The story
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 A$1.21 in 2022, 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 A$4.76 in 2022, 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.
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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 A$222 million loss, equivalent to A$262.462 million in 2022, was down from a A$116 million profit the previous year. Large decreases in addressed and stamped mail led to a A$381 million loss in the mail delivery side of the business. Parcel delivery then accounted for over half of total revenue. Overall revenue was stable at A$6.37 billion, equivalent to A$7.53 billion in 2022.
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 A$5.6 million, equivalent to A$6.4 million in 2022, 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.
Organisational structure and information
Employment
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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 A$500 million for the 2014–15 financial year. As of 2019 however, Australia Post's workforce was broadly similar in numbers compared to 2015.
From Wikipedia’s article on Australia Post, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4