The short answer
What actually happens if your mobile provider closes
If your mobile provider shuts down or cuts you off, there is no automatic safety net that moves you to another telco. Energy has a Retailer of Last Resort scheme that transfers you without lifting a finger; mobile does not. What protects you instead is number portability: you effectively own the right to take your number with you. So the one move that matters when a provider is closing, or when you decide to leave, is to port your number out to a new provider before the old service is cut. Do that in time and you keep your number and your connection. Leave it too late and a fully disconnected, released number can be much harder, sometimes impossible, to get back.
Here is the core takeaway in one line: mobile has no last-resort transfer like energy, so the thing that protects you when a provider closes is your right to port your number, and the critical action is to port it out to a new provider before the old service is disconnected. The common belief is that a provider closing means losing your number or your connection. It does not, if you port in time. The number is yours to take, the port starts from the new provider, and you should never cancel the old service first because the port closes it for you.
Reframe the assumption: a closing provider is not the end of your number. There is no scheme that catches you automatically, but portability means you control the outcome. The risk is not the closure itself, it is leaving the number sitting on a dying service until it is cut and released.
The blind spot
Why most advice on this gets the safety net wrong
Most articles about a mobile provider closing repeat the same three mistakes, and each one leaves readers exposed at exactly the wrong moment.
First, they imply you will be moved automatically. People assume mobile works like energy, where a Retailer of Last Resort transfers you so your supply never stops. There is no such scheme in mobile. If you wait to be rescued, you can simply lose the service.
Second, they treat the number as something the old provider controls. In reality the number is portable and you start the port from the new provider. Advice that tells you to ring the failing telco first, or to cancel before switching, can cost you the number entirely.
Third, they confuse the brand with the network. They warn you off small providers as if leaving one means losing coverage. Most resellers ride one of the three networks, so you can usually move to another brand on the same network and keep similar coverage.
How the protections really work
Expert analysis: no last resort, but the number is yours
There is no Retailer of Last Resort in mobile
This is the contrast that catches people out. In energy, if your retailer fails, a Retailer of Last Resort scheme automatically transfers your account to another retailer so the power or gas keeps flowing. Mobile has no equivalent. If a small provider or MVNO collapses, there is no rule that hands your service to someone else. In the worst case the service simply stops. So you cannot assume you will be moved for you; the responsibility to act sits with you.
Number portability is the real safety net
What does protect you is number portability. Under Australia's rules your mobile number is portable, and you effectively own the right to take it to another provider. That right is what turns a provider closure from a disaster into an inconvenience. As long as the number is still active, you can move it to a new telco and keep it. The danger is only if you let the number be fully disconnected and released before you act, because then it can be much harder, sometimes impossible, to recover.
How porting works: start from the new provider, do not cancel first
The mechanics are simple but easy to get backwards. You start the port-in from the new provider, not the old one. You sign up with the telco you are moving to, give them your number and your account or ID details, and they pull the number across. Crucially, you do not cancel the old service first: the completed port closes the old account for you. Cancelling early can release the number and break the whole thing. Porting is usually quick, often within minutes to a couple of hours, so there is no reason to delay once you have chosen where to go.
When the TIO helps
If something goes wrong, a billing dispute, a final invoice that looks off, or a wrongful disconnection, raise it with the provider first. If they will not put it right, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is your free, independent umpire. It handles complaints that customers cannot resolve with their telco, at no cost. Keep dates and notes of what was said, and lodge with the TIO if the provider does not fix it.
Interactive explainer
If your provider closes: the porting steps
Click through the five steps to see exactly how to keep your number. The order matters: do not cancel the old service before the port lands.
Step of :
Jump to a step
What to do at this step
of
Illustrative only. The exact details a provider asks for can vary, and porting times are typical not guaranteed. Source: Australian number portability rules and carrier porting guidance.
The same steps, in plain text
The porting steps, in order
The five steps to keep your number when a provider closes. The order is the point: start the port from the new provider and never cancel the old service first.
| Step | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | You are notified, or you decide to leave | You get an email or SMS that the provider is closing, or you simply choose to move. Do not panic and do not cancel anything yet. Your number is still yours to take. |
| 2 | Choose a new provider | Pick a new telco, often another brand on the same network so your coverage barely changes. Have it lined up before you touch the old service. |
| 3 | Start a port-in request from the NEW provider | Sign up with the new provider and give them your number and account details (usually your number, account or ID details and the new SIM or eSIM). The port-in starts from the new side, not the old one. |
| 4 | Do NOT cancel the old service first | Never cancel the dying service before the port completes. Cancelling releases the number, and the port itself closes the old account for you once it lands. |
| 5 | Number transfers, you are connected | The number moves to the new provider and your new SIM or eSIM goes live. The old service drops automatically. You keep the same number on a working connection. |
What this means in real life
How people lose a number they did not have to lose
The rules above are not abstract. They are exactly how people end up cut off, or scrambling, when a provider closes:
They wait to be moved, and the service just stops
Assuming mobile works like energy, someone sits on a closing provider waiting for an automatic transfer that never comes. There is no last-resort scheme, so when the service ends they are left with no connection and a number at risk.
They cancel the old service first
Trying to do the right thing, a customer cancels the failing plan before signing up elsewhere. Cancelling releases the number, and the new provider then has nothing to port. The fix would have been to start the port-in and let it close the old account.
They ring the old provider instead of the new one
Someone calls the telco that is shutting down to ask it to transfer the number, gets stuck in a queue or a dead line, and loses days. Porting starts from the new provider, so the old one was never the place to begin.
They give up on a number after disconnection
A number gets cut and released before anyone acts. By the time the customer tries to recover it, it has gone back into the pool and cannot be retrieved. Acting while the service was still live would have kept it.
The insider insight
The number, not the plan, is the asset to protect
Here is the part the closure notice does not spell out. When a provider folds, people focus on finding a replacement plan, the data, the price, the inclusions. But the plan is replaceable in minutes; the number is the thing that is hard to get back once it is gone. Treat the number as the asset and the plan as the easy part, and the priorities fall into place: secure the number first by porting it out, then sort the details of the new plan at your leisure.
The non-obvious truth: a provider closing is a deadline, not a disaster. Because there is no last-resort transfer, the clock is running on your number from the moment you are notified, but because the number is portable, you hold the winning move the whole time. Start a port-in from a new provider (often another brand on the same network so coverage barely changes), do not cancel the old service first, and the number moves across while the dying account closes itself. If a bill or a disconnection is disputed along the way, the TIO settles it for free.
So the practical lesson is to stop thinking about being rescued and start thinking about acting. The protection exists, it just only works if you use it before the number is cut.
Grounded in the analysis
What you should actually do
Moves that follow from how the mobile protections really work, not generic advice.
Port the number out before it is cut
The moment you know the provider is closing, choose a new telco and start a port-in from the new provider. Do this while the old service is still live. A fully disconnected, released number can be impossible to get back.
Never cancel the old service first
Do not ring the failing provider to cancel before you switch. The completed port closes the old account for you. Cancelling first can release the number and leave the new provider nothing to port.
Pick a new brand, often on the same network
Move to a provider with good coverage where you are, often another brand on the same network so coverage barely changes. If a bill or disconnection is disputed, take it to the TIO for free.
Compare mobile plans and pick a new provider, then port your number across before the old service is cut.
Current figures, last updated 2026-06-15
Key facts about what happens if a mobile provider closes. Sources: the Australian Communications and Media Authority (acma.gov.au) for the number portability rules, and the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (tio.com.au). Rules and timing can change; confirm before relying on them.
The bottom line
Why this matters right now
As more Aussies pick cheap plans from smaller brands, the odd MVNO will keep exiting the market, and the marketing around closures will stay vague about the one thing that counts. The gap that decides your outcome is not between a big telco and a small one, it is between the people who understand there is no automatic rescue and act on their right to port, and the people who wait to be moved and lose the number while they wait. A provider closing does not have to cost you anything but a little time. Port the number out before the old service is cut, never cancel first, move to a new brand on a network that covers you, and use the TIO if a bill or disconnection goes wrong. That is how you turn a closure from a scare into a non-event.
Common questions
A Selectra expert answers your questions
No. Unlike electricity and gas, which have a Retailer of Last Resort scheme that automatically transfers you to another retailer so your supply never stops, mobile has no equivalent. If a small provider or MVNO fails, your service can simply end. The protection that does exist is number portability: your right to take your number to another provider. So you cannot rely on being moved for you; you have to act and port the number out yourself.
You keep it by porting it to a new provider before the old service is disconnected. The key detail is that you start the port from the new provider, not the old one. Sign up with the telco you are moving to, give them your number and account or ID details, and let them pull the number across. Do not cancel the failing service first, because cancelling can release the number and the port closes the old account for you anyway once it completes.
It is usually quick. In many cases a port completes within minutes to a couple of hours once the new provider has your details, though it can occasionally take longer if something needs checking. The practical point is that there is no good reason to wait. Start the port-in as soon as you have chosen your new provider, so the number moves while the old service is still live rather than after it has been cut.
Usually not, if you choose well. Australia has three mobile networks (Telstra, Optus and TPG/Vodafone), and the smaller brands most likely to exit the market are resellers that ride one of those three. So you can often move to another brand on the same network and keep very similar coverage. The brand on your bill is not the network your phone connects to, so look at which network a new provider uses, not just the logo.
First raise it directly with the provider. If they will not fix a wrongful disconnection or a disputed final bill, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman (TIO) is your free, independent umpire. It handles complaints customers cannot resolve with their telco, at no cost to you. Keep a record of dates and what was said, and lodge the complaint with the TIO if the provider does not put it right.
Maybe, but do not count on it. Once a number is fully disconnected and released back into the pool, getting it back can be much harder and is sometimes impossible. Acting quickly is the whole game: port the number out while the service is still active. If a number has already been cut, contact a new provider straight away and ask whether it can still be recovered, but treat that as a long shot rather than a plan.
