A surge in parcel demand fuelled by COVID lockdowns has Australia Post scrambling to keep up, with the mail carrier to bring on thousands more workers.
With Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra all currently in lockdown, Australia Post says Aussies have been shopping online in record numbers. To cope with the high demand, the carrier will enlist more than 4000 new staff members, with 3500 additional delivery roles; these include more than 1000 drivers and 2100 sorting workers, plus customer service jobs in Victoria and Queensland. 350 of these new delivery roles are earmarked for regional areas.
Weekend deliveries will remain in effect until the end of the year, with up to an estimated 500,000 parcels to be delivered every weekend from now until Christmas.
According to Australia Post Executive General Manager, Community and Consumer Nicole Sheffield, the “vast majority” of parcels are still arriving on time despite challenges presented by COVID safety requirements, reduced air freight capacity from a lack of passenger flights, and a reliance on overseas postal and delivery services.
“Our posties and drivers have been out there since March last year often delivering on most days like it’s Christmas, and we know that Australians are relying on us more than ever and will continue to in the coming months, which is why we’re putting some key measures in place to be ready for our biggest Christmas ever.
“We’ve introduced a series of measures to keep our people and customers safe, so while it means there might be some slight delays, Australians should know we’re working harder than ever to keep delivering their parcels safely,” she said.
Australia Post’s 2021 Inside Online Shopping eCommerce report revealed almost 32 per cent growth in online shopping year-on-year, with more than nine million Australians buying online in the last financial year.
