Australia has three mobile networks. Not thirty. Telstra, Optus and the Vodafone network run by TPG Telecom own the actual towers, and every other brand you will see advertised, Boost, Amaysim, Aldi Mobile, Kogan, Lebara, Belong, felix, Lycamobile, is reselling capacity on one of those three.
That single fact saves you money. A $14 Boost recharge and a $54 Telstra recharge use the same Telstra radio towers. At the higher price you are buying more data, a faster speed cap and a retail brand, not better coverage.
Entry level prepaid starts at about $14 for 28 days with 6GB, and $23 to $30 buys 12GB to 25GB. Tourist SIMs in the arrivals hall are priced for someone who is here for nine days and does not know any better.
You need a working number fast, because your bank, your uni enrolment, your myGov account and your accommodation provider will all want to send you a code. Here is how to sort it without overpaying for the next twelve months.
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Quick facts: entry level prepaid, verified 10 September 2026
| Brand | Network | Price | Data | Expiry | eSIM |
| Boost Starter | Telstra | $14 | 6GB | 28 days | Yes |
| Aldi Mobile $23 | Telstra wholesale | $23 | 12GB | 30 days | Yes |
| Kogan Mobile Small | Vodafone | $23 | 25GB | 25GB | Yes |
| Lebara $25 | Vodafone | $25 (promo $9 first recharge) | 25GB | 28 days | Yes |
| Amaysim 15GB | Optus | $30 (promo $10 first renewal) | 15GB | 28 days | Yes |
| felix 25GB | Vodafone (TPG) | $30 ($15/mth first 2 months) | 25GB | Monthly | Yes |
| Optus $39 | Optus | $39 (promo $13 first 28 days) | 25GB ongoing | 28 days | Yes |
Most introductory rates above apply only to the first recharge or first few months. Check the provider's own site before you pay.
Which reseller runs on which network
This is the part worth memorising, because it decides your coverage and almost nothing else does.
Telstra network: Boost Mobile, Aldi Mobile, Belong, Lycamobile. Boost is the unusual one, the only reseller with access to the full Telstra retail mobile network rather than a smaller wholesale footprint, which matters if you travel regionally. Aldi Mobile and Belong sit on Telstra wholesale, and Belong is a division of Telstra Limited.
Optus network: Amaysim, plus Coles Mobile, Catch Connect and a long list of smaller brands.
Vodafone network (TPG Telecom): Kogan Mobile, Lebara, felix. Felix is a TPG Telecom brand running on the same infrastructure as Vodafone retail.
If a comparison site says a brand has "great coverage", the honest translation is that the brand bought capacity from Telstra. Coverage belongs to the network, not the brand.
Prepaid versus postpaid, and why prepaid wins at first
Postpaid means you use the service and get billed a month later. Australian telcos treat that as extending credit, so they run a credit check, and a credit check on someone who landed on Tuesday returns nothing. Expect a deposit request, a demand for a local bank account with payment history, or a flat decline.
Prepaid requires no credit check at all. Optus states this plainly on its prepaid pages. You pay first, and when the 28 days run out the service simply stops until you recharge.
Postpaid contracts are also frequently 12 or 24 months when a handset is bundled in, and a student visa is no guarantee you will be in the same city in fourteen months.
Go prepaid for at least the first semester. Once you have a local bank account and a few months of payments behind you, postpaid opens up and is sometimes marginally cheaper per gigabyte. Sometimes. Run the numbers.
eSIM, and why you should activate before you fly
An eSIM is a SIM profile downloaded to your phone rather than a plastic card. Most phones released since 2020 support it. Dial *#06# and if an EID number appears, your handset can take one.
The argument for buying before you board: you land, turn off aeroplane mode, and have an Australian number before the baggage carousel. You can call your accommodation, order a rideshare and receive your bank's verification SMS without hunting for airport wifi.
Telstra, Optus, Boost, Aldi Mobile, Kogan Mobile, Lebara and felix all support eSIM on prepaid. Lebara says eSIM works across all its plans, and Kogan advertises instant eSIM setup.
The catch: activation flows differ. Some providers let you complete the purchase and identity check from overseas, others expect an Australian network connection or a step finished in their app after you arrive. Buy two or three days before departure, verify your identity while you still have time to fix a problem, and screenshot the confirmation. The same principle applies to booking student housing before you arrive: do the admin while a phone call home is still an option.
Coverage: be honest about where you actually live
The three networks are genuinely different once you leave the coast. Telstra has the largest regional footprint by a wide margin, Optus is competitive in most populated areas, and Vodafone is the smallest outside metro.
Inside the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth CBD and the inner suburbs where almost all purpose built student accommodation sits, that difference collapses to close to nothing. All three run 5G across the inner city, and you will be on the building's wifi for most of your waking hours anyway.
So in a studio in Carlton, Ultimo, South Bank or the Adelaide CBD, paying a premium for the biggest network is money spent on a problem you do not have.
Pay for Telstra coverage if you have regional placements, a rural clinical rotation, farm work on a second visa, or road trips. Those are real reasons. "It is the best network" is not, if you never leave a five kilometre radius. Check the coverage map against your actual address before you commit.
Identity requirements: what works when you have just landed
Australian law requires telcos to verify your identity before activating a prepaid service. The ACMA rules require proof of name, date of birth and residential address, satisfied by two Category A documents or one Category A document plus two Category B documents.
That sounds hostile to a new arrival. It is not, because your foreign passport does the heavy lifting. Telstra lists an international passport among the documents accepted for prepaid activation, alongside an Australian passport, an Australian driver licence, a Medicare card and an ImmiCard. Most resellers treat a foreign passport plus a visa grant number the same way.
Have ready, digitally: your passport photo page, unedited; your visa grant notice with the grant number; an Australian residential address, which can be your student accommodation from day one; and your arrival date.
The address requirement is why activating from your room on night one is easier than activating on the plane. If you are arriving late and worried about getting into the building at all, read what to do when reception is closed before you fly.
Avoid SIMs sold by third parties that skip the ID check. That is not a shortcut, it is a service registered to someone else, and you will lose the number.
International calling: the honest answer
Several resellers bundle international minutes, and they are genuinely generous. Lebara includes unlimited standard calls and texts to 35 destinations on its $25 plan and 50 destinations from $40. Boost includes unlimited international calls to 20 destinations on most plans. Aldi Mobile adds inclusions from its $29 plan up, and Amaysim covers 28 to 42 countries depending on the plan.
Check the destination list, not the count. India, China, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are not always on the same list, and mobile numbers are frequently excluded where landlines are included.
Now the part the telcos would rather not say. If the person you are calling has a smartphone and wifi, WhatsApp, Signal, FaceTime, WeChat or Zoom cost you nothing beyond data, and your accommodation wifi is already in your rent.
International minutes earn their keep in one case: calling a landline, a bank, a government office or a grandparent who does not use apps. Otherwise, do not choose a plan on that basis.
The airport trap
Arrivals hall SIM kiosks are priced for tourists: a short validity traveller pack with a modest data allowance, at a price that would buy two or three months of a supermarket starter pack.
Aldi Mobile packs are in any Aldi. Boost and Telstra packs are in Coles, Woolworths, Australia Post and most 7-Elevens. Lebara and Lycamobile packs are in convenience stores on almost any inner city shopping strip. Kogan and felix are online only, which is fine, because you should have sorted it before you flew.
If you genuinely need connectivity the moment you land and did not organise an eSIM, buy the cheapest thing available, use it for two days, then port to a proper plan. Do not sign anything with a long expiry at an airport counter.
Airport transport is the other place first day money disappears, so if your accommodation offers a pickup, use it. See how airport pickup works.
Porting: your first choice is not permanent
You keep your number when you switch providers. Porting is free, usually completes within minutes to a few hours, and you start it with the new provider, not the old one. You need your existing number and either your account number or your registered date of birth.
Which is to say the first decision barely matters. Buy something cheap, live with it for a semester, learn where your reception actually drops out, and move if it annoys you.
One warning. Do not cancel the old service before the port completes. Cancelling first releases the number and you lose it. Let the port pull it across, and the old service closes itself.
Frequently asked questions
Which SIM card is best for international students in Australia?
For most students living in an inner city, a Vodafone or Optus based reseller at $23 to $30 a month for 25GB is the sensible default: more data per dollar, and a negligible metro coverage difference. Choose a Telstra based reseller such as Boost or Aldi Mobile if you will spend time in regional areas.
Can I get an Australian SIM card before I arrive?
Yes, if your phone supports eSIM. Telstra, Optus, Boost, Aldi Mobile, Kogan, Lebara and felix all offer prepaid eSIM. Activation steps vary and some need an Australian address or an in-app step, so start two to three days before you fly rather than at the boarding gate.
Do I need an Australian bank account to get a phone plan?
Not for prepaid. You can pay with an overseas card at most providers. You will usually need an Australian bank account for postpaid, along with a credit check that a recent arrival will not pass.
What ID do I need to activate a prepaid SIM in Australia?
Australian rules require proof of name, date of birth and residential address. A foreign passport is widely accepted, and Telstra lists an international passport among its accepted documents. Have your passport photo page, visa grant notice and an Australian address, which can be your student accommodation, ready before you start.
Is Telstra worth the extra money for a student?
Usually not, if you live in a capital city CBD or inner suburb and stay there. All three networks run 5G across inner metro areas and you will use building wifi most of the day. If you have regional placements or travel plans, Telstra coverage is a real advantage rather than a marketing line.
How much should an international student pay per month for a phone plan? Between $14 and $30 a month covers almost every student, buying 6GB at the bottom and 25GB or more at the top on a 28 or 30 day plan. Anything above $40 is data volume or speed you probably do not need on top of accommodation wifi.
Can I keep my number if I switch providers?
Yes. Porting is free and you keep the number. Start the port with the new provider and never cancel the old service first, because cancelling releases the number permanently.
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Bottom line
Buy an eSIM before you fly, spend between $14 and $30, and pick the network based on where you will actually be. In a CBD studio, a Vodafone or Optus based reseller like Kogan, Lebara or Amaysim gives you far more data for the money. For regional placements, Boost on the full Telstra network is worth the extra few dollars.
The caveat is that everything in the table above is a moving target. Australian prepaid pricing is a promotional arms race, and several prices quoted here are introductory rates that revert after the first recharge. The $9 Lebara recharge becomes $25. The $13 Optus recharge becomes $39. Read what the price becomes, not what it starts at, and confirm on the provider's own site on the day you buy.
Then stop thinking about it. Your phone plan is a $25 decision you can reverse in an afternoon while keeping your number. Your accommodation is a twelve month decision you cannot. If you have not locked that part down, start with what student living actually costs instead.