Mail misdelivery/non-delivery

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

At times mail may be delivered incorrectly or returned to sender. This can be for a variety of reasons, including:

  • the address is not easily decipherable or is incomplete
  • similar addresses in nearby locations - for example where numbering re-starts at 1 on a long road passing through a number of suburbs, or the same name being followed by different street types such as 'Acacia Avenue' and 'Acacia Court'
  • changes to sorting processes or addressing standards - for example when a post code or street name is changed - and senders are unaware of the changes
  • human error.

Often related to problems with mail delivery is getting someone else's mail and what to do with it - a topic which is discussed in other common complaint themes on this site.

To improve the chances of your mail being correctly delivered:

  • request senders to write addresses clearly and in full, using the postcode
  • ensure your house/unit/flat number is clearly visible from the street
  • if you want mail delivered to a PO Box, make sure potential senders are aware of this and address items to you accordingly.

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.

We can investigate to see whether there is a systemic or ongoing problem that is affecting mail delivery, and to try to address any such problems. If the issue comes down to human error, we may be able to ask the postal operator to put management controls in place to supervise delivery officers to see if this improves matters. We can never guarantee that problems caused by human error will not recur in the future.