With less than five weeks until the big day, Australia Post is encouraging people to get cracking on Christmas shopping, announcing the all-important last sending dates for delivery within Australia.
For sending to and from most destinations within Australia via Parcel Post, parcels should be sent by Monday 12 December, or if sending via Express Post by Monday 19 December.
People sending to or from Western Australia and Northern Territory should allow a few extra days, and should aim to send their parcels by Wednesday 7 December for Parcel Post and Wednesday 14 December for Express Post.
Christmas cards being sent within the same state or territory should be posted by Monday 19 December, or if sending interstate by Thursday 15 December.
Australia Post executive general manager, customer and commercial Gary Starr said Australia Post’s recommended last sending dates played an important role in helping people plan for Christmas and that the organisation was ready for another busy peak season.
“Last year, we delivered 52 million parcels in December and we’ve been preparing all year for another busy peak season by recruiting thousands of new team members, investing in our network and making digital enhancements like improved notifications for parcel deliveries,” Mr Starr said.
“We also know there are fantastic opportunities for everyday Australians to take advantage of the many cyber sales in November and we want to give everyone as much notice as possible so they can plan ahead.
“As always, if shopping is left to the last minute, we’ll still deliver items sent after these dates as quickly as we can but they may not arrive until after Christmas.”
Any customers wanting to send cards and gifts overseas for Christmas are encouraged to check auspost.com.au/christmas for the international dates, which vary depending on the destination.
Customers can also keep up to date with their deliveries, receive notifications about when parcels are expected to arrive and learn about any major service interruptions or impacts to the network by downloading the Australia Post app.
