We want to hear from the Australian community about the postal services you want and need now, and into the future.
Why we want your input
As technology has advanced, how individuals, charities, businesses and governments use postal services has changed. Your input will help us understand how to modernise postal and related services so that Australia Post remains a critical part of our national infrastructure, and delivers the services all Australians need and can rely on.How you can voice your opinion
Make a submission or short comment using the ‘Have your say’ button below, or by emailing or posting it to the Department. You can use the Discussion Paper available below to guide your response.What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your submission will inform Government’s consideration of options to modernise postal services and deliver the services people want, while also supporting Australia Post’s long term financial sustainability.The Issue
Postal services have played an important role in the lives of Australian communities, individuals and businesses over the last 214 years. Australia Post’s extended workforce of more than 60,000 people and 4,300 Post Offices continue to deliver letters, parcels and essential services to communities and businesses throughout Australia.
The digitisation of the economy is changing how postal services are used:
- Businesses and government send more than 97 per cent of letters in Australia but are increasingly using digital communications channels, with the average household now receiving approximately one third of the number of letters each week compared to 2007-08 when letter volumes peaked.
- Post Offices provide a range of postal, financial, identity and retail services, however Australians visit Post Offices less frequently than they once did. Since 2013-14, retail transactions at Post Offices have declined 39 per cent.
- While traditional postal services continue to decline, Australians are increasingly relying on parcel delivery services. Almost 1 in 5 retail sales are now completed online, with Australia Post delivering over 500 million parcels in 2021-22.
The Australian Government is committed to helping Australia Post adapt to these changes so that it remains a cherished national institution, providing essential services to Australian communities, and stable employment for tens of thousands of Australians. This is particularly critical in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia, where Australia Post is a key provider of a wide range of services, and supports the economic and social wellbeing of many rural cities and towns.
The Government’s focus in the near term will be on working with Australia Post to improve productivity and revenue in delivery, while managing costs to support both sustainability objectives and benefits from modernisation. This may require changes to letter delivery standards and letter pricing arrangements.
The Government will work with Australia Post, licensees, businesses and communities to ensure retail network services meet the needs of modern Australia, consistent with existing regulatory requirements.
We are seeking submissions and comments from individuals, communities, charity organisations, businesses, Post Office licensees and agents, and the Australia Post workforce on options to modernise postal services. Understanding your expectations will assist the Government and Australia Post to meet the needs of contemporary Australia.
You can use the Discussion Paper below to help guide your submission.
Relevant documentation
Participate
02 Mar 2023 08:30 AEDT
27 Apr 2023 23:59 AEST
Open
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You can have your say by:
- adding a comment in the ‘short comment’ box (below); or
- uploading a submission below, or emailing it to postalconsultation@infrastructure.gov.au:
- writing to us at:
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts
GPO Box 594
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Attention: Director, Postal Policy—Communications Services and Consumer Division
Submissions (other than private submissions) will be published on the website at the discretion of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. Comments will not be published but will inform the review process in the same manner as submissions.
If you provide a submission and it is to be made public, please ensure you do not include any personal information that you don't want to be published.
If your submission is confidential, please ensure each page of the submission is marked as confidential.
Please click on the 'Have your say now' button below to upload your submission.
Australian Privacy Principle 5 Notice
Australia Post Modernisation
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts (the department) is collecting information for the purposes of informing options to modernise postal services in Australia, in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988.
The department will use this information to inform consideration of issues associated with modernising postal services and will store this information securely. It may be used by the department to make further contact with you about the review.
The department will not disclose information to third parties, except in the circumstances outlined below.
Submissions, in part or full, including the name of the author may be published on the department's website unless the submission is confidential. Confidential submissions (including the author's name) will not be published. Private addresses and contact details will not be published or disclosed to any third parties unless required by law.
Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish you make a confidential submission, you should indicate this by ensuring your submission is marked confidential.
Confidential submissions will be kept securely and will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:
- in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister
- where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
- where required by law.
The department may also disclose confidential submissions within the Commonwealth of Australia, including with other Commonwealth agencies, where necessary in the public interest.
Please note that in order to protect the personal privacy of individuals in accordance with the Privacy Act any submissions containing sensitive information, personal information or information which may reasonably be used to identify a person or group of people may not be published, even if not marked as confidential.
The department’s privacy policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the department. The Privacy Officer can be contacted on (02) 6274 6495 or by email: privacy@infrastructure.gov.au