Jobs galore! Workers needed at $240m Australia Post facility

Australia Post is gearing up for what is expected to be its busiest peak Christmas period in its history. 2500 Christmas casuals will be hired across Australia.

Australia Post Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory deliveries general manager Angela Creedon inside the new parcel facility and delivery centre in Redbank. Picture: Rob Williams

THE largest mail facility in the southern hemisphere is a hive of activity with more than 500 workers starting at the site, assisted by cutting edge, Australian-first technology including automated guided vehicles and robotic arms.

Doors have opened at Australia Post's Redbank parcel facility and delivery centre, which is the size of eight football fields and capable of processing 700,000 parcels a day at full capacity.

It comes ahead of what is expected to be the organisation's busiest peak Christmas period in its history and more people will be needed to fill roles in the coming months.

Australia Post will hire 2500 Christmas casuals across the country, with some expected to be needed in the 50,000 sqm Redbank warehouse.

The $240 million facility is hailed as an important milestone in Australia Post's "transformation" from a letter business to an advanced e-commerce delivery and services organisation.

The "flagship" centre is complete with two Beumer high-speed sorters capable of processing more than 50,000 parcels per hour, four robotic arms that can together clear 320 cages per hour and a parcel picker that can move 2,500 parcels per hour.

Its 23 automated guided vehicles are capable of lifting and moving objects weighing up to 1.4 tonnes each, before placing them down to an accuracy of about 5mm.

The centre is equipped with 3,244 solar panels, which generate enough energy to power 280 homes a year.

Australia Post Group chief operating office Bob Black said online sales in Australia were growing at a blistering rate.

Inside the new parcel facility and delivery centre in Redbank. Picture: Rob Williams

Last year, Australia Post delivered more than 40 million parcels in December and delivered more than three million parcels on a single day on two occasions.

In 2019, volumes are already greater than they were at the same time last year with the period around Mother's Day already the biggest since Christmas.

"Australians love online shopping, spending $27.5 billion nationally online last year and this facility will be able to process those parcels more efficiently right across the network - getting it from merchant to customer quicker," he said.

"Queenslanders are big online shoppers, with three of the top 10 postcodes - Toowoomba, Mackay, Bundaberg - each experiencing strong growth all above 20 per cent in 2018.

"What we're also finding is that shoppers are jumping online earlier to snap up deals in annual online sales events, which means we're getting bigger volumes, earlier in the peak period."

Over the coming peak period, Australia Post is expecting to deliver up to 3.5 million parcels on its busiest day.

"The new automation means we can process more parcels, faster, more safely and more securely than ever before," Mr Black said.

"As we approach Christmas, we'll have more planes in the air, more vehicles on the road, more people in our facilities and on the phones, and our Post Offices will be open longer so we can deliver our customers the best festive season yet."

Advanced technology in the centre will help reduce stresses and strains from employees bending and shifting, which is one of the largest causes of injuries at Australia Post.

Information on Christmas jobs will be made available in the coming weeks. Visit here for more.

Originally published as Jobs galore! Workers needed at $240m Australia Post facility