Australia Post will move forward with plans to raise the basic postage rate from AUS$1.70 to $1.85, an 8.8% increase, after a formal review by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
The national post said Monday it needs to charge higher prices for letter mail to help address losses stemming from the ongoing decline in letter volumes, which dropped 11.75% in fiscal year 2025 and are now at levels not seen since the late 1930s.
Fewer than 3% of letters are sent by residents, with the majority mailed by businesses and government agencies, as people increasingly shift to digital alternatives. The decline in mail volumes is a trend being experienced by mail operators around the world. The U.S. Postal Service, for example, plans to raise stamp prices by 4.8% this summer as the organization grapples with continuing annual losses. Postal operators are increasingly focusing on parcel business to increase revenues in response to the secular decline in mail volumes.
Australian households, on average, purchase five full rate stamps each year and the cost impact of the proposed increase is expected to add 75 cents to the total spend per year. Australians will continue to have some of the lowest stamp prices in the developed world, Australia Post said.
The price for seasonal greeting stamps will remain unchanged.
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