Phone Pod & Office Phone Booth Guide for Australia (2026)

Brought to you by the Workpod team

Taking a client call in a stairwell, a car park or a borrowed meeting room is a familiar workaround in open-plan offices. A phone pod solves it with a private, enclosed space that sits right on the office floor. Search for one and you will also see office phone booth, call booth, office booth and office pod. They all describe the same product, and this guide covers what to look for before you buy.

View the PAXTON range

Key Takeaways

• A phone pod, office phone booth, call booth, office booth and office pod are different names for the same thing: a small, self-contained acoustic room for calls and focused work. At Workpod, that is the PAXTON range.
• Size is the first decision. PAXTON Small suits calls, Small-Wide suits longer calls and focused work, Medium suits two to four people and Large suits four to six.
• "Soundproof" is how most people search, but what you are really buying is speech privacy. PAXTON is lab-tested to ISO 23351-1 Class A for speech level reduction.
• Silent fans, motion-sensor lighting, a power point inside and a laminated glass door keep a pod comfortable through back-to-back calls.
• A phone pod moves with you at the end of a lease, which helps you avoid make good costs and repeated fit-outs.
• Allow 10–12 weeks for manufacture and delivery, then a few hours to assemble.

Table of Contents

1. What is a phone pod?
2. Why offices need phone booths
3. Choosing a size: 1-person, 2-person or small meeting pod
4. Are office phone booths soundproof?
5. Fans, air, light and power inside a phone pod
6. Glass, doors and build quality
7. Installation, moving and access
8. Phone pod or permanent fit-out?
9. What affects the cost of an office phone booth
10. Frequently asked questions

What is a phone pod?

A phone pod is a compact, freestanding booth that gives one or a few people a quiet, enclosed space inside an existing building. You may see it called an office phone booth, call booth, call pod, telephone booth or office booth. The names change from supplier to supplier, but the idea stays the same.

Workpod's phone pods are the PAXTON range. Each PAXTON is a modular phone booth: flat-packed, pre-wired and ready to assemble. It is also a portable office phone booth, because it sits on lockable castors and can be repositioned within a floor. It is built for phone and video calls, focused work and small meetings, and it needs no building works.

Why offices need phone booths

Open-plan layouts are good for collaboration and poor for private conversation. Every call is overheard, and every conversation nearby pulls attention away from someone's work. Leesman's March 2026 article, Noisy Spaces, Quiet Consequences, reports that about 70% of employees say noise levels matter to them. Only around a third (33–37%) are satisfied with the noise levels they have.

A phone booth for the office closes that gap without rebuilding the floor. It gives people a place for sensitive calls, interviews and video meetings, and it keeps their conversations from disturbing everyone else. It also gives people who are sensitive to noise and visual distraction somewhere calm to work, a topic our neuroinclusion guide covers in more depth.

Phone pods work well alongside other quiet and collaborative areas. Our guide to modular breakout spaces shows how they fit into a wider office layout.

Choosing a size: 1-person, 2-person or small meeting pod

Office phone booth size decides what the booth is for, and it also decides how much floor space you need. Every PAXTON model is the same height, and the footprint grows with capacity.

Model	Marketed size	Capacity	Exterior W×D×H (mm)	Interior W×D×H (mm)
PAXTON Small	1.1m²	1 person	1040 × 1040 × 2260	900 × 900 × 2060
PAXTON Small-Wide	1.9m²	1 person (seated workstation)	1640 × 1200 × 2260	1500 × 1060 × 2060
PAXTON Medium	2.7m²	2–4 people	2240 × 1200 × 2260	2100 × 1060 × 2060
PAXTON Large	3.3m²	4–6 people	2240 × 1500 × 2260	2100 × 1360 × 2060

Marketed sizes are simplified floor areas. Dimensions are technical measurements, with exterior heights including castors.

PAXTON Small (1.1m²): the call booth

PAXTON Small is the smallest booth in the range. It is a 1 person office pod for phone and video calls, and it fits in a corner or beside a bank of desks. The furnished version includes an adjustable stool and a wall desktop, and you can also buy it without furniture. An electric height-adjustable desk is available as an option.

PAXTON Small-Wide (1.9m²): the more functional one-person pod

If you can spare the extra floor space, PAXTON Small-Wide is usually the more functional choice. Its interior is 600mm wider than the Small, which makes room for a seated workstation with an ergonomic chair and a desktop. That makes it comfortable for long calls, back-to-back video meetings and focused work such as writing or study. The electric height-adjustable desk option is available here too.

View PAXTON Small-Wide

PAXTON Medium (2.7m²): the 2-person phone booth

When two people need to talk to a client together, or a short interview needs more space than a call booth offers, PAXTON Medium is the step up. It fits two to four people with two sofas and a table, and an optional whiteboard is available. It is the right answer for most searches for a 2 person phone booth.

PAXTON Large (3.3m²): the small meeting pod

PAXTON Large seats four to six people, so it works as a team huddle space or a video conference room. It comes with two sofas and a table, and it has the same silent fans and sound-absorbing construction as the smaller models. See the PAXTON collection for the full range.

When to step up to CUBE

If you need a proper meeting room rather than a booth, look at the CUBE room-in-room range. CUBE rooms start at about 9m², and the Small size is set up for around five people. They sit on your existing floor with no fixing, and the wall panels are designed to reduce noise by about 24–30dB, depending on size and wall type.

Are office phone booths soundproof?

People often search for a "soundproof" call booth or soundproof phone booth. What they usually mean is acoustic privacy: a conversation inside that cannot be followed from outside, and office noise that does not intrude. No booth is literally soundproof. A good specification describes speech privacy, and that is the right standard to hold a supplier to.

What ISO 23351-1 Class A means

ISO 23351-1 is the international test for how well an office pod reduces speech. It tests the whole assembled unit, not just a wall panel, so door seals and ventilation are included in the result. Classes run from D at the bottom to A+ at the top, and Class A covers a speech level reduction of 30–33dB.

PAXTON is lab-tested to ISO 23351-1 Class A for speech level reduction. The SGS test on PAXTON Small measured 30.1dB.

Why low frequencies get through more

Every enclosure blocks high-pitched sound better than low-pitched sound. In the PAXTON Small test, the reduction climbed from 16.6dB at 125Hz to 33.0dB at 2,000Hz and 37.6dB at 4,000Hz. Most speech sits in the mid-to-high range, which is why the speech-level result is strong. Deep voices and low rumble still carry further than high-pitched sound.

What the "quiet library" figure means

Workpod's own demonstration measured about 40dB inside a PAXTON with roughly 78dB outside, which is about the level of a quiet library. That is a noise level inside the pod in one demonstration, not a guaranteed reduction. For comparing booths, the ISO class is the better measure.

A pod reduces how much speech carries and how much office noise gets in. It is not a guarantee that nothing outside can be heard, so position it with that in mind for very sensitive conversations.

Fans, air, light and power inside a phone pod

A sealed booth needs a way to keep the air fresh. PAXTON uses silent fans to provide constant fresh air. The larger the pod, the more fans it has, so a Large stays comfortable as well as a Small.

The lighting is inductive LED at 4000K, a natural white, with a motion sensor so the light comes on when you step inside. Power comes from an integrated socket with two AC outlets, a USB port and a USB-C port. The pod connects by power cable to a standard power point, so no electrician is needed. Air-conditioning is not included, and the pod is designed to hold a temperature consistent with the surrounding office.

Glass, doors and build quality

The rear and side panels are 10mm tempered clear glass, and the door is 5+5mm laminated double-glazed glass. You can choose solid or glass rear panels and clear or frosted glass, and laminated rear and side panels are available as an option. Magnetic door locks give a quiet entry and exit, which matters when someone is leaving a call booth mid-meeting.

Behind the glass, the walls use a sandwich of steel, gypsum and sound-absorbing cotton, and the floor has a sound-absorbing layer under low-loop carpet. The frame is aviation-grade aluminium, and the finish is a powder coat. PAXTON carries UL 962 listing and UL GREENGUARD Gold, which cover furniture safety and low chemical emissions. A wide range of colour options is included.

Installation, moving and access

Each PAXTON is delivered flat-packed and assembled in 12 steps. With two or three people it takes a few hours, and no trades are required. An assembly service is available in most metro areas, with pricing on request. The castors are lockable, so once a pod is assembled it can be rolled within a floor. It can also be disassembled and moved to a new location.

When it comes to building compliance, while we have found that many people treat indoor pods as furniture and self assess, requirements vary depending on your state. Check with your building certifier or council, and with your landlord if you lease. The FAQ below covers approvals, fire safety and floor loading in more detail.

PAXTON can be configured for wheelchair access, in line with the DDA and AS1428.1. An optional accessibility package adds barrier-free flooring, an accessible door pull and an automatic door opener. A pod can also be integrated with your building's fire sprinkler and alarm systems if needed.

Phone pod or permanent fit-out?

The alternative to a phone pod is building private rooms into the floor. That means builders, services and approvals, and the costs add up quickly. JLL's Australia and New Zealand Fit-Out Cost Guide 2026 puts a moderate-style, medium-quality Australian office fit-out at about AU$3,011 per square metre as of Q1 2026. That covers builders' works, services, technology and furniture. It is a whole-floor benchmark rather than the price of one room, but it shows how quickly built space adds up.

Leasing commentary for 2026 points to businesses seeking shorter terms and more flexible structures. Money spent on fixed walls stays with the building, and leases often require tenants to make good, which means stripping out and reinstating the space, when they leave. A new office then needs a new fit-out. A PAXTON is freestanding equipment that you can disassemble and take with you, so there is typically nothing to demolish at the end of a lease and no second build at your next address.

For larger private rooms, a CBRE 2024 report puts room-in-room installations at 40–60% cheaper than traditional build-outs. Our Office Pods Australia guide covers how indoor pods compare with fixed construction in more detail.

What affects the cost of an office phone booth

Office phone booth price depends on several factors, and Workpod shows current prices on each product page. This guide explains what drives the cost rather than quoting figures that go out of date. See the PAXTON collection or the individual pages for Small, Small-Wide and Medium for current pricing.

• Size: larger pods cost more because they use more panels, glass and fans.
• Furniture: you can buy with or without furniture, and the electric desk is an extra on Small and Small-Wide.
• Glass and finishes: laminated panels, frosted glass and fabric wrap are extras, while a wide range of colours is included.
• Accessibility: the accessibility package is optional.
• Delivery: free delivery to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth metro areas, with regional delivery quoted separately.
• Assembly: you can assemble yourself or use the assembly service where available.

Comparing like with like

When you compare booths from different suppliers, three checks save time. First, compare floor area rather than capacity labels, because a "2-person" booth from one supplier can be a different size from another's. Second, check the acoustic test standard. A single dB figure with no test named is hard to compare, and an ISO 23351-1 class tests the whole pod. Third, check what the price includes: furniture, delivery and GST can all change the comparison.

 

PAXTON Medium

Frequently asked questions

Are office phone booths soundproof?

No booth is literally soundproof, and honest suppliers describe speech privacy instead. PAXTON is lab-tested to ISO 23351-1 Class A for speech level reduction. It is designed to keep conversations from carrying and to keep background noise out, which is what most people mean when they search for a soundproof call booth.

What are the dimensions of an office phone booth?

PAXTON models share a height of 2260mm. The exterior footprints are 1040 × 1040mm (Small), 1640 × 1200mm (Small-Wide), 2240 × 1200mm (Medium) and 2240 × 1500mm (Large). Marketed floor areas are 1.1m², 1.9m², 2.7m² and 3.3m².

How many people fit in a 2 person phone booth?

PAXTON Medium is the usual choice, and it fits two to four people with two sofas and a table. If one person needs a booth, Small or Small-Wide is enough. For four to six people, step up to PAXTON Large.

What is the difference between a phone pod, a phone booth and a call pod?

There is no difference. Phone pod, office phone booth, call booth, call pod, office booth and office pod are different names for the same kind of small acoustic room. What matters is size, acoustic performance and what is included, and the PAXTON range covers one-person booths up to small meeting pods.

How much does an office phone booth cost in Australia?

The cost depends on size, furniture, glass and finish options, accessibility features, delivery and assembly. Current prices are shown on the PAXTON collection and each product page, so they stay up to date.

Do I need approval to install an office phone booth in Australia?

Requirements can vary depending on your state, building, and local council, so it's worth confirming with your building certifier or council before installation. In NSW, Building Commission NSW guidance treats prefabricated office pods as rooms rather than furniture, generally bringing them under standard building approval processes.

Fire safety is worth raising with your certifier early. Both the PAXTON and CUBE can be integrated with your building's existing fire sprinkler and alarm systems if needed, using ceiling knock-out points. Fire test reports and a fire engineering compliance pathway are available on request.

Floor loading is also worth a quick check. Spread across its footprint, a CUBE imposes roughly 130–180 kg/m², or about 130 kg/m² for the largest, the XL. The more compact PAXTON models are roughly 200–320 kg/m² depending on size, with their weight concentrated on the castors. Occupants and furniture add to this, and a standard office floor is commonly designed for about 300 kg/m², so confirm with your building manager or certifier, particularly for raised floors and mezzanines.

Requirements outside NSW are less well documented, so starting the conversation with your certifier early is the most reliable way to get a clear answer for your building.

Can an office phone booth be moved?

Yes. PAXTON sits on lockable castors, so it can be rolled within a floor once assembled. It can also be disassembled and reassembled elsewhere, which means it can come with you when your lease ends.

How long does delivery take?

While some providers hold standard models in stock, they come with limited options. At Workpod, all PAXTONs and CUBEs are manufactured to order, including any customisations and options, so delivery is usually 10–12 weeks from order, with free delivery to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth metro areas. Regional delivery is quoted separately. Assembly then takes a few hours with two or three people, and an assembly service is available in most metro areas.

Ready to choose a size? View the PAXTON range or call Workpod on 1300 342 135.

Brought to you by the Workpod team

The information in this article is general in nature and is intended for informational purposes only. It does not constitute professional, legal, financial, or regulatory advice. Tax treatment, depreciation eligibility, and financial returns referenced in this article are based on general ATO guidelines at the time of publication and will vary depending on your individual circumstances. Council permit requirements, exempt development thresholds, and planning regulations also vary by state, council, and property — always verify current requirements with your local council or a registered certifier. Statistical references are drawn from publicly available third-party sources and are provided for general context only. Workpod recommends consulting a suitably qualified professional before acting on any information contained in this article.