A virtual receptionist for Canberra businesses

Canberra's small businesses serve a city that works to the clock: consultants and contractors with a tender closing at 2pm, allied health rooms in Deakin and Belconnen booked solid, trades spread from Gungahlin to the Molonglo Valley, a sole-practitioner firm whose whole day is appointments. The phone rings in the middle of all of it, and a caller who gets voicemail at 11am doesn't wait — they ring the next listing.

Giday's answer isn't a message-taking service. It answers as part of your business — your greeting, your services, your prices — books real appointments into your real calendar mid-call, quotes from your price list on the plans that include it, and texts you the lot while you're still in the room.

What Giday does on the call depends on who's ringing:

• The consultant's new enquiry. Answered in a calm Australian voice, the caller's name, number and the one-line reason captured, a meeting booked into your calendar if that's what you want, and nothing promised on your behalf.
• The physio's rebook. The 7:50am call to move Thursday to Friday handled before you've unlocked, in restricted mode if you run a health practice — it hears as little as possible and keeps no recording. See physios and medical.
• The plumber's Saturday. A hot-water call in Tuggeranong answered while you're under a house in Weston Creek, your next real slot offered and booked, a text to the customer, a text to you.
• The law firm's call while you're in court. A consultation booked or a proper message taken, and never a word of legal advice — see law firms.

Monday, a department's procurement officer rings a consultancy at 8:50 about a quote due Friday; the principal is in a kick-off meeting and the call is booked as a 2pm follow-up with a message that says exactly what was asked. Tuesday night, a Gungahlin family's hot water goes and the plumber is in Queanbeyan; the job is in the diary for 7am. Wednesday, a Belconnen physio's 7:45 rebook. Thursday, a firm in Civic takes a new-matter enquiry while both solicitors are at the Magistrates Court — a consultation booked, no advice given. Friday, Floriade weekend traffic and a landscaper who can't hear his phone over the mower. None of it was a message on a pad; all of it was in a calendar.

Canberra keeps Sydney's clock: AEST through winter, AEDT from the first Sunday in October to the first Sunday in April. Pick ACT at signup and Giday's diary runs on that clock — business hours mean what you think they mean, bookings land in your calendar at the time you'd write them yourself, and the changeover is just a Sunday. Canberra Day and the ACT's own public holidays are no different: the phone is answered, the message is texted, the booking is offered for your next open day.

There's more on how the round-the-clock side works on the after-hours answering page.

The traditional answering market makes you do homework. We checked the big incumbents' published pricing on 24 August 2026, and here's the shape of it against Giday:

Four flat plans — Starter at $49, Steady at $99, Busy at $199 and Flat Out at $399 a month, AUD with GST included, booking included on every one. A Canberra business can price it in one read on the pricing page, and the comparison is worked through on the comparison page.

Your receptionist answers on its own Australian mobile number — the same kind of number in Canberra as anywhere else in the country, so there's no local-prefix lottery and nothing to re-register if you move. Most businesses simply divert the number they already advertise to it, and keep advertising that.

Giday isn't a concept video. The same engine has been answering real calls for a Brisbane locksmith since late July 2026 — booking jobs straight into the calendar mid-call (typically 2.5 minutes from hello to booked, measured 30 July – 22 August 2026), giving priced quotes over the phone from the approved price list, and relaying messages to the owner by text, with call volume growing 24% across that measured window. The full measured window is on the Brisbane page.

Diversion doesn't care which city you're in — the same receptionist is ready for Canberra today, on Canberra's clock.

Ask Giday whether it is a person and it tells you, by name, straight away. No pretending, no uncanny games. Callers who want a human can always be patched through to you or leave a priority message. We think the honesty is a feature: your customers get a straight answer, a real booking and a text confirmation, and you get the transcript.

Diversion doesn't care about geography — Giday can answer any Australian number, anywhere, on that place's own clock. There are pages for Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Hobart. For the full picture of what a Giday receptionist does, start at the virtual receptionist page — or see how we stack up as a phone answering service against the per-call incumbents.