Australia Post will now only deliver regular letters every second day at 98 percent of locations across the country, under new government regulatory changes.
The changes were made to reflect a changing Australia, as more and more people shop online and send less direct letters. The changes were confirmed on April 12 by the federal government, following a one-year public consultation.
Last year, four in five Australian households purchased a product online in 2023, and 9.5 million families received a parcel.
In contrast, letter volumes declined, and fell by a mammoth two-thirds since their heyday in 2008.
Under the changes, Australia Post will have an extra business day to deliver letters and allow the postal service to change how it manages priority mail.
“The new performance standards will reduce reserved letter delivery frequency to every second business day for 98 percent of locations,” the government said.
National Postal Service Running at a Loss
In the 2023 financial year, Australia Post announced a $200 million (US$130 million) pre-tax loss, citing the declining letters business as a reason.Letter losses increased by 50.2 percent in the 2022 financial year, while parcels and services revenue lifted by nearly 1 percent.
Australia Post delivered more than 2.5 billion items to 12.7 million delivery spots in 2023. The government-owned organisation has more than 4,000 post offices across the country and employs 63,000 people.
In late 2023, the national postal services indicated it would also continue to support cash services in Australia amid a push to phase out hard currency.
Australia Post Welcomes ‘Historic’ Regulatory Changes
Australia Post welcomed the “historic changes” to the regulations governing the organisation, noting new performance standards will come into play from April 15.“However, eCommerce continues to grow year-on-year, with 9.5 million Australian households shopping online in 2023.”
The postal service expressed the new regulations will help them build a more financially sustainable business while continuing to employ thousands of individuals.
The changes will be progressively rolled out until the end of 2025.
“The new regulations will enable Australia Post to focus on what Australians want most; flexible and more reliable parcel deliveries with enhanced tracking technology and more delivery options,” Mr. Graham said.
“Households now receive about two letters per week, and we expect this to halve in the next five years. By contrast, Australians spend about $64 billion a year shopping online and want reliable parcel deliveries. Australia Post is the vital eCommerce link between those digital stores and the front door of millions of homes.”
Mr. Graham said the previous regulations had forced the service to deliver letters “even when there were no letters to deliver.”
Labor Government’s Stance
The government assured the community these new standards would not impact the minimum number of post offices nationally, or in rural areas.Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the changes reflect the way Australians now interact with Australia Post.
“These changes show it is possible to modernise and boost productivity, while also supporting good, secure postal worker jobs.”
Labor Opposed Earlier Modernisation Plans: Opposition
When the government flagged the changes to Australia Post letter deliveries in December, Shadow Minister for Finance Jane Hume accused the government of “hypocrisy.”She claimed Labor had fought against plans to modernise Australia Post letter deliveries in opposition, running a social media campaign against a similar Coalition plan.
Ms. Hume said the opposition would continue to fight and defend post offices in rural and regional areas.
