Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own.

Telstra, Optus & more offer free data and calls for working from home: How much more do you get?

Posted:
News
Man working at home

Major telco providers have announced bonus data and free services to help Australians work remotely and connect with their families during the coronavirus outbreak.

In response to the outbreak of COVID-19 caused by coronavirus, major mobile and Internet providers have stepped up to help out. It makes sense that with more people working from home, calling their families and videoconferencing, the demand for data will skyrocket. We'll break down the offers as the providers announce them.

To skip to a specific provider's offers, simply click on their name below.

Telstra Optus Vodafone Aussie Broadband Foxtel Skymesh Activ8me amaysim Kogan Circles.Life Boost Mobile

Telstra

Postpaid

An extra 25GB of data for postpaid (including mobile broadband) customers to use within 30 days.

Redeem via the Telstra 24x7 and My Telstra apps by June 30.

Prepaid

Additional 10GB of data on a recharge of over $40 (to be used within 28-30 days, depending on your plan).

Apply on the Telstra 24x7 and My Telstra apps by June 30.

Home phone

Unlimited national calls, 13/1300 calls, and calls to Australian mobiles for pensioners with a Telstra home phone plan.

Internet

Unlimited data on all home and business Internet plans for no additional cost until June 30.

Financial hardship

  • Customers receiving the JobSeeker payment and have a fixed bundled service or multiple Telstra postpaid mobile plans may be eligible for a $20 monthly discount off their total bill for 6 months. Customers on a single Telstra postpaid plan may receive a $10 discount off their bill for 6 months. You can apply from April 20 until June 30.
  • Customers with a valid Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession card are eligible for a new $30 Value Mobile offer, which comes with 2GB of data, no excess data charges and unlimited calls and texts in Australia.

Optus

Postpaid

One-off extra 20GB of data for postpaid customers in April.

Internet

Unlimited data on all fixed broadband plans (NBN, ADSL, cable) until June 30.

Prepaid

Additional 10GB of data when you recharge $40 or more in April.

Extra measures

Australian health workers get their postpaid mobile plan fees waived for 3 months. Apply online with your current AHPRA registration number until April 30.

Other offers

Optus Sport monthly subscription will be suspended until end of May 2020 for customers who are already signed up.

Free trial of Loop Live for small business customers.

Vodafone

Postpaid

Additional 5GB of data.

Unlimited standard calls and texts until the end of April.

Prepaid

One-off extra 3GB.

Unlimited standard calls and texts until the end of April.

Excess data charges reduced to $1/GB for postpaid mobile and mobile broadband customers from March 31 to May 5.

Other offers

Data-free access to federal Health Department and state-based health department websites.

Financial hardship

'Stay Connected Cap' plan available for customers who have proof of financial difficulty, with 3GB data, unlimited standard calls and texts for $10 a month. Only available for current Vodafone customers. After three months on the plan, you'll be reverted back to your normal mobile plan. Device repayments also continue as normal. Sign up on Vodafone's website from April 20 to May 20.

Registered health practitioners get a two-month credit on their postpaid mobile plan fees and prepaid recharges.

Aussie Broadband

Internet

NBN and ADSL plans which usually have limited data will now be unmetered from 6am-6pm.

Free upgrade for customers on NBN12 plan to NBN25 plan.

Superloop

Internet

All NBN and fixed wireless plans unmetered until April 30.

Foxtel

Internet

Customers on Foxtel's older data capped ADSL and NBN plans will now have access to unlimited data.

Skymesh

Sky Muster NBN

Sky Muster satellite customers will receive an extra 10GB of data every week for three months, delivered each Monday from March 23.

Activ8me

Sky Muster NBN

Weekly 15GB data blocks to customers for three months, from March 23.

amaysim

Prepaid and postpaid

Extra 10GB data for $10 plans.

Extra 20GB data for $20 plans.

Extra 30GB data for $30 plans.

Unlimited data for $40+ plans.

All plans to have unlimited talk and text.

Kogan

Prepaid

Additional 3GB data for all customers - customers on 90- and 365-day plans will have 30 days to use this bonus, while 30-day prepaid customers will get it with their next recharge before April 30.

Data-free access to the Federal Government Department of Health and state and territory health department websites.

Circles.Life

Mobile plans

Free international calls add-on available, with 300 minutes to call 15 countries, including China, Indonesia, UK, USA, and New Zealand.

To claim the add-on, simply click on the banner (which will appear from 1 April) in your Circles.Life app.

Boost Mobile

Prepaid plans

Bonus 5GB data for customers on $40 and $50 plans.

Bonus 10GB data for customers on $70 plan.

These offers will be automatically applied.

With a large increase in users on the NBN during business hours, many of these bonus mobile data offers could help ease congestion on the network.

An additional note for regional and remote satellite NBN customers

Sky Muster Plus customers will see an expansion in unmetered content from April 1, with all traffic, excluding video streaming and traffic through a VPN, being unmetered. This means that online activities such as web browsing, email and operating system updates will be data-free for customers. Social media applications such as Skype and FaceTime, as well as video calling apps like Zoom, will also be unmetered which is incredibly handy for those working from home during this time.

A new entry-level Sky Muster Plus plan is also being introduced from April 1, giving users 25GB of on-peak data and 25Gb off-peak data, aimed to make NBN satellite services more accessible to households during this period. It should be noted that these on- and off-peak data limits are for video streaming and VPN use since the majority of your Internet usage will already be unmetered on Sky Muster Plus plans.

Need faster Internet?

If you're worried that your Internet connection won't be up to the task of allowing you to work from home efficiently, you can check out the below table which shows NBN plans at Standard Plus and Premium speeds.

Start comparing Standard Plus and Premium speed NBN plans below

1 - 5 of 33
Name Product Data Allowance Typical download speed Price Hid Compare Box!
Kogan NBN Silver Unlimited
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $58.90/mth for the first 3 months, then $68.90/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 31.12.23
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$68.90
per month
Min total cost is $58.90 for first month
Price
$68.90 per month
Min total cost is $58.90 for first month
TPG NBN50 6 Month
NBN
6 Month contract
  • 6 Month contract
  • $0 modem if you stay connected for 6 months. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$74.99
per month
Min total cost is $459.94 over 6 months
Price
$74.99 per month
Min total cost (incl delivery) is $459.94 over 6 months
TPG NBN50
NBN
Month-to-month
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $99.95
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$74.99
per month
Min total cost is $74.99 for first month
Price
$74.99 per month
Min total cost is $74.99 for first month
Dodo NBN50 Unlimited - Special
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $60/mth for the first 6 months, then $75/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 30.11.23
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $79. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$60
per month
Min total cost is $60 for first month
Price
$60 per month
Min total cost is $60 for first month
Dodo NBN50 Unlimited
NBN
Month-to-month
OFFER: $10/mth for the first month, then $75/mth. Eligibility criteria, T&Cs apply. Ends 30.11.23
  • Month-to-month
  • BYO modem or purchase for $79. T&Cs apply
Unlimited Data
Data
Unlimited Data
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
Speed
50Mbps
nbnâ„¢50
$75
per month
Min total cost is $10 for first month
Price
$75 per month
Min total cost is $10 for first month
loading

Picture: GettyImages

Get the best deal on your Internet plan

Ask an Expert

You are about to post a question on finder.com.au:

  • Do not enter personal information (eg. surname, phone number, bank details) as your question will be made public
  • finder.com.au is a financial comparison and information service, not a bank or product provider
  • We cannot provide you with personal advice or recommendations
  • Your answer might already be waiting – check previous questions below to see if yours has already been asked

Finder only provides general advice and factual information, so consider your own circumstances, or seek advice before you decide to act on our content. By submitting a question, you're accepting our Terms of Use, Disclaimer & Privacy Policy and 6. Finder Group Privacy & Cookies Policy.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Go to site