Jensmanchester

When you lodge a claim with Aust Post, that claim is being made under the Australia Post’s Discretionary Claim Policy.  Discretionary Claims means, claims that Australia post will determine (accept or reject) at its own discretion using its own policies.  Discretionary claims are the first step in the dispute resolution process, and should you be dissatisfied  with the outcome, you can do one of two things.

You could lodge a complaint with the Postal Industry Ombudsman,  who will  deal with your complaint as a negligence claim, applying the civil standard of proof, and if they find that negligence has been proved, they have the power to force  Australia Post to pay compensation. Link http://www.pio.gov.au/

The alternative is you can lodge small civil claim against Australia Post.

Of the two, I recommend the Ombudsman, not only because the compliant service is free, but one or their functions is to monitor Aust Post’s performance and provide regular reports to the Minister, one of which is how well (good/bad) Australia Post’s Discretional Claims Process is working; a copy of which is also available to Senate Estimates.

Therefore if you, in your business model, continue to underwrite the buyers liability when it comes to items damaged in transit, then I suggest you not only become familiar with this process, but also where necessary use it.

Oh and by the way, the first time after you use it,  you’ll be surprised at the level of positive cooperation you get the next time you have a problem.