Australia Post is set to onboard 4000 additional team members to meet the ongoing demand for eCommerce deliveries.
As lockdowns continue in New South Wales and Victoria, online shopping has again spiked.
To meet the demand, Australia Post will introduce 3500 additional delivery roles (including 350 in regional areas) which includes more than 1000 drivers and 2100 staff to help sort parcels, as well as new customer support roles based in Victoria and Queensland.
Australia Post has also confirmed it will continue weekend deliveries until the end of the year.
According to Australia Post’s 2021 Inside Online Shopping report, more than nine million Australians shopped online in the past financial year, representing a 32% increase year-on-year.
Australia Post executive GM, community and consumer Nicole Sheffield said that while COVID safety measures, reduced air freight capacity and reliance on overseas postal and delivery services have caused some delays, the majority of parcels are being delivered on time.
"Our posties and drivers have been out there since March last year often delivering on most days like it’s Christmas, and we know that Australians are relying on us more than ever and will continue to in the coming months, which is why we’re putting some key measures in place to be ready for our biggest Christmas ever.
"We’ll be hiring more than 4,000 new team members across the country, helping process at our sorting facilities, helping customers online and on the phone, and out delivering for Australians.
"We’ve introduced a series of measures to keep our people and customers safe, so while it means there might be some slight delays, Australians should know we’re working harder than ever to keep delivering their parcels safely," she said.