Christmas is pretty much a month away, so if you haven’t figured out what presents you’re buying, you might want to start now. And with online shopping more popular than ever, Australia Post is bracing for the festive season with extended trading hours in post offices around the country. To keep up with the demand, twilight deliveries have also started in Melbourne and Perth. So, when you’re doing your Black Friday shopping this week, spare a thought for your local postie.
Australia Post pulls out all the stops this Christmas
Last December, Australia Post delivered a massive 52 million parcels. And now, with over 10 million parcels delivered every week, Aus Post expects to smash this record. New services and rapid recruitment are being used to keep up, and to ensure that parcels are delivered across the country on time.
From November 27 onwards, over 380 retail outlets across the country will have extended trading hours.
“Many of our Post Offices have also extended their opening times to provide our customers greater flexibility with their sending and receiving in the lead up to the big day,” said Rod Barnes, Australia Post Executive General Manager Deliveries.
In Melbourne and Perth, twilight deliveries will see posties working after hours. In the last few weeks, almost 300 drivers were specifically recruited to hit the roads until the early evening.
“We expect our twilight service to help us deliver an additional 25,000 parcels per day in these two cities alone,” said Barnes. “So if you hear one of our drivers roll up perhaps just as you’re getting home, don’t be surprised.”
Lockdowns across the country have heightened the demand for online shopping. In October, 5.7 million households were shopping online, which was an almost 15 per cent increase from 2020.
As a result, Australia Post is prepared to face its “biggest Christmas ever”.
“We have invested in many areas to help increase our capacity, including chartering extra planes, putting more vehicles on the road, recruiting more than 5,000 new team members, and opening new permanent and temporary facilities to manage the volume,” said Barnes.
When is the cut-off for sending a Christmas delivery?
Here are the recommended cut-off dates from Aus Post.
Parcels
Parcels sent from or delivered to anywhere in Australia except WA and NT must be posted by December 13. If you’re using express post, the cut-off date is December 20.
Meanwhile, if you are sending to or from WA and NT, parcels must be posted by December 8. If you’re using express post, the cut-off date is December 15.
Cards and letters
If you’re sending Christmas cards or letters to someone who lives in the same state, the cut-off date is Monday December 20.
However, if you’re sending cards or letters interstate, the cut-off date is Thursday December 16.
For more details, click here.