Australians to pay 20c more to send letters overseas

As more Aussie turn to online shopping, Australia Post has revealed a slew of pricing changes, including a price hike on most international letters and parcels. But not all changes will be costing us more.

Australians will pay 20c more to send letters overseas under a slew of pricing changes to be revealed by Australia Post today.

Even Christmas won’t be spared, with hikes hitting some international seasonal greeting cards.

Some international parcel prices are also on the rise, with economy air parcels to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland and parts of Asia to cost $2 more.

Australia Post says the price rises, to kick in at the end of this month, are part of its effort to arrest plummeting profits as customers abandon snail mail.

Post could not say how much ­additional revenue would be made.

Last week the government-owned company reported a 70 per cent decline in net profit for the past financial year, coming in at just $40.6 million, which it blamed on a sharp decline in its letter business.

But Post said the changes were not all hikes. While “seasonal greeting cards” to New Zealand and the Asia Pacific will cost 20c more, the cost to the “rest of the world” will be reduced by 10c.

The reforms also include the biggest changes to domestic parcel products in nearly 30 years, dispensing with 256 different product prices based on weight and zone. These will be replaced with four set sizes — small, medium, large and extra large — with a flat price for each.

art for australia post price

While the most commonly used small satchel will cost 65c more, customers can cram up to 5kg into the bag without incurring the extra $8-plus in weight costs they would have paid in the past.

Post said many customers would pay less under the changes, “especially those sending small heavy items and those sending to or from rural and regional Australia”.

It predicts Victorians will see price reductions of about 2 per cent under the domestic parcel changes.

Post executive general manager of consumer products Nicole Sheffield said the changes to domestic parcels meant Australians would be able to “fit more into a box at no extra cost”.

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“What I can send to my brother in Bondi will be the same price as what I send to my brother in Broome,” she said.

The changes mean someone sending a 1kg parcel from Melbourne to Sydney will save $5.85, and someone sending from Melbourne to Cairns will save $9.65.

Sending a 1kg parcel within Melbourne will cost $1.65 less.

All parcels will be fully carbon offset and insurance supplied by Post has increased from $50 to $100.

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