During this hiatus, post offices will stay open, home deliveries will continue and post boxes will still be emptied but your online order is likely to be delayed.
We all love a bit of online shopping to get us through the endless lockdowns, save us the trip into town and most of all, just to bring a little bit of joy to our days working at home. Well, you might want to pump the breaks of shopping for anything you need quickly, as Australia Post has announced its once again pausing retail parcel pickups from online retailers in metropolitan Melbourne.
Warning customers to expect delays when ordering online as it takes a five-day catch-up hiatus, the service’s pauce will run from 12.01am October 1 until 12.01am October 6 (AEST).
The key takeaways
- Australia Post is taking a five-day catch up hiatus in metro Melbourne
- Throughout the brief pause, post offices will stay open, home deliveries will continue and post boxes will still be emptied
- The move is designed to clear a record volume of parcels through centres hit by major COVID-19 disruptions
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Australia Post said it was forced to put the brakes on due to record high demand and a workforce reduced by Victoria’s Delta outbreak.
The move is designed to clear a record volume of parcels through centres hit by major COVID-19 disruptions, it said in a statement.
“We’ll be pausing eParcel and Parcel Post pickups, collections and lodgements from eCommerce retailers across Greater Melbourne Metro operations only,” Australia Post wrote on its website.
“The safety of our people is our highest priority. This temporary measure will allow us to responsibly clear record parcel volumes while our Greater Melbourne Metro operations are impacted by major COVID-19 disruptions. Our team will continue processing parcels across the weekend in affected areas.
“We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Collections from eCommerce retailers in regional Victoria and all other states will continue as normal. Express Post, Premium and Startrack Express services, and collections from post offices and post boxes, will be unaffected. Likewise, home deliveries will continue (including on weekends) and post office branches will remain open.
It was revealed that almost 200 of its Melbourne workers had been forced into self-isolation due to coronavirus measures, and comes as Australia Post ramps up recruitment, with thousands of jobs advertised to help meet the unprecedented delivery demand.
This is the second time deliveries have been halted, with a similar pause for four days in early September for ACT, NSW and Victoria when roughly 500 staff members a day were in home isolation due to Covid outbreaks.
While it kind of sucks if you’re looking to purchase online from a Melbourne store, it does provide an ideal opportunity to support a regional business doing it tough, with pickups to continue undisrupted for retailers in country Victoria.
Visit the Australia Post website to find out more.