| Type | Government-owned corporation (owned by the Government of Australia) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Postal service |
| Predecessor | Postmaster-General's Department |
| Founded | 25 April 1809 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Australia |
| Key people | David Mortimer (Board Member and Chairman) Ahmed Fahour (Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer) |
| Products | Postal Services, Digital Services, Retail, Express Post, Logistics, Printing Services |
| Revenue | A$4.87 billion (2010)[1] |
| Employees | 34,457 (2010)[1] |
| Website | www.auspost.com.au |
Australia Post is the trading name of the Australian Government-owned Australian Postal Corporation (formerly the Australian Postal Commission).
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The first Postmaster of New South Wales was an ex-convict, Isaac Nichols, who took the post in 1809 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 onto the ships as soon as they arrived at Sydney's wharves.
The Postal Act of 1825 allowed the governor to fix postage rates and appoint Postmasters outside Sydney, enabling the first organised postal service.[2]
Postal services grew throughout the Australian colonies as they were established.
A regular Sydney-Melbourne overland service began in 1838, as did embossed covers (the world's second, after William Dockwra established the London Penny Post in 1680) prepaid postage , and by 1849 uniform postal rates were established by agreement between the colonies. Monthly steamship sea mail to the United Kingdom was established in 1856. The separate colonies joined the Universal Postal Union in 1891.
In 1901, the colonial mail systems were merged into the Postmaster General's Department (or PMG). This body was responsible for telegraph and domestic telephone operations as well as postal mail. The world's first large-scale mechanical mail sorting system was introduced in Australia (according to Australia Post), and operational in the Sydney GPO in 1967. This coincided with the introduction of the current system of 4-digit Postcodes in Australia.[3]
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, trading as Australia Post. It later changed its name to the Australian Postal Corporation on 1 January 1989 when it was corporatised, although it still trades as Australia Post.
Under amendments to the APC Act that came into effect in March 2008, quarantine inspection officers from a prescribed state or territory are authorised to request Australia Post to open for inspection packets and parcels sent from interstate which they believe may contain quarantine material. The legislation also authorised Australia Post to remove from the mail stream articles that are suspected of being scam mail.[4]
On 26 June 2009, Australia Post celebrated its 200th anniversary.[4]
In February 2010, Ahmed Fahour was appointed MD and CEO of Australia Post.[5] 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 the "eServices" Strategic Business Unit.[6]
Over the last 15 years, Australia Post has broadened its product and service range and invested in major technology-based infrastructure programs. Today, it operates in three core areas: letters and associated services; retail merchandise and agency services; and parcels and logistics. It offers delivery services, retail products, financial services (such as bill payment and banking through its retail network), logistics and fulfilment services, and direct marketing and database management services. It also has a number of subsidiaries and joint ventures, including Sai Cheng Logistics International – a joint-venture logistics company established with China Post in 2005.
Australia Post operates normal mail delivery as well as an express/courier service through Messenger Post.[7]
Australia Post is a government business enterprise. It is self-funding and uses its assets and resources to earn profits, which can be reinvested in the business or returned as dividends to its sole shareholder, the Commonwealth 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 4,462 postal outlets; and serves more than a million customers in postal outlets every business day.
Under the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989, letters up to 250 grams are reserved to Australia Post – other 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.
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 | Source |
| 1993 | 31934 | 3999 | Annual Report | |
| 1994 | 31130 | 4204 | 5626 | Annual Report |
| 1995 | 31621 | 4501 | 5253 | Annual Report |
| 1996 | 32040 | 5689 | 7849 | Annual Report |
| 1997 | 31111 | 6185 | 8466 | Annual Report |
| 1998 | 29564 | 6961 | 9151 | Annual Report |
| 1999 | 28205 | 6756 | 9776 | Annual Report |
| 2000 | 26915 | 8482 | 9455 | Annual Report |
| 2001 | 27079 | 8458 | 9660 | Annual Report |
| 2002 | 26950 | 8812 | 9703 | Annual Report |
| 2003 | 26394 | 9033 | 9557 | Annual Report |
| 2004 | 26019 | 9030 | 9559 | Annual Report |
| 2005 | 25851 | 8953 | 9570 | Annual Report |
| 2006 | 25387 | 9196 | 6415 | Annual Report |
| 2007 | 25026 | 9498 | 6247 | Annual Report |
| 2008 | 25093 | 9936 | Annual Report | |
| 2009 | 25149 | 10360 | 8106 | Annual Report |
| 2010 | 24205 | 10252 | Annual Report |
Source: Australia Post Employee profile
Nationwide there are 7,950 postal routes serviced by 10,000 "posties". Motorcycles are used for delivery for around 6,600 routes, bicycles for 350 routes and walking for 1,000 routes. Cars are only used for the very longest routes. Until the 1960s the longest, and the world's longest, overland mail route was Meekatharra to Marble Bar. As there were few roads a round trip took seven days. The current longest overland route is Norseman in Western Australia to Border Village in South Australia: 1,460 km (910 mi). The longest air service delivers to remote communities in the outback covering 1,790 km (1,110 mi) over two days.
The most isolated postbox is located on a dive platform on the Great Barrier Reef.
The most isolated Post Office is located 217 km (135 mi) from Onslow in Western Australia, 32 km (20 mi) from the nearest customer.
From the 2009–10 Annual Report:
Australia Post operates in three core markets: letters and associated services; agency services and retail merchandise; and parcels and logistics that span both domestic and international markets.
Australia Post collects, processes and distributes letters for the entire Australian community and between Australia and other countries overseas. It also offers bulk mail delivery services for businesses and community organisations and provides research, advice, consumer list rental, and profiling and segmentation services to help businesses target their objectives and customers, along with other associated services.
While postal services of letters and parcels are one of the original areas of Australia Post, it has also diversified its operations into the provision of other services including agency services, business-to-business integration and logistics and supply chain management (see below).
The basic postage rate for a small letter has increased over the years due to inflation but influenced in recent years by a complex interplay between Australia Post's monopoly over small items, and need to provide service to all Australian addresses at the mandated basic rate.
In July 2009, Australia Post requested the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to approve a stamp price rise in 2010 to 60 cents but the ACCC declined the approval of the price rise, however in April 2010, Australia Post resubmitted the proposed postal stamp rise. The ACCC approved this request on 28 May 2010 and it was published in the Government Gazette on 9 June 2010.[8][9][10]
The company has issued numbers of guidelines and pricing documents and these can be found at the company's website.[14]
This is one of the business solutions which can also be found at the company's website.[15]
Agency services: Australia Post provides third-party agency services that connect consumers, businesses and government bodies such as bill payment services, banking services and identity services.
Retail Merchandise: A variety of complementary products, packaging products, collectibles and post office boxes and locked bags are offer across the vast network of Australia Post outlets in Australia.
Australia Post collects, processes and delivers single parcels or multi-parcel consignments all across Australia and internationally. It also provides complete end-to-end supply chain capabilities, from manufacturer (domestic or international) to consumer with integrated logistics services and a broad range of distribution options to track and trace deliveries.
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