Australia Post Parcel Tracking

Before we move ahead, knowing about the Australia Post history is essential. It’s a government business enterprise that was formed in 1975. Before 1975, Postmaster-General’s Department (PMG) was the official body handling posts in Australia. In 1975, it was abolished and Australia Post came into being. It takes over all its postal functions.

As a part of the corporatization process, the existing structure and name of Australia Post were adopted in 1989. Its head office is situated in Bourke Street, Melbourne. The head office is a post office itself.

At the national level, Auspost has 4,342 post offices and covers 7,950 postal routes with the help of 10,000 posties. The organization’s professionals use motorcycle (Honda CT 110), bicycles, cars, trucks, and walking for postal deliveries.

To get started with Australia post tracking, the first thing you should do is find a reliable parcel tracking platform. We recommend you Pkge.net – a trustworthy tracking number lookup, as it can track all the national & international consignments under one platform. Then, you must enter the tracking number. The tracking number can be found in various ways.

If you are a sender and used Post Office to post the parcel then your tracking number will be mentioned on the receipt provided by the Post Office officials. If you used the tracked services of Auspost then the tracking number would be available on the barcode of the item.

If you are a receiver and the sender has provided your email address for correspondence then we will mail you the tracking number. If you have ordered a product online then the tracking number will be mentioned on the invoice.

As clear from the name itself, Australia Post Parcel Number is the unique code that is used for tracking of your parcel. The most common tracking number format is a combination of 13 alphabetic and numeric characters, usually starting with 2 alphabets, following by 9 digits, and ending by "AU" (e.g. EE 999 999 999 AU).

For receivers:

• If you're expecting delivery of an item and the sender has given us your email address
• we'll send you emails to let you know your tracking number and the progress of your item as part of our free Track Advice service.
• If you've ordered an item online
• the sender may have included the tracking number, or article ID, on your order confirmation or invoice.

For senders:

• If your item was posted over the counter at a Post Office
• then in many cases, your tracking number, or article ID, can be found on the receipt provided.
• If your item was sent using one of our tracked services such as prepaid satchels
• your tracking number can be found on the barcode on your item, and/or on the removable sticker.

The tracking number is the only way to keep tabs on how your parcel is moving. If you have lost it, for any reason, we regret to say that you can’t track your parcel. However, that doesn’t mean the parcel will not be delivered to you. It will deliver as per the expected date of delivery. So, the best thing you can do in case of a lost tracking number is waiting for the delivery.

Note: In the case of online deliveries, your seller or online shop may have the tracking number, so you can ask your seller or search on the portal if that’s the case.

Awaiting collection

'Awaiting collection' means that your item is waiting for you at the Post Office indicated on the card left in your letterbox, or in the SMS / email notification we sent you.

Contact sender

‘Contact sender’ means that your item has been returned to the sender. If this happens, we’ll let the sender know why the item has been returned to them. You should contact the sender of the item directly for an update.

Customer enquiry lodged

‘Customer enquiry lodged’ means either the sender or addressee has contacted our Customer Care team with an enquiry about this item. It doesn’t relate to the physical location of your parcel.

Delivered

Your parcel has been 'delivered'!

Despatched

‘Despatched’ means:

• your parcel is on its way overseas, has been received into the international system and is awaiting delivery, or
• you have an item coming to you from an international location and it has been ‘despatched’ by the sender

In transit

You may see 'in transit' as your parcel status for a few days. This is because, between origin and destination, we often won't rescan your parcel. But it is moving through the parcel network.

Invalid track ID

The 'invalid tracking ID' status could mean:

• you've entered the wrong number – please double-check it and try again, or
• the number isn't being recognized by our system – please wait 24 hours and try again, or
• the item you're tracking is more than two months old

Not trackable

You might see the status 'product not trackable' or 'sorry, this item can't be tracked' if you're using an international delivery service that doesn't come with tracking as a standard feature.

Pending

'Pending – no events yet' means your item hasn't been scanned yet. Try tracking your item again in 24 hours – the status should have been updated.

Possible delay

‘Possible delay’ means we’ve received your item, but delivery might be delayed due to something like a flood or traffic incident. For international parcels, they may need to be inspected further by Customs. Try tracking your item in another day or so, or contact the sender to follow up.

Processing

‘Processing’ means we’ve received and approved the shipping information that the sender has entered into our online system.

Started

The status 'started' means that the sender has entered shipping details into our online system, but we haven't received it yet. Try tracking your item again in 24 hours – the status should have been updated.

Unable to gain access

‘Unable to gain access’ means there was a reason we couldn’t access the property to deliver your item, like a locked gate or a dog. In these cases, your parcel will be taken to a nearby Post Office, and the postie will leave a card to let you know where and when you can collect it.

Unsuccessful pickup

‘Unsuccessful pickup’ means a pickup has been booked for the parcel, but we were unable to collect it. This could be because no one was at the pickup address or we couldn’t gain access, the address was incorrect, or the parcel wasn’t ready to be collected.

AusPost offers you a whole range of services to help you send/receive all kinds of articles. Its services can be categorized as:

1. Letters and associated services

Australia Post is here to collect and distribute your personal and official letter to the entire Australia community and overseas.

1. Postal services

Postal services are the prime services of Australia Post that delivers parcels and consignments sent/received from national and international destination.

1. Agency services and retail merchandise

Under this service category, Auspost connects consumers, government, and businesses at a single platform. With this partnership with third-party services, it helps you avail hassle-free insurance, personal banking & finance products, bill payments, currency conversion, and insurance.

1. Digital services

You can avail of a whole bunch of digital services like employment screening and online payment services outside their prime logistic/parcel/postal network.

Australia Post understands that some deliveries are every urgent, some require special care, and some can be handle with standard postage protocol. Its parcel post services come in two categories.

It is the standard postal service that Australia Post offers to its customers. It covers all the Australia regions and comes with 2+ day’s delivery facility. The estimated delivery date varies from location to location.

In this postal facility, any parcel that weighs less than 5 kg and is pre-packed by the sender will be charged as per flat postal rate. You have the facility of add-ons like extra cover and signature-at-delivery in this postal service.

To receive Parcel post, Australia post uses red-colour parcel boxes and posting boxes.

Australia Post has a wide Express Post delivery network that promises to next day delivery of the parcel.

Almost 80% of the Australian addresses are covered in this facility. You can avail of this facility all across the capital city and many major cities in Australia. However, some of the rural areas are not covered in this postal service. You can post a parcel weighing within 22 kg with Express post facility.

You can post your Express posts in yellow street boxes or at the post-office. It is suitable for next-day-delivery of items costing less than $100. You can’t send articles like jewelry, electronics, and passport costing over $100 unless you haven’t purchased Extra Cover.

The postage cost for parcels with Australia Post varies as per the weight of the parcel.

Every parcel that weighs up to 5 kg and is packed by the sender will be charged as per the flat rate which ranges from $8.95 for a parcel up to 5 Kg to $18.50 for a parcel up to 5 kg. If you are using Australia Post packaging then the postage cost would be calculated based upon the size.

If your parcel weighs more than 5 kg then Australia Post has its own set pricing based upon the size of the parcel. The cost varies as per the weight and dimension of the parcel. They have an online price calculator facility to find an estimated postage cost. If you know the exact dimensions of the parcel then you can use it.

Along with your parcels, Australia Post will deliver your personal and official letters with Regular, Express, and Registered post facility.

Posting a letter with Australia Post is as easy as clapping. All you need to do is post it as over-the-counter at a Post Office before it closes or drops it off in a street-posting box before 5 PM Monday to Friday. Don’t forget to put the postal stamp on it.

The price of posting a letter varies in each category as per the size of the letter.

For example, a small letter or postcard with a dimension of 130 x 240 x 5 mm will cost you $1.10 with Regular post while the same postal service will charge you $2.20 for a letter with 260 x 360 x 20 mm dimensions.

To get started with sending a parcel, make sure that your package weighs less than 5 kg and is not worth more than $100. If it is costlier than this, it is always advised to add extra cover & signature on delivery like options. Doing so will save you from losses and help in getting compensation if the package is lost. Then

• Once the thing(s) to send is ready to be sent, buy packaging or use a pre-stocked satchel.
• Pack items as per Australia Post’s guidelines.
• Choose options for damage cover or loss & print postage labels.
• Deliver it through a nearby post office, or drop your parcel in the nearest red street posting box.
• Use the online Australia Post Tracking Tool to track the delivery process

Sometimes, you want to forward mail to a different residential or commercial address. For such redirection, you can take Australia Post redirection packages (4 plans - for up to one month, for up to 3 months, for up to 6 months, and for up to 1 year). You will, then, have to give your proof of identity to get started with the process.

• the person it's addressed to (the 'addressee')
• someone who's authorized to collect on the addressee's behalf

You can show one form of photo ID, such as:

• Australian Driver License (physical or digital)
• Keypass or other Government-issued proof-of-age card
• Australian or international passport
• Digital iD

It is used in the case of regular senders, who are posting a significant number of posts per day. For such senders, instead of scanning each parcel separately, a delivery manifest is created and scanned. When the manifest is ready to go, Australia’s post lets the sender know by approving the shipping information.

If you are choosing the parcel postal service then your parcel will be delivered in 2+ days. The estimated date of delivery depends on the distance between the sender’s and the receiver’s location.

Express Post is fast enough to deliver the parcel the very next day and it is operational on all national and local holidays.

The retail delivery will be done even on national holidays. But, trading hours are not usually on those days.

The Australia post offices are operational from Monday to Friday – 8:30 am to 5:00 pm. However, you can use red-colour parcel boxes or 24/7 parcel lockers to utilize their services 24/7.

How long will Australia post hold a parcel?
In case you are not available to pick a parcel, you can hold it for a maximum of 1 year. To avail of this facility, you have to activate Mail Hold service online. It takes 3 business days to get activated.

The company manages the postal deliveries to and fro from the UK in alliance with Royal Mail. The time that a parcel takes to get delivered from the UK to Australia is usually for 3 weeks. However, it varies from city to city. For example, if you want to send a parcel from Sidney to UK, you will have these options:

• Courier: prices from $95.20; max.weight 20kg; 2 business days.
• Express: prices from $40.20; max.weight 20kg; 4 business days.
• Standard: prices from $25.20; max.weight 20kg; 6 business days.
• Economy Sea: prices from $49.50; weight 2-20kg; 2-3 months.

The odds of losing a parcel with Australia Post are very bleak if it was posted using a leading delivery partner like UPS, AliExpress, and FedEx. Sometimes, the parcel may get delayed from its actual estimated date. So, before you panic over a missing parcel, we suggest you wait for 3 days more from the estimated delivery date. Over 90% of parcels delivered during this time period.

If you still haven’t received your parcel then you must fill in the missing item form on MyPost. You can either log-in or sign-up here or fill the form. You will be asked to fill in some relevant details like contact number, tracking number, the mode of the parcel (Express or Parcel post), the postage date, description of the content, and so on.

Once you successfully fill the form and submit it, you will be given a reference number and officials of Australia Post will contact you and discuss your case. An investigation will be called and you will be notified as per the progress.

If the investigation revealed that the item was lost or damaged in-transit (though it happens once in a blue moon), you will be titled to receive compensation as per the compensation policy of the Australia Post.

Just as receiving a parcel with Australia Post is a breeze, the returns are also hassle-free. Whether you need to return an online shopping parcel or a personal parcel, Australia Post offers you a very straightforward return policy.

To initiate a return, you need to ensure that the package meets the retailer’s return policy (in case of online shopping). Once it’s done, pack the item and put the return label on it followed by dropping-off of the parcel in the nearest drop-off location. It has a network of 20,000 drop-off locations all across Australia to make things easier. Alongside this, you can choose to leave your package at post-office, post-box or post lockers.

Post Office

• Many Post Offices have extended hours
• Over 4,300 Post Offices across Australia
• Return parcels can be up to 22 kg and 105 cm long
• Parcel scanned when dropped off and a receipt provided

Post Box

• 24/7 access
• Over 15,500 street post boxes across Australia
• Free
• Return parcels can be up to 7 kg and 35 cm long

Parcel Locker

• Over 260 Parcel Locker
• 24/7 access
• locations across Australia
• Free
• Return parcels can be up to 16 kg and 50 cm long
• Parcel scanned when dropped off and confirmation email provided

If you want to find your postcode , try to visit this link and you will have an opportunity to find out about the answer to your questions.

For different queries and regions, Australia Post contacts are different. So, it always better to visit their website, open help & support page, choose the exact issue and ask for assistance. You may even click on the quick chat button and take their help. If You want to leave feedback or complaint visit this link. Reach AusPost from 8 am until 6 pm, Monday to Friday on these numbers:

• 13 POST (13 76 78) from within Australia
• +61 3 8847 9045 from overseas
• 13 11 18 for business

Or send your letter to:

• Australia Post
• Customer Sales and Service
• GPO Box 9911
• MELBOURNE VIC 3001