXX# | ##62# |
Vodafone
| Operation | Code | Cancel |
|---|---|---|
| All calls (CFU) | *21*04XXXXXXXX# | #21# |
| No answer (CFNA) | *61*04XXXXXXXX# | #61# |
| Busy (CFB) | *67*04XXXXXXXX# | #67# |
| Unreachable (CFNRc) | *62*04XXXXXXXX# | #62# |
Sources: Telstra · Vodafone Australia · Optus Feature Access Codes (PDF) · Access Comms — Australian Network Feature Codes
What Calls Does Sam Actually Handle?
Good question to close on. Here’s what a typical BeAI Expert voice agent handles from day one:
- New enquiries — answers common questions about services, pricing, and availability
- Appointment booking — books directly into your calendar, sends confirmation by SMS
- Appointment reminders — automated SMS at 48 hours and 24 hours before the appointment
- After-hours calls — handles enquiries even when the business is closed, so no lead goes cold overnight
- Emergency triage — identifies genuine emergencies and escalates to a real person
- Lead qualification — gathers the right information before a job is even booked, so you’re only spending time on the right leads
Not every business needs all of that. But most businesses would genuinely benefit from at least one of those things — and probably several.
The forwarding setup is the easy part. Thirty seconds, one code, done. The business impact is what takes a bit longer to get your head around.
Ready to Set Sam Up?
If you’ve got questions about how call forwarding works with your specific plan, book a demo call with our team — Sam will probably answer.
And if you want to see a full demo of what an AI voice agent actually sounds like handling a real business call, head to our solutions page. No pressure, no hard sell. Just a look at what’s possible.
You’ve already got the number. Now let’s make sure every call that comes to it actually gets answered.
BeAI Expert is an AI automation business based in Sydney, Australia. We help business owners in home services, trades, dental, real estate, fitness, and hospitality set up AI agents that handle calls, book appointments, and manage customer communication — without replacing the human relationships that matter most. Learn more at beai.expert
Bonus: Call Forwarding Acronym Glossary
These are GSM supplementary service codes, defined in the ETSI/3GPP GSM standard (specifically GSM 03.82) etsi that underpins every mobile network in Australia.
| Acronym | Stands For | Plain English |
|---|---|---|
| GSM | Global System for Mobile Communications | The underlying mobile network standard used by Telstra, Optus and Vodafone |
| MMI | Man-Machine Interface | The technical name for the keypad codes you dial (e.g. **21*04XXXXXXXX#) |
| CFU | Call Forwarding Unconditional | Forward every call, no conditions, no exceptions |
| CFB | Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber Busy | Forward when you’re already on another call |
| CFNA | Call Forwarding No Answer | Forward when you don’t pick up in time |
| CFNRc | Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber Not Reachable | Forward when your phone is off, out of coverage, or unreachable by the network |
| CFNRy | Call Forwarding on mobile subscriber No Reply | A close cousin of CFNA — used in some technical specs to distinguish “no reply” from “not reachable.” In practice, most carriers label this simply as “no answer.” |
| MVNO | Mobile Virtual Network Operator | A smaller carrier (like Amaysim, ALDI Mobile, Kogan) that leases network infrastructure from Telstra, Optus or Vodafone rather than operating its own towers |
| ACCC | Australian Competition and Consumer Commission | The federal regulator overseeing number portability rights accc.gov |
| ACMA | Australian Communications and Media Authority | The government body administering Australia’s telecommunications numbering plan |
| NBN | National Broadband Network | Australia’s wholesale broadband infrastructure, relevant when discussing landline/VoIP call forwarding |
One subtle distinction worth knowing: CFNRc and CFNRy are actually two separate entries in the GSM standard. CFNRy (“no reply”) is the ring-timeout forward. Your phone rang, but you didn’t answer. CFNRc (“not reachable”) is the network-level intercept when your handset can’t be contacted at all. Most carriers fold both under the generic label “no answer” in their consumer apps and support pages, but they use different activation codes under the hood, which is why you dial **61* for no answer and **62* for unreachable on Telstra.
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