Australia Post has announced its long-term commitment to shipping perishable goods across Australia, as it continues to support small businesses who are experiencing a boom in demand.
Acting Group CEO and Managing Director Rodney Boys said today’s announcement provides certainty to many businesses who rely heavily on Australia Post to ship their produce to customers. Mr Boys said that over the past few months Australia Post has conducted a thorough review of the industry and consulted with customers who are small business food producers, on the support required to continue shipping perishable goods across the country. The review also covered consultation with key industry bodies and experts, and Australia Post will update relevant regulators of the outcomes.
“We understand it’s critical for businesses to meet growing consumer demands for home delivered food and groceries, and Australia Post remains fully committed to supporting both our customers and consumers with the ongoing carriage of food through our network”, Mr Boys commented “We recognise and apologise for the uncertainty felt by some customers as this review took place. The transportation of food in Australia is complex and highly-regulated and we have moved as quickly as possible to provide a clear promise to our customers that there will be no change to how we support them. Our customers will be aware that for some types of food, our ambient temperature network will not always be suitable. We continue to encourage our customers to consider using appropriately insulated packaging and additional temperature control devices to help maintain freshness and help ensure the food is in a good condition when it arrives.”
“I would like to thank the Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Bruce Billson for working with Australia Post and his assistance in helping us reach this outcome in delivering a long-term, sustainable solution to support this growing eCommerce industry.” Mr Boys added.