Roaming in Australia on UK networks: your best options

Three have the best Australian roaming of any UK network

You can get Australian roaming included on Three with two of their products. Either pick a cheap and flexible Pay As You Go monthly bundle. Or one of their more-expensive Complete plans on a long-term contract.

Compare all Three SIMs with roaming in Australia

For short term trips, we’d recommend the PAYG option. You’ll get up to 12GB of data to use in Australia and up to 3000 minutes and texts to UK numbers (but not Australian ones).

You can even join instantly by choosing an eSIM (as long as you’re in the UK). That lets you run it alongside your regular UK plan if you don’t want to join Three long-term. And you’re free to ditch the SIM whenever.

For regular trips to Australia and other far-flung destinations, you could be better off investing in a Complete pay monthly plan. These give you the same usage in loads of countries and some other benefits.

All of Three’s Complete plans on SIM only

Useful link: See Three’s full range of PAYG monthly bundles

Specialist eSIM providers could be a cheaper option

If you’re just going to Australia for a week or so, then it’s definitely worth looking at dedicated travel eSIM providers. These are often the cheapest way to roam outside the EU for UK customers.

There are loads of such providers these days that offer short term one-off plans. The plan lengths, prices and the local network carriers vary depending on which travel eSIM you choose. See example deals below:

Cheapest small amount of data (2GB+)

Cheapest medium amount of data (10GB+)

Cheapest big amount of data (20GB+)

Cheapest unlimited data

You get a lot more flexibility with this type of eSIM, as you’re not tied into a long term contract. Once your plan is up, you’re finished with it, until you take a new one.

And because they’re generally cheap, you can use them alongside your main UK plan, instead of paying for an expensive UK plan that includes Australia every month - even when you’re not actually travelling.

Useful link: See Roamless’ full range of SIM only deals

Sky and VOXI are decent options for shorter trips

If you’re just going to Australia on one or two short trips, we think Sky Mobile are worth a look at. They don’t include roaming there as standard but do offer some very reasonable daily passes at just £2 a day.

These let you use up to 25GB of your data per month and make calls and texts to UK numbers at no added cost (but Australian numbers aren’t included).

Yes you’re paying a daily charge that will add up while you’re there. But while you’re back in the UK, you at least won’t be paying extra every single month for roaming, like some of the other options further down.

Best current SIM only deals on Sky and VOXI

VOXI also let you take out a temporary roaming pass to use in Australia. You can take an 8 day pass or a 15 day pass which give you a small amount of mins, texts and data to use while there. These work out reasonably too.

Useful link: See which destinations are covered by Sky’s Passport Plus

EE are the best choice for frequent travellers to Australia

EE have recently changed their worldwide roaming scheme to include Australia as a roaming destination on their premium plans. Before it was an extra you could choose, now it’s automatically included.

They let you call and text UK numbers like you would at home (Australian numbers aren’t included) and use up to 50GB of your data allowance, with none of the severe speed limitations O2 below have.

Best EE plans with inclusive roaming in Australia

This makes them a great choice for frequent and longer trips. The only other limit is that you can’t roam for more than 60 days in a 90 day span. That’s really just to make sure you’re not living there.

The main downside is that roaming in Australia is only included on EE’s most expensive Full Works plan. You’d have to go to Australia pretty often to make sure this added cost is worth it.

Useful link: See which EE plans offer worldwide roaming

O2 are a decent value option for frequent Australian travel

O2 are another decent option with their Travel Inclusive Zone extra. This gives you unlimited mins, texts (to UK numbers) and technically unlimited data to use in Australia. O2’s mid-range and high-end deals include it.

The reason we say “technically” for data is because you get a small amount of full-speed data each day. After you use that up you’ll be restricted to very slow speeds. Realistically, that will limit how much you can do with it.

Best current O2 SIM only plans with their Travel Inclusive Zone

But it’s a brilliant benefit for letting you use your phone for the necessary stuff (using maps, checking reviews, etc.) while avoiding massive data charges. And you get it on cheaper plans than on EE.

Overall O2 are a great choice if you’re not fussed about streaming HD videos or things of that sort while down under. You can roam in Australia for up to 63 days in a four month span, which is very useful.

Useful links: Read O2’s guide to their Travel Inclusive Zone benefit

Vodafone’s premium plans can be good for Australian roaming

Vodafone are another decent option for roaming in Australia if you don’t mind paying more for a premium plan. They only include Australian roaming on their most expensive premium plans with unlimited data.

But while you’re there you’ll be able to use up to 25GB of your allowance. There’s no built-in speed limits and you can roam for up to 62 days in a four-month period. It’s a really flexible scheme all around.

The main issue is the big cost of these plans in the first place. It can be more worth it to join a cheaper network and pay per day to roam rather than join Vodafone if you’re not going to go to Australia often.

Best current SIM only plans with Global Roaming on Vodafone

Calls and texts to Australian numbers are also not included. If you need to roam in Australia for a long time or multiple times then Vodafone are still a good choice. But the networks above are a bit better overall.

Useful link: Read Vodafone’s guide to their Global Roaming