Could your local post office become just a parcel pickup point?

Many people think of their local post office as the place to send a letter or collect a parcel. But for many regional Australians, it is also where they bank, pay bills, prove their identity, lodge passport applications and access other essential face-to-face services. Licensed Post Office operators are urging communities such as Young, Harden and Boorowa to consider what could be lost if those services continue to disappear, as a Senate inquiry examines the future of Australia Post's retail network. The inquiry is investigating Australia Post's management of its retail network and the future of Licensed Post Offices, with community submissions closing on August 7. LPO Group representative Scott Etherington said many regional communities did not realise how much they relied on their local post office until services began disappearing. "The core problem is that Australia Post's strategic focus has moved towards parcels and away from the retail counter that regional communities actually rely on," he said. Mr Etherington said the shift towards a "Parcel First" model meant products and services were gradually being removed from Licensed Post Offices. As those services disappear, fewer customers visit the post office, reducing income for local operators and making it harder for full-service post offices to remain viable. He said some country post offices had already been replaced by limited-service Parcel Agents operating from businesses such as pharmacies and general stores. Unlike a full-service Licensed Post Office, Parcel Agents cannot provide services such as banking through Bank@Post, bill payments, identity services or passport applications. "In many regional towns, the post office is Australia's front counter," Mr Etherington said. "It is the last place you can do your banking face to face through Bank@Post after the banks have left, the place you collect parcels, pay bills, prove your identity and access government services." Australia Post outlets already provide a wide range of services beyond mail and parcels, including banking through Bank@Post, bill payments, passport services, identity and document services, international money transfers and parcel collection. Depending on the outlet, additional services may also be available. Mr Etherington said the LPO Group wanted to see that role strengthened rather than diminished. Its submission to the Senate inquiry calls for a return to a "Services First" approach, with post offices becoming a stronger face-to-face alternative as more organisations move services online. Among the proposals are expanding Bank@Post services, restoring document certification as a standard service, making more government transactions available through post offices, allowing all council rates and utility bills to be paid over the counter, opening the network to other parcel carriers and increasing access to insurance and financial services. Mr Etherington said once services left a regional town, they rarely returned. "For older residents and anyone without reliable internet, that is not an inconvenience; it is disenfranchisement," he said. He said the Senate inquiry was an opportunity for local communities to explain what their post office meant to them before recommendations were made to Parliament. "Aggregate figures from Australia Post smooth over what is happening town by town," he said. "It is the licensee in Harden or Boorowa who can tell the committee what their customers lose when products or services disappear." Community members, businesses and Licensed Post Office operators have until August 7 to lodge submissions. A Senate inquiry gathers evidence from individuals and organisations before making recommendations to Parliament. For communities such as Young, Harden and Boorowa, the inquiry offers an opportunity to explain not only how they use their local post office today, but what losing those face-to-face services would mean for the future.