• long running

Free Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect @ Auspost

1564

This may be old news for a lot of folks here, but I just found out there I've been wasting money on a PO Box I don't need, since I can just direct parcels to be delivered to the post office under my name; it's called parcel collect. Not to mention all those businesses who insist on not accepting PO Boxes for delivery address!

For those who can't collect their parcels during business hours, there are also 24/7 parcel lockers. At this point, the only good reason to pay for a PO Box is when away on travel longer than 10 days.

UPDATE: If one does choose to keep a POBox, some post offices offer POBox Plus, thru which one can receive in one's POBox up to 50 private courier deliveries per year (or more?) for an extra $2/mo (and $3 ea thereafter). Seems like a good deal too.

T&C
Parcel Collect
Collection time limits apply. Items must be lodged with Australia Post to be delivered to a participating Post Office. Trading hours may vary. You have 10 business days to collect your parcel once it has arrived at a Parcel Collect (Post Office) location. Post Offices will accept parcels up to 22kg and not greater than 105cm in one dimension. Letters and standard mail that can be delivered to your letterbox, including Express Post letters, will not be accepted. Please refer to the full terms and conditions for further details.

Parcel Locker
Collection time limits apply. Fees and charges will apply to carriers other than Australia Post and StarTrack to lodge parcels under the Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect (Post Office) services. This cost may be passed on to customers.

Parcels must be appropriately packed in either a prepaid satchel or a box or satchel with a postage label. Parcels must be under 16kg and no larger than 39 x 36 x 64cm in size. Letters and standard mail is not accepted. The Express Post Guarantee does not apply to parcels sent using a parcel locker.

You have 48 hours to collect your parcel once it has arrived at a Parcel Locker, or 10 business days to collect once it has arrived at a Parcel Collect (Post Office) location. Post Offices will accept parcels up to 22kg and not greater than 105cm in one dimension. Letters and standard mail that can be delivered to your letterbox, including Express Post letters, will not be accepted. Please refer to the full terms and conditions for further details.

Related Stores

Australia Post
Australia Post

Comments

  • +55

    Side note, parcel lockers will sometimes redirect letter sized items (or actual letters) to your letterbox.

    If you have a PO Box because you do not/cannot have a letterbox for whatever reason, a parcel locker is not a replacement. Otherwise, parcel lockers are great.

    • +11

      Definitely my local has a no 'letters' in parcel locker rule.. its for parcels.

      • +1

        Yep - you get a nice push notification from AusPost app if they need to redirect mail to your home address because you've received a letter sent to your parcel locker.

      • +1

        It must vary from location to location as I've been using St Kilda DC Parcel Lockers for ages now and even letter sized parcels are put into the lockers

        I've never had anything get sent to home address for not being a parcel

        • +1

          Sometimes I have letter sized parcel left in parcel lockers, sometimes redirected to my home letter box.

          Example of letter sized parcels are a pack of button sized batteries

        • +2

          It depends on the staff and the letter. If the "letter" is more parcel-y and has a tracking barcode it's easier just to treat it as a parcel. If it's a straight letter, like a piece of paper, then redirected.

          But as I say, it depends on the staff. Redirecting a letter takes extra work and having to apply a sticker and re-stream the letter. Some places just say eff-it and chuck it in the locker.

      • Can confirm(used to work in a post office) any letters we got for parcel collect for returned to sender

        • As I recipient, I found this out the hard way. What I assumed would be sent as a parcel was sent as a letter (to save money obviously) and was returned.

    • If you have a PO Box because you do not/cannot have a letterbox for whatever reason, a parcel locker is not a replacement.

      What about parcel collect?

      • Same rules unfortunately.

        • +2

          I've used Parcel Collect for all of my deliveries for 2+ years all over Australia and I've received at least a dozen letter-sized items in that time.

    • Thats why it's called a letterbox.

    • I've had that happen to me.

      I had some clothing delivered to PL.

      A few months later I received a forwarded brochure from the same company in letterbox.

  • +4

    At this point, the only good reason to pay for a PO Box is when away on travel longer than 10 days.

    Depends on your local Aus Post, mine was kind enough to hold my parcels longer than 10 days after the usual 48 hours from the Parcel Locker. You can try calling the 137678 number and just politely ask

    • +2

      Not for me, I have had parcels sent back to sender, when after a few days at parcel locker

      • +5

        The items in my parcel locker gets transferred to the post office after 2 days, where it will be held for another week (cannot remember exactly how long)

        • +1

          10 days, but people here said that, depending on the office staff, they may hold it longer.

          • +2

            @wisdomtooth: You can call auspost customer service and ask them to contact the post office to hold it longer than 10 days. Tell them you’re away and can't collect until x date.

      • +2

        All you have to do is ask. If you get it sent parcel collect it will be kept for 14 days minimum. Most seem to keep it for 4 weeks. I've had to call a couple of times and ask for them to hold it until x date, and it wasn't an issue.

    • +2

      I didn't call the number just told my local post office when i went on holidays, came back and they gave me all my parcels along with the handwritten note with my name and holiday dates on it. This was for parcel collect.

  • +16

    whole idea of p/o box is to stay anonymous for the sender. you do not need to share your name / surname

    • +3

      You don't have to share your name when using the parcel locker. The address can look like this:

      Parcel Locker 12345 67890
      Auspost St, Sydney NSW 2000

      • +12

        My post office gets annoyed if the name doesn't match perfectly

        • +7

          My post office gets annoyed if I use the service but don't work nearby.

          • +3

            @sildosaggins: How and why does your place of work matter as to why you need access to a parcel locker?

            I don't recall having to provide any with related matters to the post office when i set up my parcel locker.
            Heck unless there's a problem or the parcel is too big, there is very little to no interaction with the post office staff

            • +3

              @Butterfly Gocha: I agree, I felt the same confusion. For clarification, it was an AusPost located within a hospital where you are forced to interact with the counter staff to collect your package (at the time I didn't mind as I was mainly using the service to just conceal my address). The elderly employee insisted the service only be used by doctors/nurses/staff of the hospital, pretty much just telling me "you shouldn't be using this".

              I couldn't find any conditions related to this sort of claim on the AusPost website, so I emailed AusPost to clarify. They replied with:
              "This service was created mainly for people travelling or if they can't get deliveries at their home. … However in saying this, if your LPO is a participant in the service then there is no limit to how often you can utilise the service."

              In the end I figured the person just didn't like having to actually do their job. So decided to leave a negative review and switch to a different parcel collect location to avoid the headache.

          • +3

            @sildosaggins: my post office gets annoyed if i get anything sent there because they want to sit around doing nothing all day.

            • -1

              @Teh White Mamba: Lol I'm not surprised, it really is the luck of the draw out there. I feel for you mate.

        • My post office doesn't care if different name and happy to accept anything

      • +5

        and what is happening when parcel lockers are full or your package does not fit ? package goes to local post office , where you have to come and pick it up in person. you have to show the drivers license or some id to get your package from post office. how can you pick it up without name on a package?

        • +5

          1) Your parcel locker number is linked to an AusPost account with name and address so that works fine. I’ve picked up parcel locker parcels with no name on it.

          2) If locker is full, it goes to post office to collect or wait day or two and they’ll pop it into a now free locker slot.

          • +3

            @Hybroid: If it gets sent to the post office, it doesn't get put in the box at a later date.

            • @Thatbargainhunter: It does indeed if there's a free slot next day, has happened to me.

              • +3

                @Hybroid: I' can tell you after hundreds of parcels I have received and gone to the post office, not once have they gone back in to the box.

                Your exceptional case does not prove a rule.

                • +1

                  @Thatbargainhunter: They quite often put parcels in the lockers after they have arrived at my post office.
                  I have had parcels delivered to my po box (too big to fit so there's a card) and i collect on Fridays so some have been moved into a parcel locker at the end of the day or the next day. It's good and bad.

                • +1

                  @Thatbargainhunter: It does in fact prove (test) the rule that “it doesn’t get put in the box at a later date”.

                  Sometimes they do get put in the box at a later date. Maybe it’s just never happened to you. It’s clear that parcel locker operations is not consistent across locations, so any ‘rules’ are maybe only local.

              • +2

                @Hybroid: Agree. It does get tricky around busy times though (like Christmas). I learned last year that the 48 hours to collect rule starts ticking from when the parcel is scanned into the care if the post office not necessarily the parcel locker. So if they're banked up with heaps of parcels, it is totally feasible that I would get a text to say I failed to collect my parcel in time and needed to talk to staff in store instead.

                But otherwise, this service has been fantastic 🙂

          • +4

            @Hybroid: 1) from the link below - you have to (MUST) use you name surname

            https://auspost.com.au/receiving/collection-points/use-a-247…

            Your Parcel Locker address must include your name, 10-digit APCN (Australia Post Customer Number) and the address of your chosen Parcel Locker.

            Here’s the format to follow:

            Name: <First name> <Last name>
            Address line 1: Parcel Locker <10-digit APCN>
            Address line 2: <Street address of Parcel Locker>
            Address line 3: <Suburb> <STATE> <Postcode>

            2) never heard of it. anyway - my parcel locker is 1.5km away from the post office

            • +1

              @BAM51102: I order a lot from the US and sometimes the automated system doesn't put the name on. It's really a non-issue. Will remember to share a pic the next time it happens.

      • +1

        Name must match your MyPost account number for item to be placed in locker.

        • -1

          This may be an AusPost rule but it is not the reality.

  • +12

    The less they have to deliver, the more they save. Not sure how long it will take but in the future, post office will be collect only & they will start charging extra to deliver to your door. And you'll be able to save even more if you just use their collection rooms (instead of post office) for your letters/parcels.

    • -2

      Can't see why not. In fact, why didn't they do that from the beginning. I bet post unions prevented laying off posties.

      • +1

        Auspost is owned by the federal government. Any changes to mail delivery needs to be voted for in parliament.

        Parliament has prevented laying off posties.

        • -3

          Bending their knees to the unions, no doubt.

          • +3

            @wisdomtooth: If the union stops Auspost from cutting all their services to maximise profit like their executives want to do with things like mail, then they're doing the public a favour.

            • @xtremehell: As @MrTweek said, "Auspost is owned by the federal government," therefore:

              • lower running costs = lower postage rates

              Now, that's "doing the public a favour"!

              • +1

                @wisdomtooth: They provide an important public service, they are not there to make a profit per se. Otherwise they should do things like stop deliveries to rural areas.

                • +1

                  @xtremehell: The "profit" is nominal; the dividends are all handed back to the govt to offset the tax subsidies Auspost already receives. Lower running costs means they need lower subsidies, and that postage rates can be lower too. But, I agree, they should stop home deliveries as a default to rural areas (as everywhere else); they can either be picked up at the PO or locker, or paid to be home delivered on a weekly (rather than daily) basis (with obvious concessions to people with mobility issues — elderly, disabled, etc).

              • @wisdomtooth: No thats simplistic, you are still paying/subsiding other countries postage this article is from the USA but Australia is also signature to this treaty https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/storyline/wp/2014/09/12/…

                This YouTube video also explains it well
                https://youtu.be/BA6gDep6jVM

                So it doesn't matter what they do unless stuff like this stops postage costs will still go up

                • @Cheapsize: Same, same, but different.

                  So yeah, no subsidies for Chinese manufacturers or daily postman visits.

    • +9

      At that rate they'll just end up making you pick it up from the distribution centre 🤣

    • +2

      post office will be collect only & they will start charging extra to deliver to your door

      Australia would have to withdraw from the Universal Postal Union for that to happen.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Postal_Union

    • +1

      I’d rather that. I live in a unit and they never buzz just mass fill in red tickets and throw them under the lobby door, absolute grubs. With a locker I can get home from work and collect it when I want

    • +3

      Yep 100% I'd rather just pick it up from the local post office. Don't need to worry about being home just pick it up whenever it suits, even stuff that needs to be signed for. And no risk of anyone trying to knock it off either.

    • +1

      Id love a drive through post office where you collect and run. Rather than stand inline while people do passport applications/photos pay bills or send money and take forever.

    • Hopefully if changes like that happen people remember than not all Australian's live in metro areas .
      Were I live in a regional areas Auspost post offices is the only reliable was to get stuff delivered to Auspost postoffice. Also unusually there is a Amazon locker near were i live.

      Other courier companies are terrible with their "Depots" or pickup points at least around a 1.5 hour return trip from were I live.

      • How far from you is a PO? I'm in hinterland — is that regional? — definitely not metro — and the PO is a 5 min walk. I already collect everything there anyway, bc Auspost won't deliver to my address (nor would I wish they did). Regional porches are usually farther from their gates anyway, making it even less of a case for home delivery (other than in the case of the elderly and the disabled, who are less likely to live in such circumstances anyway, and can be easily covered by local nonprofits providing other services: food, groceries, etc).

  • +3

    Australia Post parcel lockers are a mixed bag. They unregistered my account from a location and made me pick it up every time I got a parcel from a LPO out of my way. And even at my current location they rotate between a tiny collection point behind the lockers which is only open for 4 hours a day Monday to Friday or the main post office a few blocks away. (If your parcel is too big/small/or there isn’t space at the time)

    • +3

      Had a nightmare too. Closed the ones near by then the alternative was always full so my stuff always ended up at the bloody post shop anyway! Literally ever time. So no better off than having a card to call left at my house.
      Post can get stuffed.

  • +2

    Been using parcel locker since 2017..

    • +9

      Congrats!

    • +4

      Send pics or it didn't happen

      • I think it could even be 2016.

        • +1

          Now you're bragging!…

      • +1

        If it's not on strava it didn't happen

  • +1

    Barcode scanner doesn't work and I'm on Android Pixel 6 after they did an update to the app

    • +1

      Same here. Try entering the access code next time, it works for me.

      • Thanks yeah I've been doing that, just a bit annoyed with their barcode scanner

        • +3

          Scan your QR code from the Home Screen. You don’t need to press Collect A Parcel, then scan.

    • Mines never worked i found it easier to type the code than try and scan it for 30 seconds before just typing the code.
      Do you have to put your phone number in of you scan the barcode?

    • +3

      I found that it worked if I just scan the phone straight away without pressing anything in the locker display screen. But it didn't work if I press "scan", and then I had to enter code and phone number.

      • +2

        Yep, for me no button push, just scan. I also use my OzBargain-sized body to shade the scanner from the sun, assuming that it might help. Either way, I've rarely had scanning problems.

        The annoyance of the many button pushes to then scan the second code? What a nuisance. There should be a way to have one QR code that is then linked to all your current parcels, and one scan opens them all sequentially.

  • +2

    Have been using lockers since they were first introduced in the CBD. Works great!

  • +4

    I find it annoying that the parcel locker address format doesn't always play nice with some websites, in terms of address validation etc. (Not the big ones of course)

    • The address is the post office's, no? Can't the locker number be put with the name?

  • +4

    I've ordered things online where I wasn't sure what size packing it would come in and had it sent to my parcel locker. Because whatever it was came in an envelope, it got redirected to my home address. Which was fine in my case, but may not suit everyone. Parcel Lockers are not a PO Box replacement if you get a lot of normal mail. But for packages etc they are bloody awesome, you can have mutiple ones (eg I had one near my office in the CBD and then I also had a parcel collect at the Postal Agency near my house) and depending what the package was or where I was, I got it sent there. The good thing is if the sender lodges the item electronically you pretty much get tracking every time.

    I've had parcel lockers since they were a trial at 100 Bourke St, can't talk more highly about the service.

  • Yup its a pretty handy feature especially when you hate collecting parcels from your post code related post office, (it is NOT always the closet one). Closest one could actually be in a different post code (and hence different post office)

  • +13

    This is a perfect example of why we need an “FYI” category.

    This is a permanent price of free, it’s not on sale, therefore it’s not a deal, but it’s great to post as a PSA.

    • -6

      Wrong website; this is OzBargain, not OzOnSale. Many things on sale are no bargain, and many bargains are not on sale. Move over.

      • +4

        I fail to see how this is a bargain though? If I’m paying a delivery fee it’s because I don’t want to leave the house to get the item. For this, you’re still paying a delivery fee and still having to go somewhere to get the item. That’s cost and effort. The bargain would be going to buy the item in store and saving on the delivery fee. That’s only effort, so more of a bargain.

        Many things on sale are no bargain

        I agree - How something that’s on free to air tv as per the linked example is a bargain. I’ll just add a deal post for every tv show then? Hey guys, did you know that the news is on like five times a day?!

        In any case, I’m not suggesting these shouldn’t be available somewhere, I’m just suggesting these are more PSA/FYI type posts than actual bargains.

        and many bargains are not on sale

        “Many”?… no. Feel free to link me to all these examples though.

        • -5

          I fail to see how this is a bargain though?

          It's a bargain in relation to paying for a pobox.

          If I’m paying a delivery fee it’s because I don’t want to leave the house to get the item.

          "leave the house" ≠ go pick it up in China

          I’m just suggesting these are more PSA/FYI type posts

          AKA long-running deals.

          “Many”?… no. Feel free to link me to all these examples though.

          Here you go.

          • +1

            @wisdomtooth: Of those examples, they are either actual bargains or are not bargains, but would fit perfectly into a PSA/FYI category (free upgrade to windows 11/X added to streaming service).

            Once again, I’m not saying it’s not useful to share these. I have said before that the fact that a lot of people do upvote these suggests people want to know about it, but they’re not bargains.

            It’s a bargain in relation to paying for a pobox.

            So is public school in relation to paying for private school, but I’m not exactly going to make a post for every single public school in the country.

            "leave the house" ≠ go pick it up in China

            Fair point, I concede on this one.

            I am genuinely curious why you were paying for a pobox in the first place? In every other situation I’ve come across, when AP doesn’t deliver, they just hold it at the PO for free anyway. Not through using a parcel collect address, just because they don’t deliver to your address, so counts for letters as well.

            I’ve had friends just literally not have a mailbox on their property and AP just kept it at the LPO. Or rural towns that don’t do street delivery, everyone has to go in. If anything you’ve been unbargained by paying for a pobox.

            It’s a great FYI/PSA, but it’s not a bargain.

            • @jjjaar:

              I am genuinely curious why you were paying for a pobox in the first place?

              Here.

              If anything you’ve been unbargained by paying for a pobox.

              Possibly! But there's still discussion as to whether pobox's are really needed for anonymity towards buyers and sellers, or whether the name may be omitted in the parcel locker or parcel collect addresses; or even if the 10 day collection limit may be extended extemporaneously when away longer with a chat with staff. That is the deal!

              It’s a great FYI/PSA, but it’s not a bargain.

              Semantics, shamantics… It's called a long-running deal here. Same with:

              • -1

                @wisdomtooth: I saw your original post. There's no actual address because the owners have a second unit on the lot without having subdivided it. This is an extremely uncommon situation.

                You could possibly make them pay for the PO Box as they're the ones stopping you from having an actual mailing address. Though probably easier to just ask them to put in a second letterbox for you. Or just try your luck and send a letter to "2/100 Main Street" or "100A Main Street" in the manual address option and see where it goes.

                That is the deal!

                So you're saying that the deal is …free storage of your items by AP?

                Semantics, shamantics… It's called a long-running deal here. Same with:

                It's not semantics, it's the logical categorisation of different things, which is the whole purpose of my point.

                All of those examples are PSAs, not deals. But many "long running deals" are actually deals. Which is why separating them out means people who do not care about PSAs do not need to see them, but still get the actual deals.

                • @jjjaar:

                  So you're saying that the deal is …free storage of your items by AP?

                  YES!

        • +2

          I agree - and I'm always annoyed when people post ebooks, which are long out of copyright as bargains - and then people upvote them.

  • How do you deal with website that only allow address search for the shipping address? I cant enter Parcel Locker number and address with that. What do people do for this?

    • +1

      Parcel locker/collect are for things being delivered by AusPost. It sounds like the shipping service in your situation is by a courier.

      You’ll need to contact the website to confirm the delivery service they use and find out if they have an alternative. It’s possible that the e-commerce website builder they use may just have limitations and they can manually override it.

      • +3

        Parcel locker/collect are for things being delivered by AusPost.

        … and StarTrack.

        • +1

          Did not know that - thanks for the info.

        • And others too, I think, but they have to pay for the privilege

    • There's almost always an option for manual entry if you can't auto-fill an adress. Enter "Parcel Locker XXXXX XXXXX" as line 1 on address. As jjjaar said, it's only for things being delivered by AusPost.

    • +1

      Try putting it as company name

    • There's often a "Enter address manually" link in small print at the bottom, which bypasses the address verification stuff. But sometimes when I use that, I then get a message from the seller saying they can't deliver to parcel lockers, and would I like a refund or to provide a physical address.

  • +4

    Have had parcel lockers for a few years now ever since some of my parcels got stolen, from being delivered to my home address. Only had one instance where the sender said they couldn't send it to a parcel locker, where they called me after they delivered it to say they had just done it.

    For other large items, they automatically got redirected to the local post office. Swear by parcel lockers now.

  • +2

    Two days and the parcel is gone back to where you can't get at it out of hours is a very good reason to stick with having them addressed to friends, neighbours or relatives who are home most of the time and have a reasonable location for a parcel to sit until you get there when they are not. If that doesn't work you can buy parcel delivery boxes for home.

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