Changes to our products and services from 1 July 2021 - questions and answers

You will have received a letter or email from us to notify you of the price increase and what this means for your business. If you haven’t received a letter or email, please contact your Business Manager or contact us.

We continue to be committed to providing you with a sustainable, market-leading delivery service now and for the future. As we upscale our business to reflect the changing market, we are also subject to a variety of changing cost components including increased labour costs, investment in new technology and our continued focus on health and safety. Our price increase this year reflects the increased costs we are facing.

We are continuously investing in our people, facilities and platforms and our costs go up as our suppliers increase their prices. Also as the spread of Covid-19 continues, our costs increase further as demand and airline capacity fluctuates.

International Surcharges will be in place until the airfreight capacity is back to normal and remain subject to change. The spread of Covid-19 continues over the world, and we are still experiencing airfreight capacity shortage and high demand of moving goods across borders. To provide you and your businesses with efficient and reliable services, we have had to implement surcharges to better reflect our operating costs.

A letter with a new pricing schedule outlining your new rates will be posted to you. If you have not received this, please contact your Business Manager.

The Economy Bulk administration fee replaces the minimum lodgement requirement of either 50 items or $100 in postage to access Economy Bulk. By removing the lodgement requirements, but introducing the administration fee for use of the bags, this makes it more transparent to work out what you will be charged for the service.

If you are consistently sending more than 5 Economy parcels per day, or more than 50 letters in a lodgement, Economy Bulk will likely continue to be the most cost effective option for you, including the Economy Bulk administration fee.

If you do not meet these minimums, Economy Bulk may no longer be the most cost effective option for you. Please contact your Business Manager to discuss the best services for your needs.

The administration fee does not apply where you are lodging via a mailhouse with transport arrangements with NZ Post.

From 1 July 2021, the annual rental fee for our Business PO Boxes and Private Bags will increase by $10 (including GST). This is the equivalent of $0.83 a month.

We continue to be committed to providing you with a sustainable delivery service now and for the future. We are always looking for innovative ways to provide our service more efficiently. It is our responsibility to continually deliver commercial returns and a sustainable delivery service. We do need to review prices annually to reflect the costs of supplying, servicing and maintaining this network of over 650 secure and convenient locations.

The new annual rental fee will apply from 1 July 2021. However, if you are an existing box holder, the new prices will apply at the time of your next annual renewal (for the avoidance of doubt, annual renewals that become due prior to 1 July 2021 will renew at the current rate).

If you pay by direct debit, the $10 price increase will be spread evenly across your quarterly direct debit payments ($2.50 per quarter) from your first payment following 1 July 2021.

The postal industry has changed significantly over the past decade. As the use of electronic communication increases each year, the number of letters sent continues to decline. This has had a significant and ongoing impact on our business and COVID-19 has only heightened this.

Whilst we focus on keeping costs to a minimum and are always looking for innovative ways to provide our mail service more efficiently, we have a responsibility to deliver a sustainable mail service for New Zealand and do need to review prices annually.

The following Standard Mail product will have a price increase that will apply from 1 July 2021:

• Standard Mail
• ReplyPaid
• PrePaid Envelopes
• Business Mail Centre Services

Please refer to the Standard Mail Rate Card (PDF - 66.6KB) for pricing.

We don’t recommend using multiple KiwiStamps for larger letters as the value of KiwiStamps will be increasing from 1 July 2021 to $1.50 each, which means, if you use multiple KiwiStamps, you’d be paying more than required. For larger letters, our recommendation is to use a KiwiStamp, plus a stamp of a fixed amount to add up to the postage value you need. E.g. The cost to post a Standard Mail Large envelope is $2.80, if you use 2 x KiwiStamps, you’d be paying $3.00. By using 1 x KiwiStamp ($1.50) plus a $1.30 stamp, you save 20 cents.

Unfortunately, use of the Priority Business Mail service has reduced greatly over the last few years, making it difficult to retain as a financially viable product. Therefore, we’ve decided to end our Priority Business Mail services from 1 July 2021.

If you still have any pre-purchased Priority Business Mail envelopes and postage after 1 July 2021, you can continue to use these as Standard Mail. Our Standard Post service will deliver your mail across town and between major towns and cities in the usual, efficient timeframes.

The table below shows how Priority Business Post pricing compares to current and new Standard Mail pricing.

Bulk Mail is a category of mass mailing that meets specific criteria, including a minimum item lodgement which enables efficient processing, and as a result, attracts reduced pricing. Bulk Mail includes the following products: Adcard, Fleximail, Publication Mail and VolumeMail. It is usually (but not always) produced on behalf of an organisation by a specialist mailhouse that deals with large or complex mailings.

Zonal Pricing is our pricing structure that applies to certain Bulk Mail products and charges different prices for mail delivered to different areas. Four pricing zones will be introduced, defined by postcodes, and each zone will have a different delivery price. Zonal Pricing applies to Adcard, VolumeMail, and Publication Mail products.

You may download the NZ Post Bulk Mail Zones (XLS - 76KB).

The NZ Post Bulk Mail Zones list provides details of the postcode zone and delivery type for all valid postcodes in NZ.

Note: There are 3 listed postcodes that have no zonal mapping as they have no physical mail delivery points, i.e. all mail sent to those postcodes should be addressed to the PO Box Lobby within the postcode. These are highlighted in yellow in the PDF.

If you wish to obtain a csv version of the Bulk Mail Zones list you may convert the spreadsheet provided above, or please contact [email protected].

From 1 July 2020, you were required to submit a Lodgement Data File with each physical VolumeMail, Adcard, FlexiMail and Publication Mail lodgement via the online ‘Lodgement Manager’ system. From 1 July 2021, we are extending Zonal Pricing to PrintPost. This is to help with consistency across Bulk Mail services and enable us to continue to align prices with the delivery cost.

The key points to note are as follows:

• Zonal Pricing will be introduced to Publication Mail and will continue for FlexiMail, Adcard and VolumeMail. Each zone will have a different price.
• A feature of Lodgement Manager enables you to upload the Lodgement Data File automatically through an API process.

From 1 July 2021, Zonal Pricing will replace the volume tiers on PrintPost. Further information about the PrintPost product can be found in the PrintPost Product Specification (PDF - 154KB).

The Lodgement Data File contains addressing information of each mail item in an Adcard, VolumeMail, FlexiMail or Publication Mail product postal lodgement. This file is integrated at lodgement time by NZ Post. The postcode for each mail item (based on the addressing information supplied in the Lodgement Data File) is assessed to determine which zone applies to that mail item and the total cost of postage is then calculated on that basis. Note that mail items that do not have a postcode, or that have an incorrect postcode, will be considered invalid postcode (IPC) items and will be charged the highest price point.

From 1 July 2020, you will be required to submit a Lodgement Data File (LDF) for all Bulk Mail services to support the changeover to the new Address Accuracy Percentage (AAP) process.

Having a high Address Accuracy Percentage (AAP) and ensuring all addresses have a correct postcode included is the best way to ensure your lodgement is charged at the lowest price. The destination of the mail items will determine the final price.

Being able to supply the Lodgement Data File (LDF) will give you access to the most competitive mail rates. In most cases, this should be a simple task to complete. However, if you do need assistance, please contact your Business Manager or contact our Customer Contact Centre.

The Statement of Accuracy (SOA) assessment requirement and the process associated with it was removed on 01 February 2021 and replaced with the Address Accuracy Percentage (AAP) assessment process.

Mail houses and SendRight programme partners were advised of these changes. Please ensure your mail house/internal lodgement team can meet these requirements for all of your lodgements. If you require assistance, please contact your Business Manager, as soon as possible.

From 1 February 2021, the address quality of Bulk Mail was introduced to assess each lodgement, replacing the current SOA process. Each Bulk Mail lodgement is assessed using the Postal Address File standards and valid postcodes. An AAP is calculated to determine the Bulk Mail pricing tier to be applied. Items with invalid postcodes (IPC) will be excluded from the AAP assessment to avoid a double pricing penalty.

Adcard lodgements must have an AAP rating of >80% to qualify for Bulk Mail pricing.

The AAP process replaced the SOA process on 1 February 2021.

'AAP' appeared alongside 'SOA' in the rate cards from 1 July 2020, but SOA still applied until 31 January 2021. ‘SOA’ will no longer appear in the rate cards from 1 July 2021.

IPC is an abbreviation for Invalid Post Code and will be new a new pricing tier for all Bulk Mail rate cards from 1 July 2021. Prior to 1 July 2021, when lodging VolumeMail, Adcard and FlexiMail lodgements, mail items with missing or invalid post codes were charged at Zone D prices. From 1 July 2021, all mail items with missing or invalid post codes will be charged at the IPC price.

Mail items that do not include postcodes will, by default, be charged the highest cost delivery tier (invalid post code). Having a high Address Accuracy Percentage (AAP) and ensuring all addresses have a correct postcode included is the best way to ensure your lodgement is charged at the lowest feasible price applicable to your mail item. The destination of the mail items will determine the final price.

Once you have uploaded the Lodgement Data File (LDF) into Lodgement Manager, along with the normal lodgement information (e.g. product and volume), the system will calculate the volume for each zone and assign the correct pricing for the lodgement. It’s important to note that as there will be no identifiable customer data being shared with us, there are no privacy or security concerns for your customers.

You can use the Bulk Mail rate card and Zonal Pricing information to estimate the cost of postage for a lodgement. We have developed a system for files to be submitted electronically, allowing you to determine postage costs under the Zonal Pricing structure.

No, Zonal Pricing charges will be determined by the zone that the Bulk Mail items are being sent to (the destination). Zonal Pricing charges are not based on the origin of the item.

AAP will be a price differentiator on the Bulk Mail Rate Card (PDF - 120KB). Zone D pricing will be differentiated by AAP tiers from 1 July 2020. Prior to 1 July 2020 a flat rate applied to Zone D items. From 1 July 2020, AAP4 has had a separate price point for each zone. Prior to 1 July 2020, a flat rate applied across all zones. Further, from 1 July 2021, all mail items with missing or invalid post codes will be charged at the IPC price rather than Zone D.

Yes, the ability to upload files in Lodgement Manager is available for you to test your files.

Zonal Pricing will apply to the Bulk Mail product from 1 July 2021.

Please contact your Business Manager or our Customer Contact Centre for assistance.

From 1 July 2021 the lodgement volume tiers for Publication Mail were removed and the minimum threshold requirement was reduced to 300.

International items should be lodged separately from Domestic Bulk Mail. However, from 1 February 2021, International outbound mail included in your Domestic Bulk Mail lodgements will be detected and uprated to the International Full rate. The international product in the physical lodgement must be lodged at the end of the last tray separate from domestic product to avoid any delays in delivery.

Publication Mail lodgements made after 5pm on weekdays, or at any time on a weekend or public holiday by prior arrangement with your local Mail Service Centre Manager, will be charged a flat rate fee of $0.28 (excl. GST) per item in addition to the normal card rate fee applicable to the lodgement.  Further details for the Publication Mail product can be found in the Publication Mail product specifications (PDF - 156KB).

Publication Mail lodgements that include a sample, in accordance with the Publication Mail product specifications, will be charged a flat rate sample fee of $0.40 (excl GST) per item in addition to the normal card rate fee applicable to the lodgement. The Publication Mail Sample fee applies if a sample is included with a publication and this takes the combined thickness into the 20mm–32mm range. Further details for the Publication Mail Sample product can be found in the Publication Mail product specifications (PDF - 154KB).

Please contact your Business Manager or our Customer Contact Centre for assistance.