COVID 19 Australia Post Update
Date Posted:26 August 2020
25/8/2020: A update from Australia Post regarding operations and delivery delays
Over the last three weeks, Australia Post has experienced a significant increase in demand as Victorians have increased their online buying due to stage 4 lockdowns. So much so, that our parcel volumes in Victoria for August are up approximately 150% year-on-year compared to the national average of 90%.
At the same time, our business has been required to make additional adjustments in our processing and deliveries workforce to comply with the State Government's COVID safe restrictions.
From the very start of the pandemic, we have been clear that our strategy has been to protect our people, serve our customers and safeguard the business.
Safety of our people is not-negotiable and the current situation in Victoria, with massive volumes and severe congestion in our network, has us at a point of concern for the safety of our workforce.
To make sure we can still safely deliver for your customers, the following changes are immediately necessary:
No Weekend Collections in Victoria
There will be no collections in Victoria this weekend – the last pickup for the week will be Friday 28 August 2020 by 8pm and the next collection will be Monday 31 August 2020 commencing from 5am.
Victoria destined Parcels
With the massive demand and workforce capacity constraints, we foresee an additional 3 day delay for deliveries in Victoria. This is both within and into Victoria.
This means, any lodgements made in other States destined for Victoria may be held in those States for up to 3 business days to allow Victoria to work through the present demand.
Father's Day
For deliveries across Australia, we recommend at least the following lodgement dates for delivery before Father's Day on Sunday 6 September 2020:
- Parcel Post and letters – Friday 28 August 2020
- Express Post parcels – Monday 31 August 2020
For items lodged after these dates, whilst we will try our best, we do not expect to be able to meet delivery for Father's Day.
We will keep you updated regularly over the next few weeks and anticipate reviewing the situation in line with the easing of level 4 restrictions.
We appreciate the implications of these decisions and want to assure you we are doing our very best within these extremely challenging times.
I'm sure you can appreciate we cannot compromise the safety of our people and I appreciate your ongoing support as we work through this together.
Stay safe,
Gary Starr
Executive General Manager,
Business, Government and International
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24/4/2020: A update from Australia Post regarding delivery delays
Important update to our services
At Australia Post, we’re working hard to deliver for our customers in these difficult times. We are however, experiencing significant delivery delays in our network due to limited flights, social distancing requirements and a substantial increase in parcel volumes as more people shop online.
These delays mean we are temporarily suspending the Express Post guarantee of next day delivery as we are unable to commit to this timeframe. Express Post is still available but parcels may not be delivered next business day every time.
We know you’re keener than ever to find out when you’ll receive your deliveries. You can track your delivery through parcel tracking, the chatbot and the MyPost App. We ask for your patience with our contact centre colleagues based here in Australia who are doing their best to keep up with the additional demand.
For all information about changes to service, up to date details on delays and impacts including any Post Office closures, please visit our website.
Changing how we work to remain safe
Many customers and businesses have asked us how we are changing our ways of working to ensure the safety of our communities and teams.
Post Offices have implemented social distancing measures for all services conducted in store. Cleaning standards and personal hygiene guidelines have also been provided. Counter safety screens to improve hygiene and reduce risks are also currently being rolled out across the country. The response to this has been positive so far.
We’ve also had a number of questions regarding the safe handling of mail. The World Health Organisation and the Australian Department of Health have stated that the risk of contracting COVID-19 through handling of mail or parcels is extremely low. Nevertheless, we’ve introduced health and safety protocols in our facilities that ensure that mail and parcels are handled safely and that human contact is minimised. Contactless parcel deliveries where a signature is no longer required is also reducing risks.
Stay safe and thank you for your understanding Australia.
Your team at Australia Post.