Glossary

Number porting

The regulated process of moving an Australian phone number from one carrier to another without changing the number.

also known as: Porting, LNP, Local Number Portability, Phone porting, Number portability

Number porting is the regulated process of moving an Australian phone number between carriers without changing the digits the customer sees. The phone keeps ringing on the same number; only the carrier behind it changes. In Australia this is governed by the ACMA under the Telecommunications Act and the Local Number Portability Industry Code.

What you can port

Geographic landlines - 02, 03, 07, 08 numbers.
Mobile numbers - 04 prefixes (mobile portability).
1300 and 1800 inbound numbers - via the inbound-number portability process.
13 numbers - more complex, longer lead time.

What you can’t always port: very old PSTN numbers with no carrier-of-record record, numbers attached to specific bundled services, numbers in dispute.

How long it takes

Single-number simple port - typically 5-10 business days.
Multi-number bulk port - 10-15 business days.
Complex port (multiple ranges, 1300/1800, ISDN with DDIs) - 15-30+ business days.

The timeline depends mostly on how quickly your losing carrier responds and whether the request matches their records. Some carriers are quick (Telstra, Optus); others drag.

How the process works

Losing carrier identified - the carrier you’re currently with.
Gaining carrier submits the port request - on your behalf, with your signed authority.
Losing carrier validates - account holder, address, number-of-record.
Port date scheduled - typically a future weekday morning.
Cutover window - usually a 15-30 minute outage; both systems run in parallel to minimise call loss.
Confirmation - the gaining carrier confirms the port and starts billing.

Common gotchas

Account-holder mismatch - the name and address on the port request must match the losing carrier’s records exactly. A typo or trading-name vs legal-name difference is the most common reject reason.
Contract penalties - the losing carrier may charge an early-exit fee; check before porting.
Bundled services - if your number is bundled with internet or another product, that product may need to be re-arranged before porting.
Hardware compatibility - your new phone system needs to be ready to receive the call. Cloud Phone System Australia provisions and tests the new 3CX system before the port date.

What Cloud Phone System Australia handles

Porting is bundled into every 3CX deployment we do. We:

Prepare the Letter of Authority and gather the matching documentation.
Submit the port to your gaining carrier.
Run the new 3CX system in parallel with your existing setup ahead of the port date.
Manage the cutover window and verify call flow on the new system.
Decommission the old system once the new one is stable.

If a port is rejected, we re-submit with corrected details - usually a 1-3 day delay rather than a restart.