The best EOFY NBN and mobile plan discounts
Australians are expected to spend up a storm chasing discounts on technology, clothes and cars during the end of financial year (EOFY) sales this year, with Roy Morgan anticipating that total spending will exceed $10 billion.
What many Aussies might not appreciate is that the EOFY sales could also prove to be a relatively fruitful time to find a discounted mobile or home internet plan.
"We've seen more and more NBN providers getting involved in the sales over the last few years and wanting to be part of that conversation," says Alex Choros, a telco expert and editor at WhistleOut Australia.
The question is, do these EOFY deals provide genuine value for money, or are they just sales spin? Choros says that it's a bit of both.
"In some cases you see similar offers to what telcos run normally, but re-badged as end of financial year deals. They might be a few dollars cheaper, but not particularly exciting.
"In other cases we're seeing brands that don't typically run offers throughout the year jump in for EOFY. So it can be a good way to get a plan with a premium brand for a cheaper price."
Best EOFY mobile plan offers
In the case of mobile phone plans, Choros says that some of the better EOFY deals are coming from smaller providers.
"Aussie Broadband has 50% off for the first six months on most of its mobile plans right now. The cheapest one is $17.50 per month for the first six months with 40 gigabytes of data and 5G.
"That will go back up to $35 per month after, which is a little bit more expensive than you'd expect for a 40GB plan, but it's certainly not a bad deal at all."
For mobile users who burn through their data, Choros highlights the EOFY deal from Amaysim as a relatively competitive offer.
"If you want a large amount of data, Amaysim will give you 120 gigabytes for $35 per recharge on your first 12 renewals.
"Each Amaysim renewal is 28 days, so it isn't quite 12 months, but it's close. That plan goes back to $50 per renewal after that, but the plans are no-contract."
Shoppers looking to upgrade their smartphones may also be in luck, as Choros says that a lot of the more interesting deals in the space are on handsets.
"In some cases you can save money on a plan, but you end up seeing deeper discounts when it comes to phones that you can buy from telcos."
"Optus has almost $1,000 off the Pixel 7 Pro. It's a few years old now, but it's still a pretty good phone. It also has $800 off the Pixel 9 Pro XL and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, if you're after something newer.
"You need to commit to a 24-month or 36-month plan to get these, but on a 36-month plan, the pricing is pretty good. It's $57.86 per month for the Pixel Seven Pro or $73.12 per month for the 9 Pro XL.
"Vodafone also has a $558 discount on all iPhone 16 models excluding the iPhone 16e. On a 36-month plan, you're saving $15.50 per month which is a pretty good saving. It makes the plans a bit cheaper - especially compared to the other options in the market for buying an iPhone."
Best EOFY home internet offers
There are also a handful of EOFY deals on NBN and home internet plans. Again, like mobile plans, it may be worth looking beyond the major providers for value here.
"Dodo has a really good deal," Choros says. "It's not strictly an end of financial year deal though - it's available until June 24. You can get an NBN 100 plan for $73.90 a month for the first year, which then increases to $88.90 a month.
"Another standout is from Aussie Broadband's budget brand Buddy. They've got an $8 a month discount on NBN 50 and $10 on NBN 100. It's $67 a month for NBN 50 for the first six months, then it goes up to $75, or it's $75 a month for NBN 100 which then goes up to $85.
"Buddy has also said that they won't be increasing prices after July 1, which means the current prices will stay the same for another year. So there's certainty in that, which is nice."
Whether it's an NBN plan or a mobile plan, Choros urges people to prioritise finding a plan that actually suits their needs.
"Don't pay more just because it sounds better. There's no point getting a 1000 NBN plan if you're not going to utilise that kind of fast connection.
"The same goes for mobile plans. The average Australian uses less than 20 gigabytes a month, so while a 120 gigabyte plan might sound appealing, especially when they're discounted, if you can get a cheaper plan that actually meets your usage, buy the cheaper one."
Will NBN and mobile plan prices go up on July 1?
Buddy's NBN plan prices may not be going up next month, but that's by no means the norm - a number of providers have already announced that customers will see higher bills from July 1.
While others are yet to make their decisions public, Choros says it won't be a surprise to see more hikes given that NBN Co has already announced that it will be increasing the wholesale prices it charges providers on the majority of NBN speed tiers from July.
"We've already seen a good handful of providers announce price rises, like Telstra, Optus and Tangerine. More information is still coming out on what customers can expect to happen from next month though.
"In general, we can expect that most providers will be passing this [wholesale price rise] on. In many cases, plans are only going up between $2 and $5 per month, but we've also just seen Origin announce its price rises and they're going up by as much as $9 per month."
As Choros explains, the situation is different for mobile plans. Because the major telcos - like Telstra, Optus and Vodafone - own their networks, they set prices on their own schedule.
"Telstra is putting up its mobile plans at the start of July, Optus put up its pricing earlier in the year and Vodafone hasn't done anything yet.
"In terms of smaller providers, it's at the discretion of the major telco they buy from. For example, at some point later this year Telstra might decide to charge Aldi, Woolworths and Tangerine a little extra, so then it will be up to those providers to decide how much they want to pass on to customers."
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