If you plan to start applying for jobs while you are outside Australia, you need a virtual number in your CV for recruiters/companies to call you on. I have searched a lot and compared between skype number, flynumber and other providers. Below is what I found (prices are for virtual landline numbers*):

1. Skype number: a good option where you pay a monthly subscription of USD 6.5/month and receive unlimited calls on skype through the internet. I am not sure of the routing capabilities.

2. Flynumber, it cost USD2.96/month and you can route your call to a VoIP app and receive calls with no charges, or forward to a physical line and pay the fees of 0.1200 USD/minute however after I paid the fees, they didn’t give me a number right away and they claimed they have to do verification which took forever. I send them all they have asked for and tried contacting them but they were non-responsive after that. Also, their website is not easy to navigate/use and it doesn’t have an online guide to help you navigate or an online chat for quick questions.

Luckily I paid with Paypal, so after a couple of days I opened a dispute and they refunded me the money within 24 hours.

3. The one I finally bought was a service by Zadarma. The cost of the number is USD3/month and it gives you option of receiving the calls on an app (android/apple), forward to a physical number or a combination of both, and that is what I liked! They also have ONLINE CHAT which can answer all your question there and then. No emails needed! Also the setup guide under "support" is comprehensive with pictures and all.

The website gives you an option to buy and SIP number, then assign a virtual number to it. Once done, you can download their mobile app (or windows, MAC, ..) and setup the account.

The beauty here is that you can setup calls to come to your app first on the internet (which is free). If you didn’t answer the call on the app(no internet connection), it will auto divert to your physical number which will cost: USD0.1/minute if you choose Per-second billing or USD$0.08 minute if you choose Per-minute billing

Another positive point is that when you charge your account, you can use it call others with your Australian number based on the call rates available on the website, so if you are in the Arab Gulf, you can still use it as a VoIP service to call home.

Anyways, this is my experience with virtual numbers and my conclusion was to choose ZADARMA. You can find the link here for more info http://tinyurl.com/y6n6ev6b. I recommend the app ZoiPer, very professional and easy to use

Happy hunting!