Receptionist, answering service, VA or AI: what each really costs in Australia in 2026

The options side by side

An employed receptionist

From 1 July 2026, award minimum rates rose 4.75% and the national minimum wage went to $26.44 an hour. On the Clerks – Private Sector Award, a Level 2 receptionist in their first year is now at least $1,119.10 a week ($29.45 an hour). SEEK’s average advertised receptionist salaries run from $48,446 to $61,239, depending on the industry.

The wage is only the start. Here’s our estimate of the real cost at the award minimum, with no overtime:

After 4 weeks’ annual leave, 10 days’ personal leave and public holidays, a full-timer works about 44 weeks, or 1,672 hours, a year. That’s about $39.80 for every hour someone is actually on the phones. And 38 hours is 23% of the week. Nights, weekends and their lunch break are on top, at overtime and penalty rates of 125% to 250%.

A human answering service

Answering services are the cheapest way to get a person on the line, as long as all you want is a message. Virtual Headquarters, for example, publishes plans from $25 a month plus $2.60 to $4.10 a call for messages and transfers. OfficeHQ’s plans start from $25 to $50 a month.

Booking the job is a different price. Virtual Headquarters charges $2.50 to $2.99 a minute for its booking service. At 100 calls a month that’s about $255 to $413 for messages, or about $937 if every call is a 3-minute booking (our estimate). Some services also charge more after hours.

The catch: a message isn’t a booked job. Someone still has to ring the customer back, and when you ring back from a number they don’t know, they often don’t answer. Hiya’s 2026 State of the Call report found 86% of calls from unknown numbers go unanswered.

A virtual assistant

Australian VAs earn about $31 to $36 an hour on salary sites (PayScale, Talent.com). Full-time offshore VAs through Philippines agencies work out at about A$865 to A$1,876 a month, or roughly A$5 to A$11 an hour, at published agency rates.

A VA can do far more than answer calls, but they work set shifts like any staff member. Someone still has to cover nights, weekends and their own breaks and leave, and you have to train and manage them. The Philippines is 3 hours behind the east coast in summer.

AI staff

Most AI receptionists sold in Australia cost A$49 to A$399 a month. They answer around the clock, take details and book into a calendar. Very few go further: following up the quote, chasing the invoice or asking for the review is usually still your job.

LeadAI is built around the whole office, not just the phone. On the Growth plan you get five AI staff: Anna answers every call and text, Emily follows up new enquiries and quotes you’ve sent, Carol chases deposits and overdue invoices, Jenny asks for reviews and referrals, and SAM is a personal assistant you talk to. It’s $950 a quarter plus GST, or $3,040 a year paid yearly, with no lock-in contract.

Growth includes unlimited inbound calls (fair use) and 6 to 8 outbound hours a month. Past that, calls are $0.35 a minute inbound and $0.55 a minute outbound, billed per second. Phone numbers are $12.50 a month.

Which one is right for you?

• •You only need messages taken, and you’re happy to ring everyone back: an answering service is the cheapest.
• •You need someone in the office doing physical admin, banking and supplier runs: hire a person, and use AI for nights, weekends and overflow.
• •You want calls answered and the follow-up done, quotes chased, invoices chased and reviews asked for, every day: that’s the job AI staff are built for.