> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.voxworks.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Phone number > The Phone number question type: collecting or confirming an Australian phone number. Covers the Collect settings, the fixed Australian formats, E.164 storage, why the read-back is the only check, what the respondent hears, and what is recorded. ## What it's for A **Phone number** question collects a phone number — a better number to reach the respondent on, or a number for a follow-up — or confirms one you already hold. The number is checked against the Australian number formats, read back to the respondent in the familiar local form, and stored in the international E.164 format. *** ## Settings Alongside the settings every question shares ([Question settings](/surveys/question-settings)), a Phone number question has: | Setting | What it does | Default | | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | | **Format** | Nothing to set: *"A phone number is checked against the fixed Australian shapes the template carries and is stored in E.164. There is nothing to author."* | Australian formats | | **Contact field** | Read-only: `phone`. *"Set by the type."* The collected number is written to the call's `contact.phone` variable. | `phone` | | **Skip it when the contact already has one** | When **Value we already hold** gives a valid number, the number is saved without asking anything. | Off | | **Value we already hold** | A number to confirm instead of asking for one — usually a variable, such as `{{contact.phone}}` or a number a lookup or an earlier question filled in. *"Confirmed instead of asked for, and it wins over the contact record."* | Empty | | **Move-on line** | *"Said when the field cannot be collected and the survey moves on."* | *"That’s okay, let’s move on."* | | **Read every answer back** | Reads the number back for a yes. *"On a phone number this is the only check there is. Off, the number is written straight through with no read-back at all — whatever the agent heard is what is stored."* | **On** | | **Look back for it before asking** | If the respondent has already said a number in this question, reads it back instead of asking. | Off | A Phone number question has no answer options, spelling or screen-out settings. Leave **Read every answer back** on. On a phone number, the read-back is the only check — with it off, a misheard digit is stored without anyone noticing. ### Accepted formats A number is accepted when it matches one of these Australian shapes: | Shape | Example | | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | | Mobile | `0412 345 678`, or `+61 412 345 678` | | Landline with area code | `02 9876 5432`, or `+61 2 9876 5432` | | 1300 / 1800 | `1300 123 456` | | Local eight-digit landline | `9876 5432` | A number said in the `+61` form is read back in the local `0` form, the way the respondent knows it. Overseas numbers aren't accepted. ### Confirming a number you already hold To confirm the number on the contact record, enter `{{contact.phone}}` in **Value we already hold**. With the field empty, the respondent is asked for a number. | Value we already hold | Skip it when the contact already has one | What happens | | --------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Empty, or not a valid Australian number | Either | The respondent is asked for a number. | | A valid number | On | The number is saved silently — nothing is asked. | | A valid number | Off | *"Can I confirm that your phone number is …?"* — read back for a yes, whatever **Read every answer back** says. | *** ## What the respondent hears **The ask.** The voice prompt — for example *"What's the best number to reach you on?"* **The read-back.** The number is read back in digit groups — *"zero four one two, three four five, six seven eight"* — followed by a check that it's right. **A number that doesn't fit an Australian format** is quoted back so the respondent can tell what went wrong — *"Sorry, I don't think I caught that correctly — I got 0412345. Could you say that again, slowly?"* If fewer than seven digits were heard, the interviewer says *"I only caught part of that"* instead of quoting a fragment. **A correction** replaces the whole number. **Don't know and refusal.** Each gets one nudge through a re-ask; after that the question is skipped and the **Move-on line** is said. **Timing.** The interviewer waits longer between digits than it would for other answers, because people pause while reading out a number. You don't need to change **Eagerness** for this. Silence, FAQs, busy and stop work as on any question — see [Question settings](/surveys/question-settings#what-happens-when-the-interviewer-asks). *** ## What is recorded | Variable | Type | Example | Notes | | ---------------------------------------- | ---- | -------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `{{survey..result}}` | text | `+61412345678` | The number in E.164 format. Empty when skipped. | | `{{survey..status}}` | text | `captured` | `captured`, `skipped`, `invalid`, `abandoned`, or empty if never reached. | | `{{survey..termination_requested}}` | text | `false` | Always `false` — a Phone number question never screens. | | `{{contact.phone}}` | text | `+61412345678` | Set to the collected number (E.164) for the rest of the call. | The number is written to the call's `contact.phone` variable for the rest of the call. To update your contact list in **Contacts**, use the recorded answer from Results or the export. In the CSV export, the number is in the `answer` column. See [Responses and export](/surveys/responses-and-export). *** ## Next Steps * [First name](/surveys/question-types/first-name) — the other data-collection type. * [Answer confirmation](/surveys/answer-confirmation) — read-back across question types. * [Question settings](/surveys/question-settings) — the shared fields.