The Australian Government and Australia Post have announced the Pacific Postal Development Partnership to improve postal services in the Pacific.
The partnership will improve the efficiency and security of postal services between Australia and the Pacific, benefiting consumers and businesses, including the estimated 200,000 people living in Australia with Pacific Island heritage.
To support the three-year partnership, the Government has provided Australia Post with a $450,000 contribution to target improvements to postal systems, processes, technology and training in the region.
The Australian Government and Australia Post have also signed a Joint Declaration with the Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU) to turbocharge postal development efforts in the region.
The Declaration will enable a coordinated approach to regional postal development, supporting the region to continue to modernise their postal services, capture emerging opportunities and new markets, and showcase the value of the sector globally.
The Australian Government and Australia Post will work with Pacific postal operators and governments to identify specific activities to be delivered under the partnership. The first activities are expected to commence by the end of 2022.
This partnership builds on Australia Post's annual contribution of over $1.3 million to the Universal Postal Union to support global postal cooperation, and additional contributions such as a four-year commitment to further the global postal sector's response to climate change.