If you make the move to Australia, you’ll no doubt keep in touch with people back home; you might want to send items between Australia and your home country for birthdays or other celebrations, for example.
At Remitly, we want to help you feel comfortable in your new country, and understanding how to use Australia Post will be a useful skill as you get settled Down Under.
How to use Australia Post
Australia’s official postal service is called Australia Post. They’re committed to providing a cost-effective and efficient service for their customers—no mean feat in a country of Australia’s size. With over 12.7 million delivery points, Australia Post is one of the best resources for staying in contact personally with friends and family, and professionally with customers and clients.
Overview of services offered by Australia Post
Australia Post provides services in three different categories:
- Personal
Australia Post is a great way to send letters and packages nationally or internationally.
Tracking services and a mobile app allow you to follow any items you’re sending or receiving.
They provide post office services and lockers for you to receive your mail outside of your home, and can hold your mail if you’re travelling, or forward it on if your address changes.
Some government services are provided by Australia Post, too You can apply or renew a passport and get ID photos taken at post offices, for example.
- Business
Australia Post also provide services for your business. If you’re sending items within the country, they can get your package to its destination on the next day. If you’re sending internationally, they’ll deliver to over 220 destinations worldwide, so you’re unlikely not to be able to get your product where it needs to go.
Australia Post also provides information about eCommerce, and offers some tips on customer retention, and other helpful business resources like AI applications.
- Enterprise & Gov
For bigger businesses, Australia Post has tailored digital tools and scalable solutions for things like IT and data management.
You can also use Australia Post for identity services, like verifying IDs online and fulfilling legal compliance obligations.
So they’re a lot more than just a parcel delivery service.
Parcel delivery solutions
When you send a package through Australia Post, you get to decide how fast you want it to get to its destination. The delivery fee is determined by the weight or size of the package, the type of packaging, and the destination.
For a general idea on the costs of mailing to different locations, you can use their Calculate Postage tool.
Parcel Post vs. Express Post
If you’re sending a parcel within Australia, you have two main options, both of which include tracking services. Anything you send with these services will also automatically be insured up to $100 AUD in case of loss or damages.
The main difference is how fast your package will be delivered:
- Parcel Post
This is the standard shipping option for Australia. It covers all addresses within the country—and some of them are pretty remote—and takes about two to six business days for your package to arrive.
- Express Post
This is the fastest way to ship a package within Australia. It also covers all addresses within the country, but takes only one to three business days for your package to arrive.
If your delivery meets the Express Post next business day delivery criteria, your package sent today will almost always arrive tomorrow. In general, next-day delivery applies to Express Post packages dropped off in yellow street boxes before 4pm.
The Express Post guarantee ensures that if your package isn’t delivered within the time frame promised, you can receive a refund on the cost of postage by filing a claim.
Preparing your package
When you send a parcel through Parcel Post or Express Post, you have three packaging options: a prepaid satchel or box, flat rate packaging, or your own packaging.
Prepaid satchels are available for Parcel Post and Express Post. Prepaid boxes are available only for Express Post. These items can be purchased at your local post office or online. Because the postage is already included, all you have to do is put your item inside the packaging and drop it off at a post office, post box, or with a postal worker.
Flat rate packaging is available for both Parcel Post and Express Post. This can be purchased at the post office or online. Postage isn’t included, so you’ll have to bring your flat rate packages to the post office. The big advantage of flat rate packaging is that you’ll never have to guess how much it costs—if your item fits in the packaging, it’ll ship for the expected rate, regardless of how much it weighs.
You always have the option of packaging your own parcels for both Parcel Post and Express Post. Packages up to 22kg will be weighed and measured at the post office to determine how much it’ll cost to deliver it.
Using parcel lockers to send and receive mail
If you want to skip the lines at the post office, a parcel locker is a great solution. Parcel lockers are accessible 24/7 and are free to use. They can be found in over 800 locations around the country, in spots that most people are probably going to frequently anyway, like supermarkets and train stations. You’ll need access to a smartphone to use parcel lockers.
If you’re looking to send a package using a parcel locker, you’re going to need a MyPost account—we’ll come to that a bit later. Your post has to have the postage on it already, so this is a great opportunity to use the postage-included, prepaid satchels and boxes we already mentioned. Alternatively, you can pay for it in advance through your app.
To send a package with postage using a parcel locker, follow these steps in your MyPost app:
- Within your MyPost app select “drop off” at a parcel locker.
- Enter your mobile number to receive a personalised verification code.
- Input the verification code into the parcel locker screen.
- Scan your labelled parcel and place it into the locker.
- Once you successfully drop your package at a parcel locker, you’ll receive an email containing tracking details.
If you’re receiving a package, you can also use your MyPost account to have the parcel delivered to a locker of your choice. This ensures that your package can be delivered to you even if you’re out of the house. Packages delivered to a parcel locker have to be collected within two business days.
MyPost accounts
Apps are available to do pretty much anything these days. If you’re ready to try out a parcel locker to send or receive a package, you’re going to need a MyPost account as we mentioned. This is the best way not just to manage all your deliveries, but also to access a host of other Australia Post services. The easiest way to access your MyPost account through the AusPost app.
To create a personal MyPost account, you’ll provide some personal details, like your mobile phone number, postal address, and the email addresses you use when you shop online.
If you’re a Concession Card holder—a pensioner, for example—you can create a MyPost Concession account. This will give you extra benefits like free document certification and reduced mail-redirection fees.
If you send a lot of mail, or you’re a small business owner, you create a MyPost Business account. There are no eligibility criteria; this account will benefit anyone who sends more than $50 AUD worth of parcels in a four-week period, giving you up to 40% off domestic postage prices and 35% off international postage.
Convenient tools and features
Once your MyPost account is up and running, you’ll be able to:
-
- Track parcels
Get updates about your delivery’s progress and estimated delivery dates. - Redirect a parcel
Change the delivery destination of a parcel to make receiving it easier for you. You can also leave instructions for where postal workers can leave a package safely, or let someone else collect a parcel on your behalf. - Access free collection points
Whether it’s a parcel locker, post office, or PO box, you’ll have access to all of the different collection points available to you when receiving a package.
- Track parcels
- Print labels and pay for postage at home
This helps you avoid an extra trip to the post office by paying for postage at home, which can be really handy if you live somewhere remote. It also allows you to prepare packages you’re sending for parcel lockers, if you’re using them.
There’s more information about what you can do with a MyPost account on the Australia Post website.
Financial services
Australia Post also offer some financial services that might be helpful as you get established Down Under.
You can make international money transfers through Australia Post, but you have to go to a physical post office to do it. If you’d like to send money internationally from your home or while you’re on the move, we’ve got you covered.
Once you’ve set up home in Australia, utility bills will inevitably follow. If you’d like to automate payment of recurring expenses like these, you can do so with Australia Post. You can pay online, via the AusPost app, in a post office location, or over the phone.
Many post office locations also function as outposts for Australian banks through the Bank@Post program.
FAQs:
Does Australia Post work every day?
Standard letters are typically delivered every other day, while Express Mail and parcels are prioritised and delivered daily, including some deliveries on Saturday. In general, Australia Post doesn’t deliver any mail on Sundays, but they sometimes extend their delivery window to include Sundays during peak seasons, like Christmas.
What’s the cheapest way to send a parcel in Australia?
If you’re not worried about how fast your parcel gets to its destination, Australia Post’s Parcel Post is a great way to send packages cheaply. If you do have constraints on time, you can consider private courier services like Sendle, StarTrack, or UberConnect.
Where can I find support and additional resources related to Australia Post?
If you’re looking to speak to an Australia Post expert, why not take a trip to your local post office and speak to a postal worker? Otherwise, you can find support on the Australia Post website or within your AusPost app.
What are the benefits of using Australia Post as a small business owner?
It gives you access to volume-based discounts; if you send more than $50 AUD worth of parcels in a four-week period, you’ll get up to 40% off domestic postage and 35% off international postage. You don’t have to be a registered business to access these discount, either—even if you’re a “snail mail” lover sending a lot of packages for personal reasons, you can take advantage of these discounts.