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To switch mobile providers and keep your number, sign up with the new provider and ask it to port your number. The new provider does the work: it sends the request to your current provider, which must release the number even if you owe it money. Before the port goes ahead, the new provider must confirm you control the number, usually with a one-time code sent by SMS. The ACMA says a mobile port usually takes about three hours.
Keep your old service active until the port finishes, because only an active number can be ported. Porting does not cancel what you owe: you still pay any final bill, early termination charge or remaining phone repayments to the old provider. This page sets out the steps, the rules that protect you, and how to avoid porting scams.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team · Last reviewed
The new provider handles the transfer; you do not need to call the old one first.
Porting is governed by Chapter 10 of the Telecommunications Numbering Plan 2025, the industry's Mobile Number Portability Code (C570:2024, registered by the ACMA on 9 December 2024), and the ACMA's pre-porting identity verification standard. The key protections:
| Rule | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Your provider must release the number | It cannot refuse or delay a port because you owe it money or have a contract |
| Timeframes | 90% of ports must be completed within 3 hours and 99% within 2 business days (Mobile Number Portability Code) |
| Standard porting hours | Monday to Friday 8am–8pm and Saturday 10am–6pm; longer hours are encouraged but voluntary |
| Validation | Account number for a postpaid service; date of birth for a prepaid service |
| Your authorisation | Valid for 60 calendar days under the 2024 code (up from 30) |
| Identity check before a port | One-time SMS code, confirming you have the phone, or biometrics; documents only as a fallback |
| Fees | The ACMA says some telcos may charge $8 to port a mobile number |
| Your contract | Porting does not change what you owe the old provider under your contract |
Porting moves your number away from the old provider, but not your obligations to it. On a month-to-month SIM-only plan there is usually nothing more than the final bill. On a fixed-term plan there may be an early termination charge; its maximum is stated in the Critical Information Summary. On a phone repayment plan, the ACCC says you will have to pay off the handset balance before leaving if the handset term runs longer than the service.
Ask the old provider for the payout figure before you switch if you are unsure. A good switch can still be worth it with a small payout, but compare the total cost.
Any active Australian mobile number can be ported, including a prepaid number and a suspended one. A disconnected number cannot: the ACMA says once a service is disconnected you lose your right to the number, and it goes into quarantine before being reissued. Do not cancel your old service before you port.
Unused prepaid credit and data stay with the old provider; they do not move with the number. Use up the credit, or port near the end of a recharge period. Moving to a prepaid service triggers the prepaid ID check as well as the pre-porting verification.
The most common causes are mismatched details (the account number or date of birth does not match the old provider's records) and a number that is not in your name. Check the details with the old provider, then ask the new provider to resubmit. Your authorisation stays valid for 60 days.
If the port is not done within two business days, contact the new provider. If a complaint to either provider is not resolved, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is free and independent; it asks you to go to the provider first, and your provider must propose a fix for most complaints within 10 working days.
Criminals try to port a victim's number to a SIM they control, to intercept bank verification codes. The Pre-Porting Additional Identity Verification Standard, in force since 30 April 2020, requires the new provider to verify you before any port, usually with a one-time code sent to the number being ported. That is why you should never give a porting code to anyone who contacts you.
The ACMA says a sudden SOS only signal where you normally have coverage can mean your number has been stolen. Contact your provider straight away and ask it to reverse the port, then contact your bank, the police and IDCARE. The ACMA has been enforcing these rules: Lycamobile paid a $376,200 penalty in February 2026 and SpinTel $59,400 in May 2026 for breaches.
The TIO resolves complaints about phone and internet providers for free. In 2024–25 it received 57,592 complaints, and mobile services made up 44.7% of them. Raise the problem with your provider first; the TIO says skipping that step adds five days to your case. Your provider must tell you about the TIO if a complaint is not resolved within set times.
The ACMA says it usually takes about three hours. Under the industry code, 90% of ports must be completed within 3 hours and 99% within 2 business days.
Once the port completes, your number is no longer with the old provider, but your obligations to it remain: you still have to pay the final bill and any early termination charge or device balance. If the old account had other services on it, check with the provider what stays open.
No. The ACMA says your current provider cannot refuse or delay porting even if you owe it money. You still owe the debt.
Your mobile number and, for a postpaid service, your account number with the old provider; for a prepaid service, your date of birth. You will also confirm a one-time code sent to your phone.
Most providers do not charge, but the ACMA notes that some telcos may charge $8 to port a mobile number.
The port has to be authorised by the account holder, and the details must match the old account. If the number is in someone else's name, transfer ownership with the current provider first.
