Boost Mobile
The best choice for most people: farm work, road trips and the outback without dead zones.
- Full Telstra network, best coverage in the countryside
- eSIM or SIM, online or at the supermarket
- 28-day validity, no contract
No Australian phone number means no job, no bank account and no call back from the hostel. Here's which SIM card suits a working holiday, which network you need in the countryside and what you can sort out before you fly.
For a working holiday you need an Australian prepaid SIM with a number. Travel eSIMs without a number are only meant for the first few days.
The best choice for most people: farm work, road trips and the outback without dead zones.
If you want advice in person right at the airport.
Cheap if you mostly stay in cities and on the coast.
For the first few days, until your Australian number is up and running.
Like Airalo, a good backup for arrival day.
Australia has three mobile networks. Telstra covers by far the largest area; on farms, near national parks and on long outback drives it's often the only network with reception. Optus is good in cities and on the coast, but much patchier in the countryside. Vodafone is the cheapest, but the weakest outside the cities.
Many cheaper providers use one of these networks: Boost runs on the full Telstra network, amaysim on Optus. Providers like ALDI Mobile or Belong also use Telstra, but not the whole network. If you're planning farm work for the 88 days or an inland road trip, the full Telstra network is the safest bet.
In the outback: even Telstra often has hundreds of kilometres without reception between towns. Download offline maps and tell someone before long drives.
An eSIM is quicker: buy it, scan the code, verify with your passport, done. You don't need a store and can keep your home SIM in the phone. Most phones from around 2020 onwards support eSIM. You can get a physical SIM card at supermarkets, post offices and airport stores, but you'll have to take out your home SIM if your phone only has one slot.
What matters is that your phone is not locked to a provider. A phone locked to a contract back home won't accept an Australian SIM. If in doubt, have your provider unlock it before you fly.
Yes. Employers almost always call, banks and government services send codes by SMS, and an Australian resume should have an Australian number on it.
Yes, as an eSIM online. You need ID to activate it, and your passport is enough. Many people only activate on landing, because the validity usually counts from activation.
Telstra. Farms are often away from the coast, where Optus and Vodafone quickly lose reception. Boost, for example, gets you onto the full Telstra network cheaply.
Yes. Without it you won't get SMS codes from your bank at home. A cheap prepaid plan or a second eSIM is enough; switch off data roaming on it.
Next up: tax file number and bank account. The order is under Money and work, and every step before and after your flight is on the checklist. I collect discount codes for SIM cards under Discounts.
Updated October 2026. Plans and deals change often, so check with the provider before you buy. Some links may be partner links: if you buy through them I may earn a commission, and your price doesn't change.