08 at a glance
- Type
- Geographic (landline area code)
- Region
- South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory
- Country
- Australia (+61)
- Number format
- 08 XXXX XXXX (area code + 8-digit local number); +61 8 XXXX XXXX from overseas
- From abroad
- +61 8
- Cost to call
- Charged as a standard national call. Most mobile and home phone plans include calls to 08 numbers.
The 08 area code spans the largest area of any Australian code: South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, including Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Alice Springs and Kalgoorlie. Broken Hill in New South Wales also uses 08. Numbers have eight digits after the area code. Because 08 covers three time zones, an 08 call at an odd hour may simply come from a business in a different part of the country. As with every geographic code, numbers can be assigned to VoIP services, so the caller's actual location may differ. A lookup can show whether the number is a landline or VoIP line and whether others have reported it as spam.
Scammers spoof 08 numbers like any other. If a caller asks you to pay by gift card, crypto or bank transfer, hang up and report it to Scamwatch.
Who called me from 08?
The prefix tells you where the line was originally registered (SA, WA & NT), but not who is behind it. Numbers can be ported between networks and caller ID can be spoofed, so a familiar code is no guarantee. Search the full number to see its current carrier, line type and whether other people have reported it. Read our Australian phone number guide for mobile prefixes, networks and the scams currently doing the rounds.