1800, 13, and 1300 numbers ( including smartnumbers® ) are known collectively as inbound numbers. These are “virtual” numbers, in that they aren’t tied to any one specific phone in the same way that your landline and mobile numbers are. Instead, you route each inbound number to the “answerpoints” at which you want it to ring, including landlines, mobile phones, fax machines or call answering services. You can select multiple answerpoints for a single inbound number, for example, if you want to ring a different number outside of regular business hours, or if you want your calls to go through to an answering service when your line is busy or not being answered.
National businesses can route calls from their 1300 numbers and 1800 numbers to the answerpoint closest to where the caller is located (for example, a call from Queensland could be routed to the Brisbane office, and one from South Australia to the Adelaide office). And when 5pm rolls around and everyone in your East Coast offices goes home, calls can be routed to the Perth office to provide customers with extended support hours.
Find out more about Routing here.
Because 1300 numbers and 1800 numbers are not tied to any specific phone or exchange, you can take them with you when you move. That means that as your business grows and you move into bigger and better offices, and expand across the country, your phone number remains the same. The inbound number belongs to you, not to your telco, so you can transfer your services to a different telco without needing to change your number.