Postal changes in Australia: What you need to know as the postal service changes forever

Australia Post customers can now enjoy a barista-made coffee, shop and try on their new online purchases, all while sending mail and paying bills – all in one place.

The National Postal Service has opened its first “concept store,” which looks more like a department store than a post office.

The first one-stop shop opened on Monday in Orange, in the central west of New South Wales. In 2024, further community hubs are planned to be established in Williamstown in Melbourne, Burnie in Tasmania and Noosa Heads on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.

The concept store has its own café and sells an expanded range of goods, from coats and jewelry to electronics, including the newly launched iPhone 15.

Fitting rooms allow customers to try on their online purchases to make sure they fit before taking them home.

Australia’s first Postal Community Hub in Orange, regional NSW, has changing rooms where customers can try on their online purchases

Customers can sip coffee while waiting to ship packages and pay bills at the post office

Australia Post will also trial the digital queuing feature, where customers can scan a QR code and, instead of waiting in a long queue, relax or browse the store until they receive a text message when it is their turn.

The restructuring has taken 12 months after the Postal Service posted a $200 million loss in the 2022-23 fiscal year, its second loss since 1989.

“Today is a milestone as we reimagine the post office for the future,” Australia Post CEO Paul Graham said.

“The way Australians use their local post office is very different today to 10 years ago.” “We are reinventing the way the postal service works to meet the changing needs of our customers and prepare Australia Post for the future .”

“The launch in Orange will allow us to assess what resonates with customers and adapt our approach to inform what will be standard across our post office network going forward, and we look forward to rolling out our additional locations nationwide in 2024 to introduce.”

Australia Post’s first community hub opened in central west New South Wales on Monday

Other new features include dedicated lines for package delivery, small business and banking services.

Customers can also return online garments if they don’t fit.

“We feel that customers are looking for a one-stop shop for services, be it bill paying, bank transfers, parcels, post office or in regional towns where people can travel some distance to get to the post office,” Mr. Graham told the Today Show on Monday.

“They can come here, pick up the packages over the counter and try on the clothes.” If they don’t fit or they don’t like them, they can go back outside, return them at the counter, get a credit on their account and the money either reissue or insert. ‘

Australia Post plans to launch more community hubs (pictured) over the next 12 months