Australia Post has enlisted consulting firm Bain & Co to help overhaul its operations as the national postal service grapples with declining letter volumes and a surge in parcel deliveries.

The move comes after Australia Post returned to a pre-tax profit of $18.8 million for the year to June 30, bouncing back from an $88.5 million loss, aided by higher stamp prices and a shift to delivering letters every second day.

Australia Post faces competing pressures, including maintaining a shrinking letter network, managing growing parcel volumes driven by e-commerce and responding to political demands to keep post offices open.

Bain is the latest in a series of consulting firms engaged by Australia Post.

Previous advisors include PwC, which in 2018 flagged the letters business as “high risk,” and Boston Consulting Group, which delivered a confidential report in 2020 exploring options including parcel privatisation.

A parliamentary inquiry later revealed that report strained relations between the Morrison government and then-CEO Christine Holgate.