Well I found it, this is from Australia Post's Terms and Conditions (a new way to say Post Office Guide):
18 Return of articles before delivery
18.1 A person who has lodged an article other than an express post article may apply to
Australia Post to have the article withheld from delivery and returned to him.
18.2 An application under clause 18.1 shall be made in writing, describe the article and be
accompanied by the application fee determined by Australia Post for that purpose
and shall state the contents of the article and the applicant's reasons for requiring its
return.
18.3 The applicant shall undertake to pay to Australia Post any costs incurred by Australia
Post in sending messages by telephone or an electronic mail services in connection
with the withholding and return of the article and, in the case of a parcel or a parcel
post satchel, the postage payable on the carriage of the article from the office at
which it is intercepted to the applicant.
18.4 No article, other than a parcel or a parcel post satchel, shall be returned to an
applicant under this clause unless an authorised person determines โ
18.4.1 that the applicant is the sender of the article and that:
(i) in the reasonable opinion of Australia Post there are special reasons for
permitting the article to be withdrawn and returned; or
(ii) the person to whom the article is addressed has consented to its return.
18.5 Neither the fee paid pursuant to clause 18.2 nor the costs incurred by the applicant
pursuant to clause 18.3 shall be refunded or remitted in the event of an article being
delivered before it can be withdrawn from delivery.
18.6 A parcel or a parcel post satchel may not be withheld from delivery after it has been
made up for carriage outside Australia.
18.7 Nothing in this clause requires Australia Post to return an article after lodgement and
before delivery when Australia Post forms the reasonable opinion that it may not be
able to locate the article or that any attempt to locate the article would cause
operational difficulties.
It is as I originally surmised. Retun to the sender is theoretically possible but a hell of a lot of red tape has to be dealt with first.
"Padches? We ain't got no padches. We don't need no padches. I don't have to show you any stinking padches".
