Getting someone else's mail

Before contacting the PIO with your complaint, we ask that you pursue the matter as far as possible with the postal operator.

Mail may be received at an address for past residents, or may be incorrectly delivered to an adjacent or similar sounding address. These are two different issues: in one case the mail is being delivered as addressed; in the other it is not.

Australia Post does not have an obligation to ensure that the addressee actually lives at the address.

As a general rule, Australia Post completes delivery of a postal article when it places the article in a mail box at the addressed premises, or hands the article to a person who is apparently a responsible resident of the premises (General Post Guide G.4.3.7). This also applies to private mail boxes, where delivery is completed when the item is put into the mail box.

However, should a delivery centre be aware before attempting delivery that:

  • the addressee is not known or has ceased to receive mail at the address, and
  • Australia Post does not hold an appropriate current change-of-address order

the article may be treated as undeliverable.

Australia Post treats undeliverable items according to their guidelines and will return items to the sender if a return address is available.

If you receive mail for someone who is no longer at your address, you can notify the relevant delivery centre that mail is only to be delivered for the current residents of the household. This notification has to be in writing and has to include a list of the names of all current members of the household.

Note: This is not a service Australia Post is required to provide, and there is no fee. There is also no guarantee that mail will be delivered as requested. The best way of stopping unwanted mail of this nature is for the addressee to inform people of their change of address, or for them to arrange a redirection of their mail.

Incorrectly delivered mail

If you receive a mail item that was intended for another address on an isolated occasion, it may be simplest to put it in the correct mail box (if this is easy to do), or put it back into the mail at a post office or street posting box. If the item has been left by a PPO, consider contacting it using any contact number on the packaging to arrange for its collection and redelivery.

If you have a recurring problem with incorrect delivery, complain to the postal operator and make it clear that the problem is repeating itself. If the postal operator cannot fix the problem you can complain to the PIO.

What to do with mail that is not for you

If you receive mail addressed to your property or PO Box that is not for you, you should write 'no longer at this address' on the item, and either put it in a street posting box, or hand it over the counter at a post office.

PPOs can be contacted using the contact information on the item or available through the Internet or telephone directories.

This returns the item to the mail stream, and provides an opportunity for the article to be delivered correctly.

Can I just throw it in the bin?

Australia Post is the only body which can legally dispose of mail and there are specific guidelines under which they do it. Interfering with mail may be an offence, and you should return incorrectly delivered mail to sender as advised above.