Where does our data come from?

This page documents every data source and processing step behind Who Called Australia. In short: official numbering data from the ACMA register plus moderated community reports — no scraped phone books and no database about people.

1. The Australian numbering register (ACMA)

The register of Australia's telephone numbers is operated for the Australian Communications and Media Authority and published with a full daily download at thenumberingsystem.com.au. We fetch it daily, and every import is transactional: the data passes validation first (row counts, format, range integrity) and is published in a single step — if anything fails, the previous state stays intact. Every run is logged. Current data as of: 31/08/2026.

2. Geographic ranges and numbering areas

Which carrier holds each block of landline numbers in each town comes from the register's geographic allocations (73,631 ranges across 2,100numbering areas). We deliberately write "range allocated to … (source: ACMA register)": the register names the holder of the range; individual numbers may since have been ported to another carrier.

3. Mobile ranges and smartnumbers

Mobile ranges (04xx, 173 allocations) and smartnumber families (13, 1300, 1800 — 614,318 entries, most of them individually allocated numbers) come from the same register. For each mobile prefix we show the holder according to the register and note that porting can change the actual carrier of an individual service. For service numbers we show the family and its charging rule.

4. Cost rules

The cost rules for 1800, 1300, 190x and the other families are maintained editorially based on the Telecommunications Numbering Plan and consumer-protection rules; every cost page links its source. After regulatory changes this reference set is updated in a new release.

5. Community reports and moderation

Ratings (scam / nuisance / safe) are anonymous; per number, one rating per sender counts every 24 hours (deduplicated with an irreversible checksum, see privacy). Longer written reports pass editorial review before publication and are labelled as the personal opinion of the person reporting. Automatic filters (links, scripts, sensitive data) run before saving, and moderation decisions are logged verifiably.

6. What our pages do not claim

• Register data identifies neither people nor the current subscriber of a number.
• The absence of reports about a number doesn't mean the caller is trustworthy.
• The number on your screen can be spoofed: legitimate numbers get abused too.

7. Indexing policy

Number pages open up to search engines only once they carry verified community reports. Empty number pages stay accessible but carry "noindex" and show no advertising.

8. Reporting beyond this site

Unwanted telemarketing can be reported to the ACMA after registering on the Do Not Call Register; scam attempts go to Scamwatchand, if you've lost money, to ReportCyber. Step-by-step advice in the guide How to check if a number is a scam.