Norfolk Island Phone Numbers: Format, Area Code & Validation Guide

Complete guide to Norfolk Island phone number formats, country code +672, validation patterns, and integration best practices for developers and telecommunications professionals.

Quick Reference

• Country: Norfolk Island
• Country Code: +672 (shared with Australian Antarctic Territory)
• Area Code: 3 (distinguishes Norfolk Island from other +672 territories)
• International Prefix: 00
• National Prefix: None
• Fixed Number Format: 672 3 2x xxx (6 digits total after country code)
• Mobile Number Format: 672 3 5x xxx (6 digits total after country code)
• Emergency Services: 000 (currently experiencing technical issues)

Background and Infrastructure

Norfolk Island, an Australian external territory, operates its own telecommunications infrastructure through Norfolk Telecom – a business unit of the Norfolk Island Regional Council. Norfolk Telecom provides landlines, mobile (3G/4G), and internet access.

Numbering System History

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) originally assigned country code +672 to Portuguese Timor. When Indonesia annexed that territory in 1975, the code was reassigned. Norfolk Island received the +672 allocation, sharing it with the Australian Antarctic Territory and (until 1994) Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. In October 1994, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands migrated from +672 to Australia's +61 country code under area code 091, later transitioning to the 08 9162 and 08 9164 ranges.

Sources: Wikipedia "Telephone numbers in Norfolk Island"; ITU White Book, Volume 2, Part 1, International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee, 1969

Recent Infrastructure Upgrades (2024)

In September 2024, the Australian Government completed a $7.35 million telecommunications upgrade that increased Norfolk Island's satellite internet capacity to four times its previous speed. Norfolk Telecom and Telstra delivered the upgrade using geostationary (GEO) satellite capacity from Intelsat and medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite capacity from SES.

Key improvements:

• Enhanced bandwidth for education and healthcare services
• Support for Norfolk Island Central School students to access online study services
• More reliable telehealth appointments with mainland medical support
• Network speeds four times faster than previous infrastructure

Source: Australian Department of Infrastructure, September 2024

Regulatory Framework

Norfolk Island's telecommunications system integrates with Australian telecommunications standards under the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) while retaining its unique numbering plan. Following the 2015 governance changes, Norfolk Island came under ACMA's federal oversight in 2016, replacing the previous Norfolk Island Broadcasting Act 2001. The Norfolk Island Telecommunications Act 1992 (NI) remains in force as "continued law" and provides the primary regulatory framework. ACMA enforces compliance with Australian telecommunications standards, including number allocation policies, consumer protection requirements, and privacy regulations under the Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth).

Norfolk Telecom operates as the sole voice and data provider on the island. Number portability is not available.

Sources: ACMA, 2023; Federal Register of Legislation, 2019

Note: Norfolk Island is not part of the Australian mobile network. You must purchase a local SIM card from Norfolk Telecom to use mobile services.

Number Formats

Norfolk Island uses country code +672 (shared with Australian Antarctic Territory). Norfolk Island numbers use area code 3, while Australian Antarctic Territory numbers begin with 1. All Norfolk Island subscriber numbers are 6 digits long after the country code and area code.

Landline Numbers

• Format: 672 3 2x xxx
• Example: +672 3 22 456
• Length: 6 digits after country code
• Breakdown:
  • 672: Country code (shared with Australian Antarctic Territory)
  • 3: Area code identifying Norfolk Island
  • 2: Second digit designating a landline number
  • x xxx: Remaining 4 digits of the subscriber number

Note: The second digit after area code 3 identifies the line type. Landlines use 2.

Mobile Numbers

• Format: 672 3 5x xxx
• Example: +672 3 51 234
• Length: 6 digits after country code
• Breakdown:
  • 672: Country code
  • 3: Area code identifying Norfolk Island
  • 5: Second digit designating a mobile number
  • x xxx: Remaining 4 digits of the subscriber number

Note: Mobile numbers use 5 as the line type identifier. Norfolk Telecom operates the island's only 3G/4G mobile network.

Source: Wikipedia "Telephone numbers in Norfolk Island", verified against Norfolk Island Phone Book March 2021

Emergency Services and Special Numbers

Important: 000 Emergency Number Currently Down

As of June 2025, the 000 emergency number is experiencing technical issues and is temporarily unavailable. Norfolk Telecom is investigating dial-tone multifrequency (DTMF) function and connectivity problems affecting the system.

Alternative Emergency Numbers (while 000 is unavailable):

• Hospital/Ambulance: 23333
• Police: 22222
• Fire: 22049

Normal 000 Operations: When functioning, 000 connects callers 24/7 to police, fire, and ambulance services. Norfolk Island maintains its own Triple Zero infrastructure, separate from mainland Australia's Telstra-operated system.

Source: Norfolk Island Regional Council, June 2025

Other Special Numbers:

• NIRC Customer Care (local free call): 0100
• NIRC Main Number: (+6723) 22001

Don't use reserved number ranges (000, 0100, special service codes) for application development.

Number Validation

Validate Norfolk Island phone numbers accurately using the following regular expressions. The correct format requires exactly 6 digits starting with area code 3.

Common Validation Errors and Edge Cases

Typical validation failures:

• Wrong length: Numbers with fewer than 6 digits (e.g., "32245") or more than 6 digits (e.g., "3224567")
• Invalid line type: Numbers starting with 3 but using invalid second digits (e.g., "312345", "332456", "342345", "362456")
• Missing area code: Numbers not starting with 3 (e.g., "122456", "522456")
• Invalid country code: Using +61 (Australia) instead of +672
• Format confusion: Mixing formats from different territories under +672 (e.g., using area code 1 intended for Antarctic Territory)

Edge cases to handle:

• Numbers with spaces, dashes, or parentheses that need normalization before validation
• Leading zeros in local format (should not occur in Norfolk Island numbers)
• International format with optional + prefix
• Numbers stored with or without country code

// Updated regex for correct Norfolk Island format
const norfolkIslandPattern = /^3[25]\d{4}$/;

function isValidNorfolkNumber(localNumber) {
  // Validates the 6-digit local portion (3 + [2 or 5] + 4 digits)
  return norfolkIslandPattern.test(localNumber);
}

// Example usage:
console.log(isValidNorfolkNumber("322456")); // Output: true (landline)
console.log(isValidNorfolkNumber("351234")); // Output: true (mobile)
console.log(isValidNorfolkNumber("312345")); // Output: false (invalid line type)
console.log(isValidNorfolkNumber("12345")); // Output: false (wrong length)

// For full international format validation
const fullPattern = /^\+?672\s?3[25]\d{4}$/;

function isValidFullNorfolkNumber(phoneNumber) {
  // Remove spaces and validate full format
  const cleaned = phoneNumber.replace(/\s/g, '');
  return fullPattern.test(cleaned);
}

// Example usage:
console.log(isValidFullNorfolkNumber("+672322456")); // Output: true
console.log(isValidFullNorfolkNumber("+672 3 51 234")); // Output: true
console.log(isValidFullNorfolkNumber("+672341234")); // Output: false (invalid line type)

Validation Rules:

• Local number must be exactly 6 digits
• Must start with area code 3
• Second digit must be 2 (landline) or 5 (mobile)
• Remaining 4 digits can be any numeral (0–9)

Always validate against the full local number length (6 digits starting with 3) after removing the country code.

Formatting and Display

Use the E.164 format for international calls: +6723XXXXXX. This ensures global compatibility. For local display within Norfolk Island, add spacing for readability (e.g., 3 22 456 or 3 51 234).

Input Normalization

Before validation or storage, normalize user input by removing common formatting characters:

function normalizePhoneInput(input) {
  // Remove spaces, dashes, parentheses, and dots
  let normalized = input.replace(/[\s\-\(\)\.]/g, '');

  // Remove leading + if present
  if (normalized.startsWith('+')) {
    normalized = normalized.substring(1);
  }

  // Handle cases where user enters country code
  if (normalized.startsWith('672')) {
    // Extract the 6-digit local portion
    normalized = normalized.substring(3);
  }

  return normalized;
}

// Example usage:
console.log(normalizePhoneInput("+672 3 22-456")); // Output: "322456"
console.log(normalizePhoneInput("(3) 51.234")); // Output: "351234"
console.log(normalizePhoneInput("672 322456")); // Output: "322456"

function formatInternational(localNumber) {
  // Expects 6-digit local number starting with 3
  if (!/^3[25]\d{4}$/.test(localNumber)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid Norfolk Island number format');
  }
  return `+672${localNumber}`;
}

function formatLocalDisplay(localNumber) {
  // Formats as: 3 2X XXX or 3 5X XXX for readability
  if (!/^3[25]\d{4}$/.test(localNumber)) {
    throw new Error('Invalid Norfolk Island number format');
  }
  return `${localNumber.substring(0, 1)} ${localNumber.substring(1, 3)} ${localNumber.substring(3)}`;
}

// Example usage
console.log(formatInternational("351234")); // Output: +672351234
console.log(formatLocalDisplay("351234")); // Output: 3 51 234
console.log(formatLocalDisplay("322456")); // Output: 3 22 456

Integration Best Practices

• E.164 Format for Storage: Store phone numbers in the international E.164 format (+6723XXXXXX) for consistency and portability. Store additional metadata, such as the original input format, for display purposes.
• Handle Missing National Prefix: Norfolk Island does not use a national prefix. Account for this when processing numbers from international or local formats.
• Distinguish Line Type: Use the second digit after area code 3 to identify line type: 2 for landlines, 5 for mobile. This helps with routing decisions and carrier selection.
• Single Provider Environment: Norfolk Telecom operates as the sole telecommunications provider. Number portability is not available as of 2025.
• Emergency Number Status: Check the current status of the 000 emergency number before displaying it. Implement fallback logic to show alternative emergency numbers (23333, 22222, 22049) when 000 is unavailable.
• Visitor Considerations: Applications serving visitors should note that Australian mobile networks do not cover Norfolk Island. Users require local Norfolk Telecom SIM cards for mobile service.
• Error Handling: Implement clear error messages for invalid number formats. Guide users to enter correct numbers in the 6-digit format starting with 3.

Common Integration Issues

Issue: Validation fails for correctly formatted numbers Solution: Ensure your regex matches exactly 6 digits starting with 3, followed by 2 or 5 as the second digit. Remove all whitespace before validation.

Issue: Country code confusion with Australia Solution: Norfolk Island uses +672, not +61. Validate the country code separately from the local number format.

Issue: SMS delivery failures to landlines Solution: Verify the number starts with 35 (mobile) before attempting SMS. Landline numbers (starting with 32) cannot receive SMS.

Issue: Emergency number not working Solution: As of June 2025, 000 is experiencing technical issues. Use direct numbers: 23333 (Hospital), 22222 (Police), 22049 (Fire).

SMS and MMS Capabilities

SMS Limitations:

• Two-way SMS: Not supported in Norfolk Island according to current carrier specifications (Twilio, 2024). Design messaging strategies for one-way communications only.
• Concatenated messages: Not supported. Keep messages within standard SMS limits: 160 characters for GSM-7 encoding, 70 characters for Unicode (UCS-2).
• Encoding: Messages use GSM-7 encoding for standard ASCII characters. Unicode reduces message length to 70 characters.
• Landline SMS: Cannot send SMS to landline numbers. Attempts will fail with error code 21614.
• Number portability: Not available, simplifying routing but limiting flexibility.

MMS Support: MMS messages automatically convert to SMS with an embedded URL link to view media content. This ensures delivery while maintaining access to multimedia through web-based viewing.

Sender ID Options:

• Alphanumeric sender IDs: Support varies by SMS provider. Telnyx supports alphanumeric IDs without pre-registration, while Twilio does not currently support this feature. Test with your specific provider before production deployment.
• Long codes: International long codes available; domestic long codes not supported.
• Short codes: Not currently available in Norfolk Island.

Compliance: SMS communications must comply with ACMA regulations, Australian Do Not Call Register, and privacy requirements. Obtain explicit consent before sending marketing messages, honor opt-out requests within 24 hours, and respect local time zones (UTC+11 standard, UTC+12 during daylight saving).

Sources: Twilio Norfolk Island SMS Guidelines, 2024; Telnyx Help Center, 2024; Sent.dm Norfolk Island SMS Guide, 2025

Future Considerations

Stay informed about potential changes to Norfolk Island's telecommunications regulations and infrastructure. The ACMA website (https://www.acma.gov.au) provides official updates. Monitor announcements regarding:

• Infrastructure upgrades and capacity expansions
• Number allocation policies and format changes
• Number portability implementation
• New service implementations (5G, additional carriers)
• Regulatory changes affecting telecommunications

Current Status (2025):

• 1,763 cellular mobile connections at beginning of 2025 (2.5% increase from 2024)
• Single operator environment (Norfolk Telecom)
• $7.35 million infrastructure upgrade completed (September 2024)
• 000 emergency number experiencing technical issues (as of June 2025)

Source: DataReportal Digital 2025 Norfolk Island report; Australian Department of Infrastructure

Follow these guidelines to ensure accurate and efficient handling of Norfolk Island phone numbers in your applications and systems.

Frequently Asked Questions About Norfolk Island Phone Numbers

What is Norfolk Island's country code?

Norfolk Island's country code is +672, shared with the Australian Antarctic Territory. Norfolk Island numbers are distinguished by area code 3 (appearing as +672 3), while Australian Antarctic Territory numbers use area code 1. All Norfolk Island subscriber numbers are 6 digits long after the country code and area code, following the format +672 3 XXXXXX.

How do I format Norfolk Island phone numbers?

Norfolk Island phone numbers follow the format +672 3 XX XXX in international E.164 format. Landline numbers use +672 3 2X XXX (with second digit 2), while mobile numbers use +672 3 5X XXX (with second digit 5). Store numbers in E.164 format without spaces (+6723XXXXX) for consistency. For local display within Norfolk Island, you can omit the country code and format as 3 XX XXX.

How can I validate Norfolk Island phone numbers?

Validate Norfolk Island phone numbers using the regex pattern ^3[25]\d{4}$ for the 6-digit local portion. The number must start with 3 (area code), followed by 2 (landline) or 5 (mobile), and then 4 additional digits. For full international format validation, use ^\+?672\s?3[25]\d{4}$. Always verify the number is exactly 6 digits after the country code and starts with area code 3.

What is the difference between Norfolk Island landline and mobile numbers?

Norfolk Island landline numbers use the format 672 3 2X XXX, where the second digit after area code 3 is 2. Mobile numbers use 672 3 5X XXX, where the second digit is 5. Both formats are 6 digits long after the country code. The second digit serves as a line type identifier, making it easy to distinguish between landlines and mobile numbers programmatically.

Does Norfolk Island use the same country code as Australia?

No. Norfolk Island uses country code +672, not Australia's +61. While Norfolk Island is an Australian external territory and adheres to ACMA telecommunications standards, it maintains its own unique numbering plan under the +672 country code. Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands, which also were Australian external territories, migrated from +672 to Australia's +61 country code in 1994.

Is the 000 emergency number working in Norfolk Island?

As of June 2025, the 000 emergency number is experiencing technical issues and is temporarily unavailable. Use these alternative emergency numbers: 23333 for Hospital/Ambulance, 22222 for Police, and 22049 for Fire. Norfolk Telecom is investigating dial-tone multifrequency (DTMF) function and connectivity problems. Check with Norfolk Island Regional Council for current status before relying on 000.

Can I use my Australian mobile phone in Norfolk Island?

No. Norfolk Island is not part of the Australian mobile network. You must purchase a local SIM card from Norfolk Telecom to use mobile services on the island. Norfolk Telecom operates the island's only 3G/4G mobile network with 1,763 active mobile connections as of 2025. Australian mobile plans do not provide roaming coverage in Norfolk Island.

Is number portability available in Norfolk Island?

No. Number portability is not currently available in Norfolk Island. Norfolk Telecom operates as the sole telecommunications provider on the island, and there is no mechanism to transfer phone numbers between carriers. Monitor the ACMA website (https://www.acma.gov.au) for potential updates to Norfolk Island's telecommunications regulations regarding number portability implementation.

What prefix do Norfolk Island mobile numbers use?

Norfolk Island mobile numbers use prefix 5 as the second digit after area code 3, following the format 672 3 5X XXX. Mobile numbers begin with 35 or 38 (though 35 is most common), followed by 4 additional digits. The complete international format is +672 3 5X XXX, where X represents any digit 0–9. Norfolk Telecom is the only mobile network operator.

How do I call Norfolk Island from overseas (international dialing)?

To call Norfolk Island from overseas, dial your country's international access code (e.g., 00 from most countries, 011 from the US), then 672 (Norfolk Island country code), then 3 (area code), followed by the 6-digit local number. For example, to call +672 3 22 456 from the US, dial 011-672-3-22456. Ensure you include area code 3 after the country code for all Norfolk Island calls.