Friday 8th May 2020 - Latest Advice from Australia Post about postage during the COVID-19 pandemic

[countessalmirena]

❝During these challenging times, Australia Post is working hard to deliver your parcels. Current volumes however exceed even our busiest Christmas period and we are processing close to two million parcels a day. This heavy volume coupled with significantly reduced flights and the impact of social distancing in our facilities has led to delays.

To adapt to these pressures we’ve made the following changes:

• Facilities are operating 24/7 and our drivers are delivering on weekends.
• Fifteen new or repurposed processing facilities have been added to increase capacity.
• Eight extra freighter flights have been added within Australia so we now have seventeen dedicated air freighter flights per day.
• Hundreds of casual staff have been recruited into the network and contact centres.
• International notifications have been updated for better visibility and we’ll advise you if your parcel needs to go by sea.

Some small changes to help us move your parcel faster:

• Make sure that the label and barcode on your parcels are clearly visible so it’s easier for us to scan.
• Update your delivery address so your favourite websites know that you’re working from home.
• Where possible, use flat standard packaging, as this will make it easier for us to manage and deliver.
• Check the international updates section on our website to see which overseas destinations we are currently sending to and receiving from.

For those sending or waiting on international parcels, please be aware that there are significant delays to many destinations due to limited flights and government restrictions. Impacts to the United States of America, New Zealand, Germany and France are significant with severe delays being experienced. Where airline capacity does become available, we continue to prioritise Express Parcels. A number of destinations also have full service suspensions where we are unable to move parcels due to airport closures or major delivery issues.

We understand that these international and local impacts are frustrating, but our posties, delivery drivers, Post Office team members and contact centre staff are doing their best, so please show them a little understanding.❞

I have rubricated the changes that I think are particularly helpful.

I should mention that the latest parcels of items that I've ordered have arrived in a good timeframe. I'd already been musing to myself that AP must have been doing something effective during the last week or so.

[tazzieterror]

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@countessalmirena wrote:

I have rubricated the changes that I think are particularly helpful.

I should mention that the latest parcels of items that I've ordered have arrived in a good timeframe. I'd already been musing to myself that AP must have been doing something effective during the last week or so.

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I enthusiastically endorse your rubrications!

I'd begun to think AP had might have started to catch up, but I instead it seems the choke points have simply shifted.

I received something rather quickly from WA this week, but have some QLD and VIC stuff that's overdue, though the latter is inconsistent.  NSW to me has been relatively fast.

But Adelaide to me here in SE SA is woefully slow.

[countessalmirena]

Spoiler

I have noticed that you are a rubrication endorser and manufacturer.
<-- She's rubricating too.

[cezm]

I think Pinkenba might be a new facility.

I ordered my elderly mother an electric blanket from a major retail store because we had a downturn in the temperature and she is choosing to remain isolated

The store (where it was despatched from) is about 12km from her.

It has been a week so far and has headed out to Pinkenba and then past her to Redbank. At least it's still in the same state and hopefully she'll get it early next week. At least the minimum temp has increased a bit.

[tazzieterror]

Here's another data point: something I ordered was posted at Ascot Vale, VIC on Tuesday, 5 May.  Six days later and it's just been scanned in at Melbourne, VIC, which I believe is a sorting & distribution facility.  So there's some congestion in Victoria, still.

[porcelain_dolls_by_me]

One one hand AusPost are boasting record profits from their parcel business, yet also sobbing that the recent abysmal delivery performance is due to record volumes.

Given the vast majority of their operating overheads are already fixed then the extra volumes are pure cream.  Maybe they could/should invest some serious monrey into increasing their capacity to handle the increased volumes?

After all, they are classified as an "essential service", and yet to be given government approval for a 5 day delivery timeframe for intrastate deliveries is ridiculous. 

In simply terms to deliver a parcel/letter within 5 business days from one suburb to the next is acceptable!!

[tazzieterror]

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@porcelain_dolls_by_me wrote:

...

Given the vast majority of their operating overheads are already fixed then the extra volumes are pure cream.  Maybe they could/should invest some serious monrey into increasing their capacity to handle the increased volumes?

...

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It's a King Tide of parcel deliveries - probably not too much point in them dramatically increasing their capacity at this stage of proceedings - the surge won't last all that long.