December Delivers Biggest Month in AusPost History

In its 211 year history, Australia Post recorded its biggest month ever in December, with more than 52 million parcels delivered. This is 20 percent above the same period in 2019.

AusPost understood that the Christmas season in 2020 would be a bigger challenge than in usual times, but the result ‘exceeded expectations’.

“There is no denying that online shopping grew strongly through 2020, and this reached a new level in December as millions of people chose to buy their Christmas gifts online,” explained Rodney Boys, the Acting Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director.

“Ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, social distancing and reduced domestic flights coupled with significantly higher parcel volumes meant that delivering Christmas 2020 for all Australians was always going to be incredibly challenging,” he said.

During the holidays, more than 5000 extra staff were recruited to support the extra delivery load, with 2,700 posties undergoing extra training and 2000 transitioning into a parcel delivering role.

For shoppers, there was an increase in food and liquor purchases, which was up 50 percent compared to the same period in 2019. Furthermore, fashion and home and garden purchases increased by 37 percent and 36 percent, respectively.

“Australia Post staff should be congratulated for the way they have risen to the challenge of unprecedented demand and delivered a record 52 million parcels during December,” shared Paul Fletcher, Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts.

“This was in part made possible as a result of the regulatory relief approved by the Morrison Government in 2020, which allowed Australia Post more operational flexibility to meet community demand for parcels and essential services.”

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