Up to 30 Australia Post outlets to close as work from home bites

Australia Post is planning a major overhaul of its services which could see post offices close. Here’s what changes are afoot.

Australia Post is planning to close as many as 30 post office branches across the country as the work from home trend smashes city locations.

The government-owned business has been discussing the plans in recent weeks, with outlets in metropolitan locations to be shuttered.

There have been detailed meetings about the plans, internal sources say, with final decisions on which branches will go to be announced imminently.

Australia Post confirmed that it was working on closures.

“The pandemic and the rapid growth in the use of online services has resulted in a significant decline in customer visits to most Post Offices,” Australia Post said in a statement.

“While no final decisions have been made, there are a small number of primarily metropolitan Post Offices, with very low and declining foot traffic, expiring leases or building damage that are currently under review.

“All team members will be redeployed to nearby Corporate Post Offices.”

Australia Post is cutting city post office branches. Picture: Dylan Coker

Internal Australia Post sources said the company was trying to cut costs after last week recording a $255 million loss on its letters business for the 2022 financial year.

Overall, the company made a $55 million profit, which was down on $100 million in 2021.

Australia Post’s decision comes as central business districts across Australia remain ghost towns.

Melbourne’s office occupancy rate was 38 per cent, latest figures from the Property Council show, while Sydney was at 52 per cent, Brisbane was 53 per cent and Adelaide 64 per cent.

Australia Post insisted that it would ring fence outlets in regional and rural Australia, many of which also provide crucial banking and passport services.

“Australia Post currently operates or licenses more than 4000 Post Offices around Australia, which is a bigger store network than the major supermarkets,” the company added.

“The pandemic and the rapid growth in the use of online services has resulted in a significant decline in customer visits to most Post Offices.

“We are continually reviewing the number and location of Post Offices to match consumer demand or manage property-related issues.”

Parcels are now the major part of Australia Post’s business. Picture: Mark Stewart

Stamps were also likely to increase by 10 cents to $1.20 as Australia Post tries to keep its costs under control.

Most Australian households now only receive a letter once every two days.

However, parcels remain a key part of Australia Post’s business as more people buy products online, with revenue on deliveries hitting $7.2 billion.

Australia Post has more than 64,000 employees and contractors, with 227 million retail customers each year.

The Communications Workers Union will meet with Australia Post bosses in Sydney next week to discuss the cuts.