Australia Post Stamp Hike Approved for Next Month
- admin928749
- Jun 23
- 2 min read
If you’re still sending letters the old-fashioned way, get ready to pay more for stamps from next month.
Australia Post is hiking up the price of stamps by as much as 60 cents per letter, and the national consumer watchdog says it won’t stand in the way of the change.
From July 17, here’s how prices will look:
A small letter will cost $1.70, up from $1.50
A regular large letter (up to 125g) goes from $3 to $3.40
The largest letters (up to 250g) jump from $4.50 to $5.10
The good news? Prices for concession stamps and seasonal greeting cards will stay the same.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said today it won’t object to the 13.3% increase because Australia Post is actually losing money on its letter services.
“We understand that these price increases will mean extra costs for consumers,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said. “But the evidence shows that the costs of delivering letters are now higher than the revenue they bring in.”
In fact, Australia Post is currently delivering only about two letters per household per week, and that number is expected to fall even further—by over 10% in the next few years.
Even with the price hike, the ACCC doesn’t think Australia Post will be able to break even on its letter service. Brakey said they’ve recommended Australia Post find ways to ease the cost burden on businesses and others who still rely on physical mail.
They also suggested helping vulnerable Australians by possibly raising the limit on concession stamps, which is currently capped at 50 per customer per year.
Still, even after the increase, Australia’s basic stamp price of $1.70 is below the global median of $1.93 among private postal providers.
Australia Post first flagged this price hike back in November, and while the ACCC can’t approve the change, it has the power to object. Now that it hasn’t, the final stamp of approval lies with the federal communications minister—unless they step in, the new prices will kick in from July 17.
Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.
Comments