Telstra International Day Pass: What It Costs to Call Home, and a Cheaper Way

Telstra's International Day Pass costs $5 a day in New Zealand and some Pacific destinations, and $10 a day in 80+ others. Without a pass, calls cost $1.50 to $5 a minute, depending on the country. If you mainly need to call home, you can call Australia from your browser with 002call for US$0.02 a minute instead.

What Telstra charges to roam

Telstra's prices below are in Australian dollars (Source: Telstra).

Telstra lists pay-as-you-go rates for each country on its roaming page. They apply on non-Upfront plans, in countries without a Day Pass, or when your Day Pass is off.

How the Day Pass is charged

• It starts on its own. Once roaming is on, a Day Pass "will activate the moment your service is switched on and used" in an eligible destination (Source: Telstra).
• How long a day lasts depends on your plan. On Upfront plans it lasts 24 hours from when you use your service. On other plans it ends at 11:59 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.
• Unused data doesn't roll over. It expires at the end of each day.

On a pay-as-you-go rate, a 20-minute call home from the US costs $60. On 002call, a 20-minute call to an Australian mobile costs about US$0.72.

How to call home without roaming charges

1. Switch on airplane mode, then turn Wi-Fi back on. Your Telstra SIM stays off the local network, so no Day Pass or per-minute rate is charged.
2. Connect to Wi-Fi at your hotel, a café or your rental.
3. Open the 002call web dialer in your browser and sign in. There's nothing to install.
4. Enter the number with +61 and drop the leading 0, so 0412 345 678 becomes +61 412 345 678.
5. Place the call. The rate is shown before you dial, and you pay only for the minutes you use.

When the Day Pass is still worth it

The Day Pass includes 2 GB of data a day in Zones 1 and 2, which 002call doesn't replace. At $5 a day in New Zealand it's good value if you need data while you're out. For longer trips, a local SIM or travel eSIM for data is often cheaper than $10 a day, and you can still call Australia from your browser over it.

What a call costs on 002call

Enter your call length, or a number to see its exact rate:

Frequently asked questions

How much is Telstra's International Day Pass? $5 per day in Zone 1 (New Zealand and 6 other Oceania destinations) and $10 per day in Zone 2 (80+ destinations). Zone 3, on Upfront plans only, is $10 per day with no data.

When does a Telstra Day Pass start and end? It starts when your service is first used in an eligible destination. On Upfront plans it lasts 24 hours. On other plans it ends at 11:59 pm AEST.

How much does Telstra charge per minute without a Day Pass? It depends on the country, from $1.50 per minute in New Zealand and Singapore to $5 in some countries. The US and Japan are $3 per minute.

How do I call Australia from overseas cheaply? Use airplane mode with Wi-Fi on, and call from your browser with 002call. It costs US$0.02 per minute to an Australian landline and US$0.036 to a mobile.

Can I call 1300 and 1800 numbers this way? Yes, you can dial them in full international format. Some block overseas callers, so check the company's website for a +61 alternative.

Sources: all Telstra figures per Telstra international roaming, checked 29 October 2026. 002call's rates come from its published rate table, in US dollars. Carriers change their rates, and they vary by country and plan.