Australia Post, formally the Australian Postal Corporation and also known as AusPost, is an Australian Government-owned corporation that provides postal services throughout Australia. Australia Post's head office is located on Swan Street in Richmond, Victoria.
Australia Post is the successor of the Postmaster-General's Department, which was established at federation in 1901 to formalise colonial postal services. In 1975, the department was abolished and its postal functions were taken over by the Australian Postal Commission. The organisation's current name and structure were adopted in 1989 when it was made into a government-owned corporation.
History Colonial Australia (pre–1901)
Before colonial control of mail started in 1809, mail was usually passed on by ad hoc arrangements made between transporters, storekeepers and settlers. These arrangements were flexible, and inherently unstable. It was common for early settlers to ride many miles out of their way to deliver neighbours' mail that had been collected from informal distribution points.
On 10 July 1803, Sydney Gazette announced that boatmen travelling between Sydney and Parramatta could charge two pence, equivalent to in , to deliver a non-government letter.
The first organisation of a postal service in Australia commenced in 1809 with the appointment in Sydney of the first postmaster. An English ex-convict, Isaac Nichols, took the post operating from his home in George Street, Sydney. His main job was to take charge of letters and parcels arriving by ship, to avoid the chaos of people rushing aboard ships as soon as they arrived at Sydney's wharves. Nichols would pick up the mail and post a list of recipients outside his house. He would advertise in the Sydney Gazette the names of all those who received mail. Recipients paid a fixed price of one shilling, equivalent to in , per letter to collect mail from Nichols' home, with parcels costing more depending on how heavy they were. VIP addressees were afforded personal delivery by Nichols.
Between 1812 and 1842, postmasters were also appointed in Tasmania (1812), Western Australia (1829), Victoria (1836), South Australia (1837) and Queensland (1842). Settlements outside of the postmasters' domain were serviced by contractors on horsebacks or in coaches.
In 1825, the New South Wales Legislative Council passed the Postal Act which transferred responsibility from Nichols, acting as a private company, to the governor. The governor would then set the wage of the postmaster and the cost of collecting mail.
20th century
Following federation in 1901, the colonial mail systems were merged into the Postmaster-General's Department (PMG). This body was responsible for telegraph and domestic telephone operations as well as postal mail. An airmail service was introduced in 1914. In 1967, 4-digit postcodes in Australia were introduced, in addition to the world's first mechanical processing centre, which garnered international attention.
On 1 July 1975, separate government commissions were created to undertake the operational responsibilities of the PMG. One of these was the Australian Postal Commission. It later became the Australian Postal Corporation on 1 January 1989 when it was corporatised into what is now known as the Australian Postal Corporation, or Australia Post.
In December 1987, 21-year-old Melbourne University student Frank Vitkovic, while experiencing a mental health crisis, entered the Australian Post building located at 191 Queen Street in Melbourne and spoke animatedly with an unidentified friend who worked in the building, then perpetrated what came to be known as the Queen Street massacre. The mass shooting left eight Australia Post and other company employees dead. The perpetrator fell to his death from the building while struggling with a security guard. The incident resulted in calls to strengthen gun control laws in Australia.
21st century Under amendments to the Australian Postal Corporation Act which came into effect in March 2008, quarantine inspection officers of a state or territory are authorised to request Australia Post to open packets and parcels sent from interstate for inspection when inspectors believe they may contain quarantine material. The legislation also authorises Australia Post to remove any mail articles that are suspected of being scam mail.
In February 2010, Ahmed Fahour was appointed MD (CEO) of Australia Post. In May 2010, he announced a new strategy dubbed "Future Ready" designed to reinvigorate Australia Post. This included a new organisation structure as well as a renewed foray into digital businesses under a strategic business unit called eServices.
However, in 2013, the corporation acknowledged that, though the strategy was successful in improving Australia Post's profitability and structure, it was insufficient in its contributions to their development as a financially self-sustaining business.
In September 2015, the corporation announced its first loss in 30 years. The loss, equivalent to in , was down from a profit the previous year. Large decreases in addressed and stamped mail led to a loss in the mail delivery side of the business. Parcel delivery then accounted for over half of total revenue. Overall revenue was stable at ,Australia Post delivers strong full year profit of $126.1m before tax Australia Post equivalent to in .
In August the following year, Australia Post returned to profit with strong parcel and courier performance, and organisation re-structuring. However, mail performance reached an all-time low.
In February 2017, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull criticised CEO Ahmed Fahour's , equivalent to in , annual salary, saying "As the Prime Minister and a taxpayer, I've spoken to the chairman today. I think that salary, that remuneration, is too high." On 23 February 2017, Fahour announced his resignation, effective July 2017, telling media that the decision was not related to discussion of his salary.
In October 2019, Australia Post completed a major rebranding project with Melbourne-based brand strategy firm Maud. This project saw the development of a new brand identity, website and self-service platform, parcel and letter packaging, street posting boxes, staff uniforms, and a fleet of custom-designed electric vehicles, amongst others.
In 2019, with parcels deliveries increasing while letter deliveries falling, the Post Office transferred several thousand workers from letters to parcels. Letter deliveries were reduced from five days per week to two days per week.
In 2021, Australia Post began using its first electric trucks; three Fuso Ecanters in Melbourne.
In 2025, Australia Post indefinitely suspended most deliveries to the United States and Puerto Rico, citing tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.
Operational development Responding to competitive pressures, Australia Post continued to broaden its product and service range in 2019, having invested in extensive technology-based infrastructure programmes. It operates in three core areas: letters and associated services; retail merchandise and agency services; and parcels and logistics. It has a number of subsidiaries and joint ventures, including Sai Cheng Logistics Internationala joint-venture logistics companyLogistics in China. Official website established with China Post in 2005.
Australia Post operates regular mail delivery as well as an express and courier service through Messenger Post (now trading as Startrack Courier).
Australia Post is self-funding and uses its assets and resources to generate profits, which can be reinvested in the business or returned as dividends to its sole shareholder, the Australian Government. Under its community service obligations, Australia Post is committed to providing an accessible, affordable and reliable letter service for all Australians wherever they reside. The corporation reaches more than 10 million Australian addresses; operates 4,330 postal outlets;Annual Report 2020 Australia Post and serves more than a million customers in postal outlets every business day. When the basic domestic letter rate was increased to on 4 January 2016, there were no changes to prices of concession stamps or seasonal greeting stamps, which remained at and respectively. At the same time, a category of priority mail was introduced (as distinct from regular mail), under which delivery standards were varied and a priority label was required as additional payment for the better standard.
Under the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989, letters up to are reserved to Australia Postother people and businesses can only carry them if they charge four times the basic postage rate. All of the other goods and services provided by Australia Post are sold in fully competitive markets and, in 2005–06, nearly 90 per cent of the corporation's profit (from ordinary activities before net interest and tax) came from selling products and services in competitive markets.
Organisational structure and information Board of directors
Siobhan McKenna (chair) Andrea Staines (deputy chair) Paul Graham (group chief executive officer and managing director) Robyn Clubb (director) Richard Dammery (director) Laura Inman (director) Annastacia Palaszczuk (director) Deidre Willmott (director)
Employment Empty cells have no data available for that year. All results as at 30 June of the year indicated.
Year Full-time staff Part-time staff Other staff 1993 31934 3999 Annual Report 1994 31130 4204 5626 Annual Report 1995 31621 4501 5253 1996 32040 5689 7849 1997 31111 6185 8466 1998 29564 6961 9151 Annual Report 1999 28205 6756 9776 1999 Annual Report 2000 26915 8482 9455 Annual Report 2001 27079 8458 9660 2001 Annual Report 2002 26950 8812 9703 2003 Annual Report 2003 26394 9033 9557 Annual Report 2004 26019 9030 9559 2004 Annual Report 2005 25851 8953 9570 Annual Report 2006 25387 9196 6415 2006 Annual Report 2007 25026 9498 6247 2007 Annual Report 2008 25093 9936 2008 Annual Report 2009 25149 10360 8106 2009 Annual Report 2010 24205 10252 2009-10 Annual Report 2011 23369 10103 2010-11 Annual Report 2012 23221 9810 2011-12 Annual Report 2013 23526 8938 2012-13 Annual Report 2014 27315 8613 2013-14 Annual Report page 139 2015 27098 8195 2015 Annual Report page 123 2019 27785 7316 2019 Annual Report page 27
Job cuts In June 2015, Australia Post announced that in view of mounting losses, and especially the accelerating decline in its letter delivery service, it would reduce its workforce by 1,900 over three years through voluntary redundancies. At the time, mail delivery losses were approaching for the 2014–15 financial year. As of 2019 however, Australia Post's workforce was broadly similar in numbers compared to 2015.
Facts and statistics Nationwide there are 7,950 postal routes serviced by 10,000 postal delivery workers, colloquially called posties. Motorcycles (including the Honda CT110) are used for delivery on about 6,600 routes, bicycles on 350 routes and walking for 1,000 routes. Electric-assisted bicycles were introduced in Victoria in 2011. Cars, trucks and vans are used on only the longest routes. Until the 1960s, the longest overland mail route in the world was Meekatharra to Marble Bar, Western Australia. As there were few roads, a return journey took seven days. The current longest overland route is Norseman, Western Australia to Border Village, South Australia, a distance of . The longest air service delivers to remote communities in the outback covering over two days. The last remaining mailboat service still operates on the Hawkesbury River to the north of Sydney, out of Brooklyn, and is called Riverboat Postman.
The most isolated Post Office is located from Onslow, Western Australia, from the nearest customer. The highest Post Office is located in Perisher Ski Resort at above sea level.
According to the 2019 annual report, Australia Post: