Australia Post has lodged a draft notification with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), proposing an increase in the Basic Postage Rate (BPR) from $1.50 to $1.70.
Australia Post Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Paul Graham said the rapid ongoing decline in the usage of letters by Australian households had made a BPR price increase necessary.
“Australia Post continues to face structural challenges in its Letters business that are expected to only get worse. This proposed increase will primarily impact business and government customers and is necessary to offset growing losses in our Letters business as more people choose to communicate digitally,” said Mr Graham.
“We remain focused on continuing to deliver for all Australians, especially for communities in rural and regional Australia, but this is only possible if Australia Post is financially sustainable.”
The price rise is proposed from 1 July 2025 to offset significant the ongoing losses in Australia Post’s letters business.
It says concession and seasonal greeting stamps will not change price, remaining at 60 cents and 65 cents respectively.
Australia Post says currently, fewer than 3% of letters are sent by individuals, with the vast majority mailed by businesses and government agencies. It says total letter volumes are expected to reduce further as digitisation increases.
Australia Post says its letters business remains in structural decline, with volumes dropping a further 12.9% in FY24, resulting in a $361.8m loss. Letter mail is now at a level not seen since the 1950s, the company says.
Australia Post has also indicated a possible pricing path for FY27 and FY28 postage rates to offset forecast losses in its Letters business. This price path shows indicative increases to the BPR of 15 cents in FY27 and the same amount in FY28 and both are subject to change and consultation, it said in a statement.
