Providing free calls to Ukraine and its refugees

As distressing events unfold in Ukraine, we know many people in Australia will be anxiously seeking news of their loved ones.
Michael Ackland · 06 June 2022 · 2 minute read

Update: From 1 April 2023, we're currently not offering free calls or free international roaming to Ukraine and surrounding nations. For information on international calling, please see Telstra.com.

We want to help where we can, so from today we’ll be making it easier for our customers to stay in touch with friends and family by providing free calls to Ukraine.

And with many Ukrainians fleeing to neighbouring nations, we’ve followed the UN’s assessment of refugee movements to also make calls free to Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania.

We’ll be waiving charges for calls to these countries from Telstra home phones and post-paid mobiles for the next month, and we’ll continue to monitor the situation.

Customers on Telstra Pre-Paid can now call Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Moldova, Slovakia and Romania for free, provided they have an active recharge on their account within its expiry date.

Customers on Telstra post-paid can now also access free International Roaming (including voice, text and data) from Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Slovakia, as well as in Ukraine.

If you are in Ukraine and already have International Roaming charges on your bill (any time from 1 February until 31 March) we will ensure these charges are reversed.

Things you need to know

  • Keep in mind that calls to these regions may not always go through, due to potential infrastructure damage in the region.
  • Depending on your account, some people may not see the free calls logged in their call records.

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By Michael Ackland

Chief Financial Officer and Group Executive, Strategy & Finance

Michael is responsible for all our Consumer & Small Business sales and service channels. He joined Telstra in 2016 as Executive Director of Telstra Country Wide, with responsibility for over 350 retail stores and over 16,000 partners nationally. Michael joined Telstra from GE, where held the role of CEO GE Healthcare, Australia and New Zealand. In his 12 years at GE, Michael held various executive leadership roles across GE’s Australia and New Zealand business, including financial services, corporate and healthcare divisions. Prior to GE, Michael was Principal at The Boston Consulting Group, where he worked for eight years.

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