What an answering service costs an Australian law firm
Published 2026 prices for receptionist services, AI receptionists and a flat plan, worked through at three call volumes, with the charges that do not appear in the headline price and the cost of employing a receptionist for comparison.
The advertised price is rarely the bill. Receptionist services advertise a $25 to $49 monthly fee and charge for each call or minute on top, so cost rises with the number of people who ring.
- Receptionist services: $25 to $49 a month, plus $2.45 to $3.99 a call or $2.99 a minute, before GST.
- AI receptionists: $49 to $499 a month with 60 to 700 minutes included, extra minutes at $0.20 to $0.99, and sometimes a setup fee.
- Flat plans: Hey Jodie from A$99 a month before tax, and EzyBiz LEX at A$79.99 a lawyer a month with GST included.
- An employee: at least $62,500 a year at the award minimum with super, for one full-time person in business hours.
The same firm at three call volumes
A small firm might take 30 calls a month through an answering service if it only covers overflow, 80 if it covers lunch and after hours, and 150 if every call goes through it.
| Service and pricing model | 30 calls a month | 80 calls a month | 150 calls a month | GST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receptionist service, message taking, per call | $82 | $189 | $360 | Add GST |
| Receptionist service, receptionist plan, per call | $120 | $305 | $584 | Add GST |
| AI receptionist, per minute (Trillet) | $49 | $67 | $109 | Not stated |
| AI receptionist, per minute (Voxworks) | $79 | $149 | $347 | Add GST |
| AI receptionist, per minute, managed (Valory) | $149 | $275 | $439 | Not stated |
| AI receptionist, per call (AiDial) | $149 | $199 | $249 | Not stated |
| AI receptionist, flat (Hey Jodie Professional) | $199 | $199 | $199 | Add tax |
| EzyBiz LEX, flat, per lawyer | $79.99 | $79.99 | $79.99 | Included |
Arithmetic from each provider's published rate card on 3 October 2026, using the cheapest published plan at each volume and rounding to the dollar. Per-minute plans assume three minutes a call. Receptionist figures use the Virtual Headquarters and Virtual Reception rate card and exclude transfer, SMS and after hours charges. Setup fees are excluded. These are illustrations of how each pricing model behaves, and a quote for your firm will differ.
What receptionist services charge
The Australian receptionist services publish similar rate cards. Virtual Headquarters and Virtual Reception list message taking at $25 a month plus $2.50 a call, or 25 calls for $70 and 50 calls for $115 with further calls at $2.45. Their receptionist plan, where the call is handled and transferred, is $33 a month plus $3.89 a call, or 20 calls for $80 and 50 calls for $185 with further calls at $3.99. An assistant plan charged by time is $49 a month plus $2.99 a minute. OfficeHQ lists the same entry prices of $25, $33 and $49. All of these are before GST.
On top of the rate card, Virtual Reception's terms add $0.20 or $0.40 for a transfer, $0.10 for an SMS and $0.60 or $1.00 on each call answered after hours. None of that is unusual, and none of it is in the headline figure.
What AI receptionists charge
AI receptionists charge a monthly fee that includes an allowance. Trillet is $49 a month with 150 minutes and $0.20 for each further minute. Voxworks is A$49 a month for 60 minutes or A$149 for 250, with further minutes at A$0.99, before GST. Valory is $149 a month for 100 minutes, $299 for 250 and $499 for 700, with one-time setup from $990. AiDial charges by the call: $149 a month for 60 calls, $249 for 150 and $449 for 400. Hey Jodie is flat, at A$99, A$199 or A$399 a month before tax with unlimited minutes, and its A$99 plan does not include bookings or transfers.
EzyBiz LEX is also flat: A$79.99 a month per lawyer with GST included, with the business number, the answering service at every hour and the filing to Smokeball and SharePoint in the price, and no setup fee. The comparison is not quite like for like, because it is priced per lawyer and the others are priced for the firm's line, so a firm of three lawyers each with a line pays A$239.97.
What moves the bill
- Per call or per minute. A per-minute plan charges more for a long intake call than a wrong number. A per-call plan charges the same for both, and one provider counts a call over ten minutes as more than one.
- After hours. Some receptionist services add a surcharge to each call outside business hours, which is when a law firm most needs the cover.
- Transfers and texts. A transfer to the lawyer and an SMS notification can each carry a small fee that adds up across a month.
- Setup. Some AI services charge to build and tune the agent: $299 at Frontly on monthly billing, and from $990 at Valory.
- GST. Most Australian providers quote before GST, and a few do not say. Ask, because 10% on a per-call bill is real money.
- The contract. Annual billing lowers the monthly figure and removes the option to leave. Month to month is the norm and is worth insisting on.
What an in-house receptionist costs
The Legal Services Award sets the minimum for a Level 1 legal clerical and administrative employee at $1,073.10 a week, or $28.24 an hour, from 1 July 2026. Over a year that is $55,801. The super guarantee of 12% adds $6,696, which brings the minimum to about $62,500 before leave cover, payroll costs and a desk. An experienced legal receptionist is paid above the minimum, and the classification that applies depends on the duties.
That buys a great deal an answering service does not: a person at the front desk, someone who knows the clients, and a pair of hands for the office. It does not buy cover at lunch, after five or on a Saturday, which is why firms with a receptionist still use a service for overflow.
What you get for the money
Price compares the cost of answering. It leaves out the cost of what happens next. A message by email has to be read, the caller rung back, the details taken again and a file note written, and that is a lawyer's or a paralegal's time on every call. A summary from an AI receptionist saves the first step. A file note on the matter, written and filed before anyone has looked at their phone, saves all of them.
So the useful comparison is the monthly price plus the minutes each call costs the firm afterwards. The services are compared on that basis in answering services for law firms in Australia, and the argument is made at length in AI receptionist or answering service.
Cost questions firms ask
For a law firm taking about 80 calls a month, published rate cards put a receptionist service at roughly $190 to $305 a month before GST, depending on whether it takes a message or handles the call, and an AI receptionist at roughly $65 to $275 a month. A flat plan such as EzyBiz LEX is A$79.99 a month per lawyer with GST included, whatever the volume.
The Australian receptionist services publish a monthly fee of $25 to $49 and then charge for use: $2.45 to $2.50 a call for message taking, $3.89 to $3.99 a call for a receptionist plan, or $2.99 a minute for an assistant plan, all before GST. Transfers, text messages and after hours calls are usually charged on top.
Published Australian plans run from $49 a month, with 60 to 150 minutes included, to $499 a month for 700 minutes. Extra minutes cost $0.20 to $0.99 each. Some providers add a one-time setup fee, which is $990 or more at Valory and is set in a scope of work at AiDial.
It is worth it if it captures enquiries that would otherwise go to voicemail and be lost. For most firms a single new client retained covers the cost for a long time. The better question is what the firm has after the call, because a message still has to be read, called back and written up, and a file note on the matter does not.
Yes, by a wide margin. The award minimum for a full-time legal clerical employee is $1,073.10 a week from 1 July 2026, which is about $55,800 a year, or about $62,500 with the 12% super guarantee, before leave cover and a desk. An answering service costs between one and seven hundred dollars a month. The two are different purchases, though, since a receptionist also greets visitors and runs the office.
Because the advertised figure is usually the access fee before any calls. A $25 or $33 plan charges for each call on top, so a firm should work out its own month: the number of calls, the average length, how many arrive after hours and how many are transferred.
Primary sources and further reading
Every section reference and figure in this guide traces to one of these. They are listed so you can check the guide rather than take its word for it.
- Virtual Headquarters call answering pricing, Virtual Headquarters. Prices exclude GST. Virtual Reception publishes the same rate card.
- Virtual Reception terms and conditions, Virtual Reception. The transfer, SMS and after hours charges added to the rate card.
- OfficeHQ pricing, OfficeHQ. Prices exclude GST.
- Trillet pricing, in its guide for Australian law firms, Trillet.
- Voxworks pricing, Voxworks. Prices exclude GST.
- Valory AI for law firms, Valory AI.
- Valory AI pricing, Valory AI. Plans, included minutes, extra-minute rates and the setup fee, in Australian dollars. The page does not state whether prices include GST.
- AiDial legal answering service, AiDial.
- Hey Jodie pricing, Hey Jodie. Prices exclude tax.
- Legal Services Award pay guide, MA000116, Fair Work Ombudsman, rates effective 1 July 2026.
- Super guarantee rate, Australian Taxation Office. 12% from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
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