The Real Cost of a Human Receptionist in 2026

The Australian minimum wage sits at $23.23 per hour. Multiply that by 2,080 working hours annually and you get $48,318 in base salary. But that's where most business owners stop calculating.

Superannuation adds another 12% by July 2026 ($5,798). Four weeks annual leave costs $1,859. Ten days sick leave averages $893 annually. Two weeks of public holidays add $893. Recruitment fees (typically 15-20% of annual salary) cost between $7,248 and $9,664. Training takes two to four weeks at reduced productivity.

Office space in Melbourne CBD costs $650-$850 per square metre annually. A reception desk requires roughly 10 square metres ($6,500-$8,500 yearly). Add a computer ($1,200 every three years), phone system ($50 monthly), furniture ($2,000 upfront), and software subscriptions ($30-$100 monthly).

Total annual cost: $68,000-$75,000 for a single full-time receptionist. This assumes zero turnover, no performance issues, and perfect attendance.

What Does AI Phone Answering Actually Cost?

Most AI answering platforms in Australia charge between $200 and $500 monthly. Services like HeyRosie cost $49 per month for message-taking. Smith.ai charges $595-$1,695 monthly for human-backed AI. My AI Front Desk runs $249 monthly focused on appointment booking.

Watch for hidden costs. Many providers charge separately for telephony and carrier fees on top of monthly subscriptions. Some require setup fees between $200 and $1,000. Per-minute pricing can escalate quickly if you run a high-call-volume business.

Marketing agencies offering "custom AI receptionist solutions" often charge $1,000-$3,000 setup fees plus $200-$500 monthly. Most are white-labeling existing platforms with manual configuration that takes days. The underlying technology costs a fraction of what they charge.

Systems that automate business research reduce setup complexity. Instead of someone manually programming responses, the AI scrapes your website, reviews, and social media to learn your business context. This happens in minutes rather than days, eliminating setup fees entirely in some cases.

Where Humans Win (and Why It Matters Less Than You Think)

Receptionists excel at reading emotional nuance. They can detect urgency in a caller's voice, adapt to unusual requests, and handle complex multi-step interactions. They build relationships with regular clients and remember preferences without explicit programming.

But consider how often these skills matter for typical business calls. A plumbing company receives 80% of calls about blocked drains, burst pipes, or service quotes. A law firm gets calls about appointments, basic inquiries, and initial consultations. Most calls follow predictable patterns.

The Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles require proper handling of personal information. Human receptionists need training on these requirements. They can make mistakes under pressure or during busy periods. Automated systems can be programmed to handle compliance consistently.

For therapists, solicitors, and medical professionals, confidentiality breaches carry serious consequences. NSW Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 and Victoria's Mental Health Act 2014 add extra layers of obligation. Getting this wrong isn't just unprofessional, it's illegal.

Where AI Wins: Beyond Just Price

AI answers calls at 3am on Christmas Day with the same energy as 9am Monday. No sick days, no holidays, no bathroom breaks. A tradie can take calls while on the tools. A therapist never interrupts a session for the phone.

Screening matters more than most business owners realise. A human receptionist answers every call equally. AI can ask qualifying questions first. When a real estate agent advertises properties, the AI determines whether callers want to buy, sell, or rent. It captures budget, timeline, and location before forwarding anything.

This is the difference between getting callbacks versus getting customers. Basic message-taking services hand you names and numbers. Intake-focused systems hand you qualified leads who've already answered key questions. The business owner makes decisions with information, not just contact details.

Scalability costs nothing extra. A business running Facebook ads that generates 100 calls per day pays the same monthly fee as one getting 10 calls. Hiring enough receptionists to handle peak advertising periods then firing them when campaigns end destroys team morale and costs a fortune.

Integration with Australian business tools matters. MYOB, Xero, ServiceM8, and Tradify are standard for trades and small businesses. Systems that connect with these platforms (typically on premium plans) reduce double-entry and keep records synchronized.

The Hybrid Approach Most Businesses Actually Need

The optimal setup isn't AI versus human, it's AI plus selective human intervention. Your phone rings first. If you can't answer, AI takes over as backup. You maintain the personal touch when available without missing opportunities when you're not.

Conditional forwarding solves the availability problem. A solicitor in court gets calls handled automatically. An electrician on a ladder doesn't risk injury checking their phone. A business owner at their child's school assembly isn't tempted to answer work calls.

Consider the callback burden. A receptionist takes a message and you call back later, often playing phone tag. AI with proper intake captures everything needed for you to assess priority. You return genuinely urgent calls immediately and handle routine matters in batches.

For businesses running paid advertising, speed matters. Facebook and Google leads go cold within 5-10 minutes. Automated follow-up contacts prospects while they're still interested. By the time you manually call back an hour later, they've already contacted three competitors.

Cost Comparison: 12-Month Total

Note: AI costs range from basic message-taking ($29/month) to premium agency setups ($500/month). Human costs assume minimum wage and exclude turnover, which averages 33% annually for reception roles.

Making the Decision: When to Choose Which

Choose a human receptionist if your business requires complex judgement calls, handles sensitive negotiations, or benefits significantly from relationship building. Law firms doing family law, medical practices handling difficult diagnoses, and executive offices managing high-stakes communications fall into this category.

Choose AI if your calls follow predictable patterns, you need 24/7 coverage, or call volume fluctuates dramatically. Trades businesses, real estate agencies, medical clinics doing routine appointments, and businesses running paid advertising campaigns get the most value.

Choose the hybrid model if you want personal service when available but can't afford to miss calls. This works for solo practitioners, small professional services firms, and any business owner who handles calls themselves but needs backup during meetings, after hours, or during busy periods.

The key question isn't whether AI can replace humans perfectly. It's whether spending $73,000 annually gets you $73,000 worth of additional value over a $348-$7,000 automated system. For most Australian small businesses in 2026, the numbers don't add up.

What This Means for Your Business

The reception question stopped being about affordability years ago. Now it's about intelligent resource allocation. Would you rather spend $70,000 on someone answering phones or $70,000 on marketing, equipment, or another skilled team member?

AI answering services differentiate themselves through intake quality, not just message-taking. Look for systems that qualify leads with industry-specific questions rather than just capturing names and numbers. Ask how they handle Privacy Act compliance for your sector. Check whether setup requires days of manual configuration or happens automatically through business research.

Systems like Trillet handle automated research by scraping websites, reviews, and social media in minutes, eliminating setup fees that agencies charge for manual configuration. At $29 monthly with 150 minutes included and no hidden telephony costs, the cost difference versus $73,000 for a receptionist becomes impossible to ignore. The question isn't whether AI can do the job. It's whether the job needs a human at all.