The short answer
Outside 7am to 7pm on weekdays is 108 of the week’s 168 hours, about 64% of the week, so after-hours calls are a big share of the chances to win work. There are five ways to cover them: voicemail, diverting to your own mobile, staff on a roster, an after-hours answering service, or an AI receptionist. Voicemail is free but most callers don’t leave a message. Staff cost 125% to 250% of their normal rate on weekends and public holidays under the Clerks Award. After-hours answering services are indicatively about $80 to $400 a month. AI receptionists mostly cost $49 to $399 a month and answer at the same price day and night. Whatever you choose, decide in advance what counts as urgent and how it reaches you.
How much of the week is “after hours”?
Under the Clerks – Private Sector Award, ordinary hours for office staff fall between 7am and 7pm, Monday to Friday. That’s 60 hours a week. The other 108 hours, about 64% of the week, are nights, early mornings, weekends and public holidays.
A full-time receptionist covers 38 of those 60 hours, about 23% of the whole week, less their leave and sick days. So even a business with someone in the office has most of the week uncovered.
Five ways to cover calls after hours
| Option | Rough cost | What the caller gets | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voicemail | Usually free on business plans | A beep | Most callers don’t leave a message, and the ones who do may have rung someone else by morning |
| Divert to your own mobile | Free | You, if you pick up | You’re never off. Missed while you sleep, drive or sit at dinner |
| Staff on an after-hours roster | 125% to 250% of their rate on weekends and public holidays, overtime after 7pm | A person who knows the business | Penalty rates, rosters, and someone still has to be awake |
| After-hours answering service | Indicatively about $80 to $400 a month | A person who takes a message | Per-call fees, some charge more after hours, and you still ring back |
| AI receptionist | Mostly $49 to $399 a month, same price day and night | An answer, the details taken and often a booking | Set the rules for what’s urgent, what gets booked and what comes to you |
Why voicemail isn’t after-hours cover
In a 2025 CallRail survey of 1,000 US consumers, only 42% said they leave a voicemail when a business doesn’t answer, and 21% said they call another business straight away. There’s no Australian study of this, but anyone who has rung a few tradies for a quote will recognise it.
Ringing back in the morning has its own problem. Hiya’s 2026 State of the Call report found 86% of calls from unknown numbers go unanswered. If the customer hasn’t saved your number, your call back may never be picked up.
What it costs to have staff answer after hours
On the Clerks – Private Sector Award, a Level 2 receptionist in their first year is at least $29.45 an hour from 1 July 2026. Work outside 7am to 7pm on weekdays is overtime: 150% for the first 2 hours, then 200%.
| When | Rate | About an hour |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday, 7am to 7pm | 100% | $29.45 |
| Saturday, 7am to 12.30pm | 125% | $36.81 |
| Weekday overtime, first 2 hours | 150% | $44.18 |
| Sunday, or overtime after 2 hours | 200% | $58.90 |
| Public holiday | 250% | $73.63 |
Covering just Saturday and Sunday from 8am to 6pm with a person at these rates is at least about $950 a weekend before super. That’s why most small trade businesses don’t roster anyone, and the owner’s mobile ends up as the after-hours line.
Sort the urgent calls from the rest
Most after-hours calls aren’t emergencies. Someone wants a quote, a booking or to ask a question, and they’re happy with an answer tonight and a time tomorrow. The trick is to treat the few urgent calls differently from the many that aren’t.
| Kind of call | Examples | What should happen |
|---|---|---|
| Danger to people | A gas smell, sparking or exposed live wires | The caller is told to ring 000 if anyone is in danger, and you’re told straight away |
| Urgent job | A burst pipe, no power, a lockout, a storm leak, no cooling in a heatwave | The details are taken and you’re told straight away. You decide whether to head out |
| New work | A quote, a service or a job next week | The details are taken and it’s booked, or a time is set for you to call back |
| Existing customer | A question about a job or an invoice | A message to you for the morning |
How to set up after-hours cover
- Pick the hours you want covered. Most tradies need nights, weekends and public holidays, not just “after 5”.
- Write down what counts as urgent for your trade, and what never is.
- Decide how urgent calls reach you, and what time you stop being woken for anything less.
- Decide what can be booked without you, and into which slots.
- Decide what callers are told about when you’ll be in touch.
- Ring your own number after hours and hear it for yourself before you rely on it.
- Check the first few weeks of calls and adjust the rules.
How LeadAI covers after hours
Anna, LeadAI’s AI receptionist, answers every call and text, day and night, on weekends and on public holidays, at the same plan price. There are no penalty rates or after-hours surcharges. She takes the details, books or routes the next step inside the rules you set, and texts you straight away when a call is urgent. You set what counts as urgent for your trade.
Starter, Anna on her own with 250 inbound conversations a month, is $750 a quarter or $2,400 a year plus GST. Growth adds four more AI staff, including Emily, who follows up the night’s new enquiries and your quotes, for $950 a quarter or $3,040 a year plus GST, with unlimited inbound calls (fair use) and no lock-in contract.
Ring Emily, one of our AI staff, on 0468 199 598 tonight and hear how an after-hours call sounds.
Questions people ask
- What’s the best after-hours answering option for a tradie?
- It depends on your calls. If you get a few a week and only want messages, an after-hours answering service or voicemail may do. If you get regular calls at night and on weekends and want jobs booked, an AI receptionist covers every hour at one monthly price. Either way, set clear rules for urgent calls.
- How much does an after-hours answering service cost in Australia?
- Indicative 2026 estimates put after-hours-only cover at about $80 to $400 a month, and some services charge more per call or per minute after hours. AI receptionists mostly cost $49 to $399 a month at the same price day and night. Prices before GST.
- Do I pay penalty rates for staff to answer the phone after hours?
- Usually, if they’re covered by an award. Under the Clerks – Private Sector Award, Saturday morning is 125%, Sunday 200% and public holidays 250% for full-time staff, and weekday work after 7pm is overtime. Check the Fair Work Ombudsman pay guide for your situation.
- Will an AI receptionist wake me up for every call?
- No. You set the rules. With LeadAI, Anna answers every call and only texts you straight away when it’s urgent by your definition, like a burst pipe or no power. Everything else is waiting for you in the morning.
- Is voicemail enough after hours?
- Usually not. In a 2025 CallRail survey of US consumers, only 42% said they leave a voicemail, and 21% call another business straight away. Callbacks from unknown numbers often go unanswered too.
Sources
More guides
- AI receptionist vs answering service: which suits an Australian trade business? (2026)
What happens on the call with each, the cost at 100 calls a month, after-hours and booking fees, and when a person on the phone is still the better choice.
- How much does an AI receptionist cost in Australia? (2026 prices)
Monthly price ranges, how plans are capped, the fees that aren’t in the headline price, a worked example at 120 calls a month, and what to ask before you sign.
- What a missed call costs a tradie, and how to stop missing them
What the research says about slow replies, how to work out what your missed calls cost, and four ways to stop missing them.
- Receptionist, answering service, VA or AI: what each really costs in Australia in 2026
Award wages, answering service per-call fees, offshore VA rates and AI plans, side by side, with the maths shown.