From Monday, Australia Post will stop delivering standard letters every day.
Instead, letters will be delivered every second day as AusPost focuses its resources on meeting growing demand for parcel delivery.
AusPost announced plans to reduce letter deliveries last year after the Federal Government recommended it overhaul its operations.
Australia Post letter reduction
Australia Post is owned, but not funded, by the Federal Government.
It’s experienced financial difficulties in recent years, largely due to COVID-19 and the move towards online banking and paperless bills.
The government announced measures to ensure AusPost’s “long-term financial sustainability” after it reported a $200 million before-tax loss in 2022-23.
Letter reduction
AusPost delivered around half a billion parcels in 2021/22.
Letter volumes have dropped by two-thirds since 2008, prompting AusPost to trial decreasing the frequency of letter delivery days in select locations. Postal workers were able to make 10% more deliveries and carry up to 20% more parcels.
Following the trial, AusPost announced plans to reduce letter deliveries to every second day. CEO Paul Graham said it would improve AusPost’s parcel-delivery capacity, with “quicker turnaround times”.
From Monday, letters posted to an address within the same capital city will take four business days after the day they’re posted, while letters between capital cities will take six business days.
Letters posted or sent to and from regional or rural areas will take up to eight days.
Urgent ‘priority’ letters will continue to be delivered daily.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the changes “reflect the way Australians now interact with Australia Post”.
