19 October 2026 · 3 min read
Calling Australia, New Zealand and Singapore: local numbers and the rules
Three markets in the same corner of the world with very different rules. What a local caller ID does for you in each, the registers and calling hours to respect, and how to staff the time zones.
Australia, New Zealand and Singapore are attractive markets for English-language calling teams: high incomes, strong demand for business services, and working hours that overlap with a morning shift in South Asia. They also share a low tolerance for calls from numbers people do not recognise.
Australia
Australians can list their numbers on the national Do Not Call Register, run by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA). Telemarketing calls to registered numbers generally need the person's consent, so wash your list against the register before calling. Australia also sets legal hours for telemarketing: 9am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on Saturdays, with no calls on Sundays or national public holidays, in the called person's local time.
Show a caller ID. Telemarketing calls must not withhold the calling number.
Say who you are and who you are calling for at the start of the call.
Australia spans several time zones and not every state uses daylight saving, so sort your list by state.
New Zealand
New Zealand has no government-run do-not-call register for voice calls, but that is not a licence to call anyone at any hour. Industry codes expect callers to respect opt-outs, the Privacy Act governs how you use personal information, and a complaint is easy to make. Keep your own suppression list, honour it immediately, and call at reasonable local hours.
New Zealand starts its day before almost anywhere else. From Pakistan, a 9am start in Auckland is 1am or 2am, depending on the season.
Singapore
Singapore runs a national Do Not Call (DNC) Registry under its Personal Data Protection Act, overseen by the Personal Data Protection Commission. Before making a marketing call to a Singapore number you must check it against the registry, unless the person has given clear consent, and a check is only valid for a limited period.
Singaporeans are also used to treating overseas calls with suspicion: incoming international calls are shown with a plus sign on local phones, a measure introduced against scams. A local Singapore number avoids starting the conversation from that position.
Staffing the time zones
All three markets are well ahead of Europe and South Asia. From Pakistan, the useful hours run from the early morning to the early afternoon:
Sydney and Melbourne: 9am to 8pm is 3am to 2pm in Pakistan during Australian daylight saving (October to April), and 4am to 3pm the rest of the year.
Auckland: 9am to 8pm is 1am to noon in Pakistan during New Zealand daylight saving (late September to early April), and 2am to 1pm the rest of the year.
Singapore: 9am to 8pm is 6am to 5pm in Pakistan all year.
Every other country is in the best times to call from Pakistan.
Setting it up on ReachCalls
ReachCalls has a separate plan for each of the three countries, priced per agent, and each plan dials its own country with a local caller ID. Agents work from a browser tab, so an early-morning shift can start from home without anyone travelling to an office in the dark. Calls are charged by the second from a monthly call credit. Compare the plans.
