A virtual local number (e.g. an 02, 03, 07, or 08 area code) gives a business a genuine local presence in a city or region it wants to be visible in, even without a physical office there. Calls to that number route through to wherever the team is actually based and answering from.
This suits businesses expanding into a new region, running location-specific marketing or Google Business listings, or simply wanting a recognisably local number rather than a mobile or interstate one on their website and ads.