The silly season is busy time for holidayers, retailers, and the postal service alike. There’s nothing worse than buying a special present and having the parcel get lost somewhere in the system or worse; stolen after its been delivered.
While some have criticised their levels of service in the past, Australia Post have affirmed that they are as concerned about the packages as much as the recipients and senders are. With the Christmas rush coming up very soon, they have introduced a new service that will help ensure that people can pick up their packages safely and conveniently.
Whenever a postman cannot safely deliver an eligible parcel at a customer’s address and cannot return the parcel to the nearest Post Office during operating hours, they will place the parcel in a free 24/7 Australia Post Parcel Locker located within 1km of the customer’s address.
Eligible parcels are those with mobile numbers linked to a delivery that can be matched to a MyPost account. MyPost customers will be notified via the AusPost app or SMS that their parcel is in a Parcel Locker near their home, ready for them to collect at their convenience over the next 48 hours.
If the parcel remains uncollected after 48 hours, Australia Post will take it to the nearest Post Office for collection.
“We know customers are very busy towards the end of the year, so Australia Post is supporting them through more convenient delivery options,” said Australia Post Executive General Manager Parcel, Post and eCommerce Services Gary Starr.
Collecting missed deliveries from nearby Parcel Lockers means customers who aren’t home for their delivery and can’t make it to the Post Office can still collect their parcels via our Parcel Locker network,” he continued.
This service prevents packages from being left in unsafe places and cuts down on potential theft. It also means that customers can collect their packages at any time over the next two days rather than having to visit specific post office during opening hours. It also prevents the package from being lost within the post office, which can happen during very busy times.
The postal locker location is potentially also closer than local post office. Australia Post has more than 700 Parcel Locker locations nationwide, including at select train and petrol stations. For people living in urban areas, it is very likely that there is a parcel locker near their residence.
In the past year, Australia Post has delivered 6 million parcels directly to Parcel Lockers. Customers with a MyPost account or the AusPost app can already register to have their parcels delivered at no extra cost to any Parcel Lockers convenient to them, instead of their home or workplace.