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THE MARKET
Against a global trend of flattening letter volumes,
Australia Post continues to achieve small but
steady volume increases by adding value to its
letter service. In 2005/06 Australia Post achieved
volume growth of 28 million letters (an increase of
0.5 per cent), marking its third successive year of
growth.
The corporation’s business strategy is to defend
and extend its position in its three core business
areas – letters, retail and agency services, and
parcels and logistics. This strategy involves
capitalising on existing strengths, while extending
into complementary or substitute business areas
where there is potential for growth and profit.
Australia Post’s main challenge has come from
electronicmessaging and distribution technologies,
such as email and the Internet. The corporation is
responding to this challenge by establishing a
leadership position in substitute markets (such as
identity and verification services on behalf of other
organisations) and by leveraging its core
competencies in new business areas (such as the
establishment of an integrated logistics service,
called Post Logistics).
ACHIEVEMENTS
Australia Post has transformed its image, corporate
culture and operations to emerge as one of
Australia’s most successful and reputable
businesses. The makeover of Australia Post
effectively began in 1989 when Australia Post
became aGovernment Business Enterprise (GBE).
As a GBE, the newly formed corporation
implemented an intensive program to
streamline and upgrade all aspects of
operations and to strengthen the Australia
Post brand. As a result of this continuing
program, revenue has increased by 19 per
cent over the past five years and the
corporation’s productivity improvements
have been triple the national average over
the same period.
Significantly,Australia Post’s commercial
transformation has been achieved without
sacrificing the corporation’s reputation as a
trusted and reliable provider of community
services. Today, it is regularly rated among
the most reputable organisations in the
country: in the 2006 Grey Eye on Australia
study, published in BRW Magazine,
Australia Post was rated the fourth most trusted
organisation in Australia.
Internationally,Australia Post is one of theworld’s
best-performing postal enterprises – providing the
highest level of service, while maintaining one of the
lowest basic letter rates in the world.
HISTORY
The Post Office is Australia’s oldest surviving
commercial organisation. Its origins can be traced
back to 1809 when former convict Isaac Nichols
was appointed the first Postmaster and opened a
post office in his home in George Street, Sydney.
Australia Post’s formal commercial origins lie in the
first postal act of 1825, which enabled the New
South Wales governor to fix postage rates and
appoint postmasters outside of Sydney.
With the Federation of Australian colonies in
1901, a nationally integrated Postmaster General’s
Department (PMG) was established, with
responsibility for the nation’s mail and telephone
services. In 1975, the PMG was split into two
entities: the Australian Telecommunications
Commission (now Telstra) and Australian Postal
Commission (trading as Australia Post).
Itwas theAustralianPostal CorporationAct 1989
that made Post a GBEwith a board of directors and
a charter to operate commercially, while meeting a
range of Community Service Obligations (CSOs).
Under the CSOs, Australia Post must provide a
standard letter service to allAustralians at a uniform
price. Australia Post is also required to achieve a
number of performance standards relating to public
access to the postal service and the frequency and
reliabilityof delivery. In2005/06, the cost associated
with meeting the CSOs was approximately $87.9
million.
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