Area code 03 — Melbourne, Victoria and Tasmania
03 is the landline code for Melbourne, most of regional Victoria and all of Tasmania. Councils, hospitals, universities, banks and call centres use it, and scammers copy it to look local.
About area code 03
An 03 number is the area code followed by eight digits, written 03 9xxx xxxx. The ACMA numbering plan gives 03 to Tasmania, most of Victoria and parts of southern New South Wales. The first digits show the charging district. Most Melbourne numbers begin with 7, 8 or 9 after the code, Geelong numbers often with 52, Ballarat with 53, Bendigo with 54, Hobart with 60, 61 or 62 and Launceston with 63 or 67. Because the regions do not follow state borders exactly, a few towns near the border use the code of the neighbouring state.
Landline numbers can be kept when a customer changes provider, so the company that first received a block of 03 numbers may not be the one supplying the line today. A Melbourne number also does not prove that the caller is in Melbourne. Internet phone services and remote staff can use a geographic number away from the office, which the current numbering plan describes as a flexible location.
Most 03 calls you did not expect are still genuine. Victorian and Tasmanian government agencies, councils, hospitals and medical clinics, universities, banks, energy retailers, real estate agents and tradespeople all ring from 03 numbers, as do many customer service and sales centres. A genuine caller usually refers to something you already have going on and gives you time to check before you act.
Scam calls from 03 numbers follow the national patterns. One common script claims there is a problem with your computer or your internet connection and asks for remote access to fix it. The ACMA says Telstra, NBN Co and Microsoft never cold-call about a problem with your device or ask for access to your computer. Others play a recording saying your phone or internet service is about to be cut off and ask you to press a number. Hang up on both, and never install software at a caller’s request.
Before you act on an unexpected 03 call about money, accounts or codes, end the call and ring the organisation on a number from its website, a bill or your card. Report scam calls to Scamwatch, which uses reports to warn the public. If you lost money, contact your bank first and then the police, and if your identity documents were exposed, IDCARE can help. You can also check this number here and share what the call was about.
We don’t have any reports for numbers in this area yet.
Other numbers with area code 03
Numbers without reports yet — if one of them called you, add the first.
Operators in the Melbourne, Victoria and Tasmania area
The operator shows which provider the number range was originally allocated to under the Australian numbering plan. The number may have been ported to another network since, so treat this as the origin of the range, not as the customer’s current provider. Source: Australian numbering plan, ACMA (acma.gov.au), and open numbering data from Google libphonenumber