Australia

According to ALLCITYCODES.COM, the area code for Australia is 61. It is located in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), and is one of the countries in the NANP system that makes international calls to and from other countries. The 61 code is used to make calls within Australia, as well as making international calls to and from other countries in the NANP system. The country has a number of landline operators such as Telstra, Optus, Vodafone, and Macquarie Telecom, all of which offer competitive rates for local, regional, and international calls. In addition to landlines, there are several mobile networks in Australia such as Telstra (GSM/UMTS/LTE), Optus (GSM/UMTS/LTE), Vodafone (GSM/UMTS/LTE), Virgin Mobile (GSM), Boost Mobile (GSM) and TPG Mobile (GSM). Customers can purchase prepaid sim cards from any of these providers in order to make calls to local numbers or international numbers within the NANP system. All of these networks offer competitive rates for both local and international calls. For those who need to make international calls from Australia outside of the NANP system, there are several third-party service providers that offer competitive rates on making such calls. These include International Call Cards (ICC), which allow customers to purchase calling minutes at a discounted rate; World Phone Card International Calling Services; VoIP services such as Skype; prepaid calling cards; or through VoIP apps like Viber or Whatsapp. Australia is a representative democracy with a federal division of powers. It is governed by a system of parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II at its apex as the Head of State. Australia has a three-tier system of government, with the Commonwealth Government overseeing national issues; state and territory governments managing state matters; and local governments responsible for local issues. The Australian political system operates on the basis of responsible government, whereby executive power is held by members of the Parliament who are answerable to the people at elections. The Australian Parliament consists of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House is elected by direct popular vote based on proportional representation, while Senators are chosen through an electoral system that involves both direct voting and proportional representation. The Prime Minister leads the Federal Government, which is formed following elections or when no party has an absolute majority in Parliament. Australia’s main political parties are currently Liberal/National Coalition (conservative) and Labor Party (centre-left). PROEXCHANGERATES: Features public policy of Australia.