Customer Service Charter Brochure

Customer Service
Charter
Australia Post plays an important
role in the Australian community
and is required by law to meet
specific performance standards.
These are called Community
Service Obligations (CSOs).
This Customer Service Charter
aims to communicate these
standards to our customers.
This document also explains how
you can obtain more information
about these standards, how to
offer feedback or let us know about
any concerns. It also offers advice
on how you can help Australia Post
to serve you better.
Contents
Community Service Obligations (CSOs)
2
Mail services
4
Letter and parcel lodgement points
4
Posting times
5
Delivery timetable
6
Stamp purchases 7
Delivery services
8
Delivery frequency
9
Basic letter price
10
Other services
11
Feedback and complaints
12
Compensation
13
Making the most of Australia Post
14
Performance reports
15
Australia Post contact points
16
Customer Service Charter |page 1
Community Service Obligations (CSOs)
Australia Post is required by law
to provide a universal letter service
which is reasonably accessible to
all Australians and, in addition, to
provide a standard letter service at
a uniform price (currently 55 cents)
from anywhere to anywhere in
the country.
This means the cost of delivering some letters can be many
times higher than the postage charged. The CSO cost occurs
when the real cost of delivery exceeds the charge for the service.
The cost of meeting our CSOs in 2007/08 was estimated to
be $104.3 million. This amount is funded by earnings from the
reserved services (letters up to 250 grams) within Australia
Post’s letters business.
Australia Post does not receive any taxpayer money from the
government to meet the cost of CSOs.
A summary of Australia Post’s CSOs
Australia Post’s Community Service Obligations (CSOs) are set
out in Section 27 of the Australian Postal Corporation Act which
requires that:
• the corporation provides a letter service for both domestic
and international letter traffic;
• the service be available at a single uniform rate within Australia
for standard letters;
• the service be reasonably accessible to all Australians wherever
they reside; and
• the performance standards for the service reasonably meet the
social, industrial and commercial needs of the community.
page 2| Customer Service Charter
Performance standards
Section 28C of the Act details the particular CSO standards
Australia Post is required to meet. Performance against these
standards is independently audited and detailed in our Annual
Report. These are detailed further below.
Lodgement
Maintain at least 10,000 street posting boxes
Delivery timetables
Same State
Metro - next business day
Metro to country - second business day
Between Country areas - second business day
Interstate
Metro to metro - second business day
Between metro and country - third business day
Between country areas - fourth business day
On-time delivery
Deliver at least 94 per cent of standard (non bulk) letters
according to the above timetable.
Access
• Maintain mail lodgement points at 4,000 retail outlets
(2,500 in rural and remote areas).
Retail outlets to be located so that:
• in metropolitan areas at least 90 per cent of residences
are within 2.5 km of an outlet
• in non-metropolitan areas at least 85 per cent of residences
are within 7.5 km of an outlet.
Delivery frequency
• 98 per cent of delivery points to receive deliveries five days
a week
• 99.7 per cent of delivery points to receive deliveries no less
than twice a week
Customer Service Charter |page 3
Mail services
Letter and parcel lodgement points
There are various ways to mail
letters and parcels.
Mail (letters and parcels) can be lodged at more than 4,000
Australia Post retail outlets or at more than 10,000 street
posting boxes.
Some letters and many parcels need to be lodged over the
counter at our retail outlets. This may be due to the larger size
of the letter or parcel, its destination (for example, international)
and security and customs conditions.
Our commitment is to make posting facilities easily accessible
and to meet reasonable levels of local community demand.
Street posting boxes are provided at locations where an
acceptable level of usage is known or anticipated, including
shopping centres, public transport points, hospitals and
retirement villages.
However, sometimes usage of a box may fall away and it
then becomes necessary to balance the costs of clearing
and maintaining the box against the reduced benefit provided.
In those cases, if usage of a box falls below 25 articles per day,
the box may be relocated or removed after consultation
with the community and the relevant local member
of Federal Parliament.
page 4| Customer Service Charter
Posting times
Australia Post wants to get your mail
moving to its final destination on the
very same day it’s posted.
To ensure this high level of service, your latest posting time
is generally 6.00pm Monday to Friday in metropolitan areas
and large rural cities and towns.
Other times may apply in some rural or regional centres,
particularly in isolated areas. This is because we often
rely on commercial services (planes, ferries, etc.) to transport
the mail and, therefore, have no control over departure and
arrival schedules.
To help you with your mailing, posting times are displayed
on street post boxes.
Customer Service Charter |page 5
Mail services
Delivery timetable
Australia Post’s delivery standards
are shown in the table below.
These standards apply to all letters
posted by the latest posting time.
Address of letter
Delivery time *
Delivery in the same state:
In the same metropolitan area,
regional city or town **
Next business day
Between metropolitan and
country areas
Second business day
Between country areas
Second business day
Delivery to another state:
From one metropolitan area
to another (including Canberra
and Darwin)
Second business day
Between metropolitan
and country areas
Third business day
Between country areas
Fourth business day
*Note: Our standard delivery timetables are available
at all postal outlets.
**Towns which share adjacent boundaries (e.g. Albury/
Wodonga; Canberra/Queanbeyan) will receive deliveries
on the next business day.
Australia Post is required to deliver 94 per cent of domestic
letters on time, based on an independent audit. We often
exceed this target.
page 6| Customer Service Charter
Although Australia Post consistently aims to meet these
standards, it’s not always possible to deliver some of our
21 million articles a day on time. This is because we rely on
various modes of transport to travel across the country through
all types of weather and terrain and still maintain affordable prices.
Stamp purchases
Stamps are widely available in
metropolitan, rural and remote areas.
Australia Post is required to maintain at least 4,000 postal
outlets (including 2,500 in rural and remote areas) to offer
stamps and postage assessment. A limited range of stamps
is also available from our network of licensed stamp vendors,
vending machines and postpoints, typically located
in newsagencies, milkbars or other shops. Stamps are also
available through private mail bags.
Customer Service Charter |page 7
Mail services
Delivery services
Australia Post delivers to street,
roadside, post office and post office
box addresses.
The delivery of mail is provided as part of the cost of postage.
The only additional delivery cost for customers is an annual fee
to have their mail delivered to a post office box or private bag.
In view of the social importance of the letter service and our
CSO’s, Australia Post will continue to make the basic letter
service available to all Australians on an equitable basis. Our
aim is to deliver to the property, where possible, taking into
consideration a range of factors, including availability of local
transport, delivery costs and customer preference.
Where delivery of mail to the property is not provided, mail can
be collected from the nearest postal outlet either at the counter
or from a post office box provided at a concessional rate.
When we establish a new delivery service, or propose changes
to an existing one, our policy is to consult directly with affected
local communities.
page 8| Customer Service Charter
Delivery frequency
Australia Post’s delivery frequency
standard to street letterboxes, post
office boxes and postal outlets is
Monday to Friday, five times a week
(holidays excepted).
To regional or rural numbered addresses, the standard is mostly
five times a week, but can be between two and four times
depending on the cost and community need.
You can contact the customer relations centre (see contact
details on page 16) to discuss delivery frequency arrangements
in your community.
Customer Service Charter |page 9
Mail services
Basic letter price
The cost of postage for the basic
letter (small, standard-sized items),
delivered from anywhere to anywhere
in Australia, is currently 55 cents.
Australia Post must notify the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) of any proposed change to
reserved letter services. Prior to finalising any pricing proposal,
Australia Post consults with key stakeholders to ensure there
is broad understanding of the business case for change.
page 10| Customer Service Charter
Other services
Through our network of postal outlets,
we offer a range of packaging, bill
payment and agency banking services.
We also act on behalf of other organisations to process
applications, view documents and complete identification checks
(eg passport applications).
Our postal outlets are conveniently located, suitably equipped and
professionally staffed to ensure that our customer service
is of the high quality you expect.
Disclaimer: Products and services in postal outlets may vary
in response to local demand and other local service availability.
Customer Service Charter |page 11
Feedback and complaints
If you have a comment or complaint
about Australia Post’s products or
services we want to know about it.
Australia Post views complaint resolution as an important part
of our continuous improvement process.
Complaints can be made in several ways. These include the
following:
• by telephone to the customer relations centre on 13 13 18
• in person at any postal outlet
• in writing to the commercial manager in your state (see contact
details on page 16).
We aim to resolve complaints about most products and services
within Australia within 10 working days. Longer times may be
expected to investigate complaints relating to services to or from
overseas.
If you have lodged a complaint with Australia Post but are not
satisfied with the outcome of our process, you can contact the
Postal Industry Ombudsman (telephone 1300 362 072 or visit
www.pio.gov.au).
page 12| Customer Service Charter
Compensation
Australia Post is not liable for any loss or damage for letters
carried by the letter service, but in some cases you may
be entitled to compensation of up to $50 for loss or damage
caused by Australia Post to uninsured articles within Australia
or overseas (applies to select articles). You may be able to
purchase extra cover through our postal outlets to protect more
valuable articles. Please inquire in our postal outlets as for a
small fee you can add substantially more cover to your items.
In the event you need to lodge a compensation claim, please call
the customer relations centre on 13 13 18. You are also entitled
to refer the matter to the Postal Industry Ombudsman’s office if
you are not satisfied.
Customer Service Charter |page 13
Making the most of Australia Post
There are a number of ways you
can help Australia Post to give you
the best possible service.
As a mail sender, please ensure that:
• articles are properly addressed and packaged for safe handling
and delivery
• dangerous articles are not sent through the mail (for further
information see the Dangerous Goods pamphlet, available
at most postal outlets)
• mail is properly presented and lodged and postage
is correctly prepaid.
As a mail receiver, please ensure that:
• you provide and maintain a suitable and secure letterbox
which is accessible to delivery staff
• your boxes are cleared regularly to allow unobstructed
mail delivery.
page 14| Customer Service Charter
Performance reports
Australia Post reports on how well
we live up to the standards set out
in this Customer Service Charter
in our annual report, which is tabled
in Federal Parliament.
The report is available from the Commercial Manager’s office in
each state (see contact details on page 16) or via Australia Post’s
internet site at auspost.com.au
If you need more detailed
information on any aspect of this
Customer Service Charter, please
contact the customer relations
centre, see over for details.
Customer Service Charter |page 15
Australia Post contact points
To contact our customer relations
centre telephone 13 13 18 or
write to the Commercial Manager
in your state.
NSW/ACT
VIC
QLD
SA
WA
TAS
Regional Manager NT
Corporate Secretary
PO Box 1018
STRAWBERRY HILLS NSW 2012
PO Box 5272
MT WAVERLEY VIC 3149
GPO Box 6111
BRISBANE QLD 4001
GPO Box 4000
ADELAIDE SA 5001
GPO Box 9000
PERTH WA 6848
GPO Box 4000
HOBART TAS 7001
GPO Box 3600
DARWIN NT 0801
GPO Box 1777
MELBOURNE VIC 3001
Further information about
Australia Post’s products and services
can be found at auspost.com.au
page 16| Customer Service Charter
Customer Service Charter |page 17
Customer Service Charter
SAP8839565 (Customer Service Charter) September 2008
ABN 28864970579
To find out more, call 13 13 18
auspost.com.au
page20| Putting customers first