Mobile phone plans for seniors and pensioners

Concession discounts and help with costs

Telstra's concession offer gives 10% off the monthly plan fee on selected Upfront Mobile Plans for customers with an eligible health care card, pensioner concession card or Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold card, applied after other compatible discounts. You validate the card through My Telstra. Telstra also lists a complimentary six-month Pre-Paid recharge with 70GB of data for eligible customers under its Access for Everyone program.

Vodafone's seniors offer, checked on 10 October 2026, takes 10% off the monthly plan fee on its Infinite Small, Medium and Large plans, with or without a phone, and its Infinite Data plans, for approved customers with a valid Australian Seniors Card. It applies to a new service, an extra service or a handset or device upgrade; existing customers who change from another plan are excluded, and the discount stops if you cancel or change the plan. You claim it by calling Vodafone or visiting a store with your Seniors Card. It doesn't cover Vodafone prepaid.

Other providers may offer concession pricing or discounts from time to time. Ask directly, and ask what proof they need. Separately, Services Australia pays a Telephone Allowance, a quarterly payment to help with phone and internet costs, to people receiving certain payments; check its list of qualifying payments, because not every pension or allowance qualifies.

Telstra mobile plans for seniors and pensioners

Telstra doesn't sell a seniors plan, but it has the most concession help of the providers we checked. Customers with an eligible health care card, pensioner concession card or Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold card who take an Upfront Light, Basic, Bundle, Essential or Premium Mobile Plan get 10% off the monthly plan charge, applied after any other compatible discounts. The discount stops if you move to an ineligible plan or no longer hold an eligible card.

On prepaid, Telstra's Access for Everyone program offers a complimentary six-month Pre-Paid recharge with 70GB of data for eligible people, and Telstra says its Wi-Fi Calling works on Pre-Paid services, which helps where indoor coverage is poor. Telstra's concession page doesn't list a bundle deal for seniors; if you have several Telstra services, ask whether a bundle offer applies and whether it stacks with the concession discount. For home internet and home phone concessions, see Telstra internet plans for pensioners.

Telstra pensioner discount: what you get and how to apply

Telstra's concession offers page listed three discounts on 11 October 2026. Mobile: 10% off the monthly plan charge on an Upfront Light, Basic, Bundle, Essential or Premium Mobile Plan. Home internet: a $65 Starter Internet Plan with 50GB of data and unlimited standard calls. Home phone: a $10 monthly discount on the Ultimate Voice or Upfront Home Phone plan, with no late payment fees and fee-free payment options. The mobile discount is for holders of an eligible Pensioner Concession Card, health care card or Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold card; the internet and home phone offers are for eligible health care or concession card holders.

To apply, message Telstra from its concession offers page, the My Telstra app or online chat, and have your Centrelink Customer Reference Number ready: Telstra uses it to check your card with the government electronically. The discount stops if you move to an ineligible plan, cancel, or no longer hold an eligible card, and Telstra can withdraw the offer. Telstra sells no separate seniors plan. For the internet and home phone offers in more detail, see Telstra internet plans for pensioners.

Choosing a plan for an older person

Start with how the phone is actually used:

• Mostly calls and texts: a long-expiry prepaid plan (for example 180 or 365 days) means one recharge a year and no bill. Check the data is enough for occasional photos and messages; our guide to 365-day prepaid plans compares the brands that sell them.
• Regular video calls with family: a monthly plan with enough data, or rely on home Wi-Fi and a smaller plan.
• Lives or travels in regional areas: choose the network with the best coverage at those places, using the operators' standard coverage maps. The full Telstra network reaches the largest area; many Telstra resellers use the smaller wholesale footprint.
• Someone else helps manage the account: postpaid on a family account can make this easier, or set up automatic recharge on prepaid so the service never lapses.
• Poor signal indoors: Wi-Fi Calling routes calls over home internet. Telstra says it works on its Pre-Paid services and emergency calls still connect.

Make sure the phone can call 000

Vodafone closed its 3G network in January 2024, and Telstra and Optus closed theirs in November 2024. Any phone now needs 4G with Voice over LTE to make calls, and some 4G phones still could not reach 000 because they relied on 3G for emergency calls. Older basic and flip phones bought several years ago are the most likely to be affected.

ACMA rules require providers to identify phones that cannot reach 000, notify the customer, and then stop service: for a phone identified now, notice within five business days, two further notices, and disconnection 28 to 35 days after the first notice. To check a phone, text 3 to 3498 for free. If you receive a notice, do not ignore it; ask the provider about low-cost or free replacement phones, which the rules require them to give information about.

Choosing a phone

Any phone bought now should be a current 4G or 5G model that supports VoLTE on the network you choose. Simpler phones, including large-button and flip phones, are still sold; check they are listed as compatible with the network before buying. Features worth looking for include a loud speaker, hearing-aid compatibility, a physical emergency button that can call or text family, and a long battery life.

Buying the phone outright and choosing a SIM-only or prepaid plan keeps costs clear and avoids a repayment contract. If a phone on a plan is preferred, remember the ACCC's point that the handset balance must be paid off before leaving the provider.

Protecting an older person from scams

Mobile numbers are a key to bank accounts, which makes them a target:

• Set a strong account PIN or password with the provider, and do not share one-time codes.
• Providers must use multi-factor authentication before a SIM swap and must verify, usually with a one-time code sent to the phone, before a number is ported away. Tell older relatives never to read out those codes to a caller.
• If the phone suddenly shows SOS only where it normally has signal, the ACMA says the number may have been stolen: contact the provider immediately to reverse the port, and call the bank.
• Use the phone's built-in call and text filtering, and report scams to Scamwatch.

If paying the bill is hard

Every provider must publish a payment assistance policy and offer at least six kinds of help, such as deferring payment or a payment plan, under the Financial Hardship Standard 2024, and must treat disconnection as a last resort with at least 10 working days' notice. If a problem with a provider is not resolved, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is free. If a credit check is the worry, prepaid plans don't need one; see phone plans with no credit check.