Helen Coonan (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts) Share this | Hansard source

These services were intended to provide a temporary solution for customers who may be moving from one address to another or who are absent from their homes for a short period. Australia Post reports that, over time, the usage of these services has grown significantly. In turn, the costs incurred by Australia Post in providing these free services have increased to approximately $5.7 million a year. Australia Post has also noted that there are many instances where the mail redirection service is not being used as the temporary measure it was designed to be, with some customers continuously using the service for two to five years.

Under the new arrangements, for all applications lodged by eligible concession holders from 22 May 2006, pensioners will be charged a concessional rate for mail redirection and mail-holding services. The concessional rate will be a 50 per cent discount off the current private household charge. This is equivalent to a charge for pensioners of less than 20c a day to have their mail redirected by Australia Post for a month. The new concession rate of 50 per cent is a substantial discount on normal rates and is consistent with pensioner concession arrangements for many other organisations. Australia Post has advised that it will continue to honour, at no charge, existing mail redirection—