Changes to our products and services from 1 July 2024 - questions and answers
Looking for innovative ways to provide our service more efficiently is very important to us, however, we’re currently facing increased costs across the business. It’s our responsibility to continually deliver commercial returns and a sustainable delivery service for New Zealand. Part of that means that we need to review prices annually and make the right adjustments.
Over the past 12 months we have been investing further in enhancing customer experience, building a sustainable network, whilst navigating inflation and labour market challenges. Making sure we continue to develop what we deliver, and how we deliver it, means that we can provide the best delivery experience for your customers.
Sending internationally
The increase of the manual consignment fee is not only to ensure the additional operation costs are recovered, but also to encourage customers to switch from manual connotes to any NZ Post electronic labelling tools, such as eShip, My NZ Post Business or Parcel Label API. We have a selection of sending tools available to customers that can make complying to labelling regulations a breeze. No matter how many items you send, you’ll find the right fit for you and your business in NZ Post sending tools.
Using electronic lodgement tools means you will save your business $10.00 per shipping label, as there are no additional operational costs to our team when you send using electronic labels. Electronic lodgement tools can improve address accuracy, check the eligibility of your parcels across our services, and provide accurate shipping estimates in relation to the parcels parameters you provide. Most importantly, electronic lodgement tools can effectively reduce the chance of your parcels being returned before being exported. Work smarter not harder by taking advantage of what’s available to you. See how eShip, My NZ Post Business or Parcel Label API could work for your business.
NZ Post are required to use additional resources when dealing with any parcels that are unable to be exported for various reasons. These additional resources amount to a significant number of time and effort for our people as the amount of parcels to be returned increases. Given that we don’t charge international postage for the parcels that are not successfully exported, this fee is to recover our additional costs when handling these items. We do our best to resolve any issues that may lead to your parcels being unable to be exported and will only return them to you if this can’t be achieved within a reasonable timeframe.
Economy Bulk International
The decision to discontinue this service is to further simplify our products that we offer customers. Our Economy Bulk parcel service mirrors our Economy service in terms of service standards, product specifications and destination availability.
The change in the way customers now send Economy Bulk Letters is to streamline the process for you and our processing team. There are no material changes for those who use a mail house to send their items. If you prepare the letters and send them with us yourself, this process will now be even simpler, i.e you no longer need to organise stock of declaration forms and blue satchels for this service. The stock of declaration forms will be replaced by the IBP Consignment Note created out of Lodgement Manager, and blue satchels will be replaced by grey trays.
Courier, Express, Transport
The prices for all domestic Courier and Express services will increase on 1 July 2024. You will have received notification with detail of these changes during the month of May. For more information on the changes, please contact your Business Manager or Contact & Support
We’re investing heavily in our network to build our processing and delivery capacity, so that we can continue to provide our customers with valuable and reliable services. We’ve shown we’re serious about investing in our future with the launch of our Auckland Processing Centre in 2024. The most efficient and connected way to send parcels with NZ Post is by using Integrated and Online labelling solutions. These best utilise our digital capability when sorting and delivering. This price increase of prepaid products reflects the additional costs associated with handling and delivering these items, as we move into a world where we use data to optimise delivery services.
We continually review the services that we offer to rural locations to ensure the cost structures and delivery modes offer a satisfactory service to our customers.
Due to changing and increasing costs in us to provide our services, the price to move items between islands has increased along with the cost of processing. Adjusting our prices to meet this service allows us to provide a reliable and far-reaching delivery experience for our customers within our ever-changing network.
As we move to a more technical and automated network the cost to deliver items that are marked as prepaid will increase, this year's increase is a reflection of this.
The pricing of domestic Courier services on My NZ Post Business will change on 1 July.
- The Rural Charge, Courier Inter-Island and Courier Economy Inter-Island services will increase by 2% .
- All other Courier services will increase by 4.3%.
These prices will automatically update within My NZ Post Business from this date. If you have questions on these changes, please visit Contact & support
Standard Mail
The following Standard Mail products will have a price increase that will apply from 1 July 2024
- Standard Mail
- Standard Mail letter prices across New Zealand will increase by 30 cents (incl. GST). This means that the medium sized letter will increase to $2.30 (incl. GST) and the large and oversize letters will also increase by 30 cents to $3.60 and $4.90 respectively.
- ReplyPaid
- PrePaid Envelopes. The price increase of some PrePaid envelopes may vary.
The following changes have been made to the PrePaid Envelope product range: Withdrawn products:
- BSP5 – Postage Included Envelope DLE Self Seal Std White Box 500
- BSP50 - Postage Included Envelope C5 Self Seal Std White Box 250
- BSP4010 - Postage Included Envelope C4 Self Seal Std White Pk 10
- BSP4050 - Postage Included Envelope PIE C4 Self Seal Std White Pk 50
- BSP40 - Postage Included Envelope C4 Self Seal Std White Box 250
- Business Mail Centre Services
Please refer to the Standard Mail Rate Card (PDF 49KB) for pricing. New prices will apply from 1 July 2024.
We don’t recommend using multiple KiwiStamps for larger letters as the value of KiwiStamps will be increasing from 1 July 2024 to $2.30 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 denomination to add up to the postage value you need. E.g. The cost to post a Standard Mail Large envelope is $3.60, if you use 2 x KiwiStamps, you’d be paying $4.60. By using 1 x KiwiStamp ($2.30) plus other stamps to the value of $1.30, you save $1.00.
Bulk Mail
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 all Bulk Mail products and charges different prices for mail delivered to different areas. Four pricing zones (A-D) are defined by postcodes and each zone has a different delivery price. Zonal Pricing applies to AdCard, FlexiMail VolumeMail, and Publication Mail products., a fifth tier (IPC) applies to items sent with an invalid postcode.
You may download the NZ Post Bulk Mail Zones (.xlsx 100KB).
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].
You are required to submit a Lodgement Data File with each physical VolumeMail, AdCard, FlexiMail and Publication Mail lodgement via the online ‘Lodgement Manager’ system.
The key points to note are as follows:
- Zonal Pricing covers all Bulk Mail products: AdCard, FlexiMail, VolumeMail and Publication Mail. Each zone has a different price.
- A feature of Lodgement Manager enables you to upload the Lodgement Data File automatically through an API process.
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.
A Lodgement Data File (LDF) is required to be submitted for all Bulk Mail services to ensure the Address Accuracy Percentage (AAP) process functions properly.
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, you require access to Lodgement Manager to lodge Bulk Mail. Please contact [email protected] for access and support.
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.
IPC is an abbreviation for invalid postcode and is a separate pricing tier for all Bulk Mail rate cards. When lodging AdCard, FlexiMail, VolumeMail and Publication Mail lodgements, all mail items with missing or invalid postcodes will be charged at the IPC price.
Mail items that do not include postcodes will, by default, be charged the highest cost delivery tier (IPC). 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 by saving but not submitting the file, allowing you to determine postage costs under the Zonal Pricing structure. Once you have submitted your lodgement, the saved file can be deleted.
If your lodgement does not meet the required specifications to allow it to be machine processed, you will be given the option of taking your lodgement back to make it compliant or being charged a manual handling fee. The per item amount of the fee will depend on whether prior approval to lodge has been sought.
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 is a price differentiator on the Bulk Mail Rate Card (PDF 61KB). All Zonal (A, B, C & D) pricing is differentiated by AAP tiers. However, all mail items with missing or invalid post codes will be charged at the same IPC price relative to the product and size rather than the AAP tier.
Yes, the ability to upload files in Lodgement Manager is available for you to test your files.
International items should be lodged separately from Domestic Bulk Mail. Any international product in your physical lodgement must be presented at the end of the last tray, separate from domestic product to avoid any delays in delivery. Any International outbound mail included in your Domestic Bulk Mail lodgements can be detected and will be uprated to the International Full rate.
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 Postal Users’ Guide.
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 Postal Users’ Guide.
Please contact your Business Manager or [email protected] for assistance.