Australia Post tells e-commerce not to post parcels due to backlog

Australia Post has put e-commerce businesses on notice - asking them not to send orders to their customers for three days as they deal with a huge backlog of parcels.

Still waiting for that parcel to arrive through the post? Well this is why – and by the sounds of it, you are going to be waiting a while.

Australia Post has put e-commerce businesses on notice - asking them not to send orders to their customers for three days as they deal with a huge backlog of parcels.

In an email sent to e-commerce businesses this afternoon and obtained by NewsLocal, Australia Post revealed 500 of their employees were self isolating putting further strain on the network.

E-commerce businesses across NSW, Victoria and the ACT can’t send any parcel post orders from 7am Saturday September 4 until 7am Tuesday September 7.

The posties are overwhelmed.

“With two of our largest states and some 15 million people in lockdown, the fluctuations in customer online shopping have significantly increased,” Australia Post wrote to businesses.

“We are also dealing with the impacts of the Delta strain and in any given day, we have close to 500 people out of our workforce as they follow necessary self-isolation and testing before clearance back to work.

“This is putting increased pressure on our network like nothing we have experienced before, as we manage staff shortages, temporary facility closures, and parcel volumes as high as Christmas peak period.

“To help us clear excess parcel volumes in NSW, ACT and VIC due to these impacts, we will be suspending customer collections in these areas.”

Australia Post said it will be all hands on deck to try to reduce the package backlog during the pause.

It’s all hands on deck at Aus Post. Picture: Dylan Coker

“The safety of our people is our highest priority and this temporary measure will allow us to responsibly clear record volumes in parts of our network,” the email reads.

“Our team will be processing all weekend to reduce these volumes to a safe and manageable level and help free up capacity.”

The situation will put further pressure on small businesses, including those who have pivoted to e-commerce to remain viable during the rolling lockdowns.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may place on you and your customers. Thank you in advance for your patience and understanding as we continue to navigate these challenges together,” Australia Post wrote to the impacted businesses.

Services provided for Express Post, Premium and Startrack Express remain unchanged across the network and lodgements at Post Offices can still be made.