190x premium services
Premium-rate numbers (1900/1901/1902…): information and entertainment services billed per call or per minute on your phone bill.
What does calling a 190 number cost?
Charged well above standard rates — set by the service provider, billed by your telco, and excluded from every plan allowance. Charges must be disclosed in advertising, and telcos must let you bar 190x calls on request (many plans now bar them by default).
Source: Australian numbering register (thenumberingsystem.com.au, operated for the ACMA)
Risk assessment
The classic bill-shock family: competition lines, psychic hotlines and adult services that keep you talking. A missed call from a 190x number is an invitation to spend money, never an emergency — do not call back. If you're being billed for 190x calls you didn't make, dispute them with your telco and ask for a barring.
Check a specific 190 number
Related: Spam barometer · 1300, 1800 and 13 numbers explained · One-ring calls and callback traps