Australia Post’s eye-watering staff bonus bill revealed in year where delivery times delayed, prices hiked
Postage prices have increased and delivery times have been substantially delayed, but Australia Post has still splashed tens of millions of dollars in staff bonuses.
Victoria
Don't miss out on the headlines from Victoria. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Australia Post handed out a whopping $92m in bonuses to staff in a year where postage prices were jacked up and delivery times were substantially delayed.
The government-owned business’s incentives bill went up from $83.7m, even after its highly paid executives agreed to forgo their six-figure benefits because of the pandemic.
Australia Post also had 502 staff with a pay packet of more than $225,000 last year.
There were 35 who earned more than $520,000, including four above $800,000 — and that did not include its leadership team, headed by Christine Holgate on $1.6m.
The organisation has been the source of significant controversy this year, with accusations of extravagant spending, a furore over whether executives were entitled to bonuses, and a request for staff to volunteer to help clear a delivery backlog in their own vehicles.
At the start of January, the basic postage rate for letters was hiked up to $1.10, the first increase in four years.
And when COVID-19 restrictions were introduced, Australia Post was relieved of its regulatory obligations by the federal government.
It meant it could suspend its priority letters service, deliver letters every second day in metropolitan areas, and take up to five days to post regular intrastate mail.
Australia Post board chair Lucio Di Bartolomeo wrote in organisation’s annual report that it was “a difficult decision” to suspend executive bonuses.
“This reflected the extraordinary circumstances of the nation,” he said.
“Like any board, we understand that our remuneration decisions need to take account of stakeholder and community expectations — and that imperative is amplified by our status as a government business enterprise.”
Ms Holgate had received incentives totalling $831,375 in the previous year.
Even without bonuses, the 11 executives were paid $9.1m in 2019/20. They took a 20 per cent pay cut from April 16 to July 8.
Australia Post delivered a $53.6m profit before tax, beating its $15m target, after a 17.9 per cent increase in parcel deliveries during the pandemic boosted revenue by $567m.
But letter volumes fell by 14.5 per cent, causing a $220m revenue shortfall despite the increase in stamp prices.
The report said 97.1 per cent of letters were delivered on time, compared to Australia Post’s mandated 94 per cent target, although this included changes to delivery requirements during the pandemic which remain in place until June 30 next year.
Ms Holgate said that with record revenue of $7.5bn, Australia Post had adapted to COVID-19 “so successfully” and delivered “impressive results”.
MORE NEWS:
NEW DISCOVERY COULD SAVE BABIES FROM BRAIN DAMAGE