Australia Post’s Christmas parcel cut-off dates
A record number of parcels are expected to be delivered this Christmas. Here are the dates you need to know to ensure your goods arrive on time.
National
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A record number of parcels are expected to be delivered this Christmas and shoppers are being urged to complete their online orders soon to ensure goods arrive in time.
Transport company Toll is expecting 9 million items to move through its delivery networks from Black Friday, this week, to Christmas, while Australia Post is forecasting the busiest festive period in its history.
The Christmas delivery cut-off date with Australia Post for domestic parcel post items is December 12, while express post packages can be sent a tad later, by December 19.
Postage cut-off dates for regular international parcel deliveries have already passed, including for the UK, US, Canada, Europe and most of Asia.
Australia Post figures show delivery numbers have surged during the pandemic – so far the number of parcels delivered in November has increased by more than 7.5 million compared to the same time last year.
With less than five weeks until Christmas, the Australian Retailers Association’s chief executive officer Paul Zahra urged consumers to get organised sooner rather than later.
“This week is the best week to shop before Christmas because of all the Black Friday deals and Cyber Monday deals, we expect it to be the best trading week in the country’s history,” he said.
“The days have got such momentum and to avoid crowds retailers are already spreading the deals across the week.
“Most retailers are offering free delivery.”
About 8.5 million Australian households have been shopping online between March and October and an increase of online shopping purchases 72 per cent year on year nationally.
This includes 1 million households who have never shopped online before.
Australia Post has retrained 2000 posties, put an extra 3000 extra vehicles on the road and has 18 dedicated planes in the air to deliver parcels around the country.
Executive general manager of community and consumer Nicole Sheffield urged consumers to start ordering their gifts soon to ensure they arrive in time for Christmas.
“This Christmas will be the busiest in our 211-year history, we’re expecting to deliver millions more parcels than we did last year and are more prepared than ever before,” she said.
“Our teams right across the country are working harder than ever … but we are asking customers to help us by getting parcels into the post a little bit earlier this year.”
Toll Group’s president of global express Alan Beacham said they have also boosted capacity and extended operating hours to cope with large parcel deliveries.
“We expect to see more than 9 million items move through our network between Black Friday and Christmas,” he said.
“We continue to work closely with retailers to keep their stock levels up and deliver their customer purchases across the country.”
AUSTRALIA POST CUT-OFF DATES
• Santa mail, Thursday, November 26.
• International standard parcel post to New Zealand, Friday, November 27.
• Domestic parcel post, Saturday, December 12.
• Domestic express post, Saturday, December 19.
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Originally published as Australia Post’s Christmas parcel cut-off dates
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