A 1300 number is not just a phone number. It is a call routing engine.
The number itself is meaningless without the rules that determine what happens when a customer calls it. Most businesses set up their 1300 number to ring one mobile and leave it there. That works — until the mobile is off, the manager is in a meeting, or a customer in Perth calls at 5am expecting an after-hours message and gets ringing instead.
Understanding the routing options available to you is the difference between a 1300 number that works and one that works for you. This guide breaks down every main routing type, explains the real-world scenarios where each one earns its place, and helps you think through the configuration that suits your operation.
The Five Main 1300 Number Routing Types
Time-of-Day Routing
Time-of-day routing sends calls to different destinations depending on when they arrive. Business hours go to one place; after hours go somewhere else entirely.
A typical setup looks like this:
- Monday to Friday, 8am–5pm: calls route to the office landline or your team's hunt group
- After 5pm and weekends: calls route to an on-call mobile
- Public holidays: calls route directly to a voicemail with a specific recorded message explaining the closure
This is the most common routing type and also the most immediately valuable for small businesses. It costs nothing in missed calls and nothing in customer frustration — because every caller reaches an appropriate destination regardless of when they ring.
Scenario: A plumbing company in Sydney routes weekday calls between 8am and 5pm to their dispatch desk. After 5pm and all weekend, calls roll to the on-call plumber's mobile. Public holidays send callers to a voicemail that explains the reduced availability and invites them to leave a message for priority callback. Three simple rules. Every caller handled.
Geographic Routing (State-Based)
Geographic routing directs calls based on where the caller is located. A caller in Queensland routes to the Brisbane office; a caller in Victoria routes to Melbourne. The 1300 number acts as a single national contact point, but the routing layer distributes calls to the right team automatically.
This works well for businesses with genuinely state-based operations — separate sales teams, distinct service territories, or regionally managed accounts where local knowledge matters.
Important technical note: Geographic routing on 1300 numbers works reliably for landline callers. The caller's telephone exchange determines their location, and the routing rules act on that. For mobile callers, the system uses the registration state of the mobile number — which is where the SIM was originally connected, not necessarily where the caller is physically located at the time of the call. A Melbourne-registered mobile calling from Brisbane will likely route to the Melbourne team.
If your customer base is predominantly mobile callers, geographic routing will produce inconsistent results without a fallback like an IVR menu (covered below). Businesses with genuinely state-based operations should factor this limitation into their routing design.
Postcode Routing
Postcode routing is more granular than state-based routing. Rather than splitting calls by state, the system routes based on the caller's postcode — directing them to their nearest location, territory representative, or franchise partner.
This is commonly used by:
- Franchise groups where territories are defined at the suburb or postcode level
- Trades businesses with geographic service boundaries (plumbers, electricians, cleaners)
- Multi-location retail or service businesses wanting callers to reach their nearest branch automatically
The same limitation applies here as with geographic routing: postcode matching works from the caller's landline exchange. For mobile callers, the routing falls back to the mobile's registration state, so a granular postcode rule will not apply. Businesses relying heavily on postcode routing should configure a sensible fallback destination for mobile callers.
IVR (Interactive Voice Response) / Auto-Attendant
IVR presents the caller with a recorded menu of options and routes them based on the key they press.
"Thank you for calling Acme Services. Press 1 for sales. Press 2 for support. Press 3 for accounts. Press 0 to speak with our team."
Each selection connects to a different destination — a different team, a different office, a different voicemail. IVR can be a single-level menu or multi-level, where pressing 1 opens a sub-menu with further options.
When configured well, IVR speeds up call handling, reduces internal transfers, and ensures callers reach the right person on the first attempt. When configured poorly — too many options, slow prompts, no way to reach a human — it frustrates callers and drives hang-ups.
Practical guidance for small businesses:
- Keep menus to three or four options maximum. Beyond that, callers begin pressing random keys or hanging up.
- Always include a "press 0 to speak with someone" option. Callers who do not know which option applies to them need an escape route, not a dead end.
- Record prompts professionally. A clear, unhurried recording builds confidence; a rushed or distorted one undermines it from the first second.
- Avoid burying common options at the end of the menu. Put your highest-volume selection first.
IVR is also a useful fallback for geographic routing limitations. When a mobile caller's state cannot be reliably determined, an IVR menu lets them self-select their destination — which is more accurate than any automated inference.
Overflow and Failover Routing
Overflow routing activates when the primary destination does not answer within a set number of rings. The call rolls to a secondary destination automatically — another mobile, a different team member, a different office, or voicemail.
This prevents a single unanswered phone from becoming a missed call with no record and no follow-up.
Failover routing can be stacked in sequence:
- Primary: office reception
- Secondary: office manager's mobile
- Tertiary: sales team member's mobile
- Final: voicemail
If reception does not answer, the call moves to the manager. If the manager does not answer, it moves to the sales team. If nobody answers, the caller reaches voicemail.
Voicemail-to-email is a critical companion to overflow routing. When a caller leaves a message, the voicemail is converted to an audio file and delivered to a nominated email address immediately. A missed call becomes an email notification in real time — not a voicemail discovered at the end of the day when the window to respond has closed.
Simultaneous Ring (Hunt Groups)
Simultaneous ring is an alternative to sequential overflow. Rather than ringing one number and then rolling to the next if unanswered, simultaneous ring sends the call to multiple numbers at the same time. The first person to pick up takes the call; the other phones stop ringing.
This is used by teams where any member can handle an incoming call — sales teams, support desks, or shared reception setups. It minimises ring time for the caller and maximises the chance of a live answer. It works particularly well when combined with time-of-day routing: business hours ring the whole team simultaneously; after hours overflow to a nominated on-call contact.
Combining Routing Types: A Real-World Example
Most sophisticated 1300 setups combine multiple routing types into a single layered configuration. Here is a practical example.
A two-location legal firm operates offices in Sydney and Melbourne. Their 1300 number is configured as follows:
- Geographic routing routes NSW-originating calls to the Sydney reception desk and VIC-originating calls to the Melbourne reception desk.
- Time-of-day routing at each destination routes business-hours calls to the reception desk and after-hours calls to a voicemail-to-email inbox, so nothing is missed overnight.
- IVR as a fallback for mobile callers whose registration state cannot be matched to either location: "Press 1 for our Sydney office. Press 2 for our Melbourne office." The caller self-selects the right team in under five seconds.
That is one 1300 number doing five things simultaneously — geographic sorting, business-hours routing, after-hours capture, voicemail-to-email notification, and IVR fallback — that a single mobile number cannot replicate at all.
Routing Options Included With Pickle's 1300 Plans
Pickle's 1300 number plans include time-of-day routing, overflow routing, and voicemail-to-email as standard. IVR and geographic routing are available across plans. For current plan tiers and exactly what is included at each level, visit the Pickle 1300 numbers product page to compare options and find the configuration that suits your business.
If you are still deciding whether a 1300 number is right for your business, the 1300 number cost guide covers what you can expect to pay, and how to choose the right 1300 number helps you think through number selection. If you are already on a plan elsewhere, switching your 1300 number to Pickle explains how the process works.
Common 1300 Routing Mistakes to Avoid
Even businesses that invest in a 1300 number frequently misconfigure the routing — and the cost is missed calls, frustrated customers, and opportunities that disappear without a trace.
Not setting up after-hours routing. The default for many new 1300 numbers is to ring the nominated destination indefinitely. If that destination is an unmanned desk after 5pm, callers ring out to nothing. No message, no answer, no record. Set an after-hours rule on day one.
IVR with too many options. An eight-option IVR menu is not a professional phone system — it is an obstacle course. Callers who cannot identify the right option within the first few seconds begin pressing keys at random or hanging up. Three to four options is the practical maximum for a small business menu.
Relying on geographic routing for a mobile-heavy audience. If the majority of your inbound calls come from mobile numbers, geographic routing based on registration state will produce frequent mismatches. Pair geographic routing with an IVR fallback for unmatched mobile callers, or reconsider whether IVR alone is a better fit for your setup.
No overflow configured. If your 1300 number rings one destination with no overflow, every unanswered call is a lost call. There is no record, no voicemail, and no way to follow up. Even a simple two-step overflow — primary to voicemail-to-email — closes that gap completely.
Setting up voicemail but not checking it. Voicemail-to-email exists precisely because nobody reliably checks a voicemail inbox. If your overflow terminates at voicemail without an email notification, messages accumulate unheard. Enable voicemail-to-email and route the notifications to an inbox that is actively monitored.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I change my 1300 routing rules myself?A: Yes. Most providers, including Pickle, give you access to a self-service portal or management dashboard where you can update routing rules, change destinations, adjust time-of-day schedules, and modify IVR prompts without needing to raise a support request. Some changes — such as uploading new IVR recordings — may require a brief processing period before they go live.
Q: Does routing cost extra on top of the 1300 number plan?A: Routing configuration itself is generally included as part of the plan. Advanced features like IVR or geographic routing may be available only on certain plan tiers rather than charged as standalone add-ons. Check the plan details on the Pickle 1300 product page to confirm what is included at each tier before signing up.
Q: Can I route my 1300 number to a mobile?A: Yes. A 1300 number can ring through to any Australian landline or mobile number. There is no requirement to route to a landline. Many small business owners route their 1300 number directly to their mobile, particularly during business hours, with overflow to voicemail-to-email configured as a fallback.
Q: What is the difference between IVR and an auto-attendant?A: The terms are used interchangeably in most business phone contexts. An auto-attendant is the broader concept — a system that answers calls and directs them without a human operator. IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is the technology that makes it work: a recorded prompt, a keypad input from the caller, and a routing action based on that input. When people say "auto-attendant" in the context of a 1300 number, they almost always mean IVR.
Q: Can geographic routing tell where a mobile caller is located?A: No. Geographic routing on 1300 numbers determines location from the caller's telephone exchange for landline calls. For mobile callers, the system uses the state in which the mobile number was originally registered — not the caller's physical location at the time of the call. A mobile number registered in New South Wales will route as an NSW caller even if the person is calling from Western Australia. If your audience is predominantly mobile, factor this limitation into your routing design and consider an IVR fallback for unmatched mobile callers.
Ready to configure a 1300 number that actually works for your business? Talk to the Pickle team.
Call 1300 688 588 or email [email protected].