Australia Post quietly increases prices: Here’s how much it will cost you to send a package
- Rising package shipping costs have taken their toll
- Businesses that ship 100 a week paying at least $1,000
- Parcel prices increased 136% since 2008
Business owners have been crippled by another heavy hit after Australia Post raised its parcel and parcel delivery prices by as much as 10 per cent.
Rate increases on commercial mail, domestic and international parcel services are among a series of price changes recently announced by the postal operator that went into effect on July 3.
Prepaid postal wallets start at $10.90 for a small one, which is up almost $1 from $9.95. The cost of sending the same package via Priority Mail increased from $12.95 to $14.40.
An extra-large prepaid postal wallet will set you back $22.95, which increases to $30.45 if sent via priority mail.
Shipping a package 5kg or less using a flat rate or your own packaging has also increased, starting at $10.60 for a small package.
A business that ships 100 small packages a week now spends at least $95 more on postage, since the cost has increased by more than $1,000.
Parcel prices have risen 136 percent over the past 15 years, according to former Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Association president Mark Skipper.
Australia Post has increased its charges on prepaid postal wallets (pictured), which now start at $10.90 for a small
“If you look at the Reserve Bank website, the inflation rate has been 38.7 percent over the same period,” he said. 2GB‘s Ben Fordham on Tuesday.
“So they have raised parcel rates three and a half times the rate of inflation or CPI, which is huge.”
Shipping a 1.5-2kg package overseas will now cost at least $35.05 to New Zealand, $62.35 to the US/Canada, $68.75 to the UK/Europe and $87.25 to the rest of the world .
Australia Post delivered 2.7 million packages last year, and this is expected to continue to increase.
Australia’s latest postal service online shopping report revealed that 9.4 million Australian households spent a total of $63.8 billion on online purchases in 2022.
‘Package growth is picking up as more people shop online, so a 10 percent increase is an additional $199 million in revenue for them. [Australia Post]’ said Mr Skipper.
“Look at their annual report, they paid $697 million to the federal government last year in dividends and other charges.”
Fordham also criticized the rise in the price of plots.
Former Australian Supply Chain and Logistics Association president Mark Skipper says Australia Post’s new charges on parcels will hurt struggling businesses.
“You think about the companies that have been encouraged to go online,” he said.
‘It’s going to cost a lot more to ship those products. It is a very expensive exercise.
Australia Post has cited sky-high costs and ever-increasing group losses as the main reasons for the price increase.
It was one of the host price changes that went into effect last Monday.
“As a self-funded business enterprise, these changes are necessary to help cover rising costs beyond the current price of our products and services,” the postal service states on its website.
A spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that Australia Post is working harder than ever to provide a sustainable delivery service.
‘Like all businesses, Australia Post is operating in an environment of rising inflationary pressures and rising energy and fuel costs. We carefully consider any price changes and the impact this has on our customers,” he said.
“As a completely self-funded organization receiving no government assistance, these price changes are necessary to help Australia Post address its rising costs.”
Australia Post recently announced a series of price increases that came into effect on July 3.
