We are seeking views from Australian airlines, logistics, courier, integrator and ecommerce companies (and similar sectors) to inform the Universal Postal Union's (UPU) work on opening up the institution to the wider postal industry.
Why we want your input
As a wider postal sector player (WPSP), your feedback will help us reform the UPU to benefit you and your customers. In 2023, 192 UPU member countries will decide what membership, products and services will be opened to WPSPs and this is your chance to influence that outcome. Your feedback will help the UPU develop options and inform the Australian Government’s approach.Please note, you must be a WPSP to participate in this consultation process.
How you can voice your opinion
Upload your views using the “Have your say” button below by 26 September 2022. This will help inform the Australian Government’s policy position on opening up and allow us to consult with you further as this work develops.We also welcome the opportunity to meet with interested stakeholders to share more information about the UPU’s work and understand your perspective. If you would like meet with us, please contact us via email at internationalpost@communications.gov.au at any stage.
Note that the UPU has requested responses to their survey are returned to them by 26 August 2022. If we receive your response before then, we will share it with the UPU before the deadline. If we receive your response later, we will still share it with the UPU and use your input to shape Australia’s position. You can also choose to send your response direct to the UPU taskforce at TF.OpeningUP@upu.int.
What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your submission will inform options to open up the UPU to WPSPs. This questionnaire is confidential and individual responses will not be shared with other stakeholders. The UPU will present aggregate responses to relevant UPU bodies to help facilitate decision making. Your advice to us will help shape Australia’s position on this important issue.The Issue
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is a treaty-level United Nations specialised agency responsible for setting the rules and standards for the exchange of international mail between its 192 member countries.
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts leads Australia's engagement at the UPU to promote Australia's interests in the international postal system.
Under existing arrangements, UPU members include countries and designated operators (DOs), with input from a small number of wider sector players through a Consultative Committee. Australia has designated one operator under the UPU treaties, Australia Post.
The international postal environment has changed significantly since the UPU was established in 1874. Technological advances and changes in consumer behaviours have seen global parcel post volumes increase and conventional letter volumes decline. At the same time, a higher volume of items are being moved outside of the UPU established global postal channel, with around two-thirds of international parcels handled by operators which are not DOs.
In response to these trends, the UPU has initiated a process aimed at opening up the UPU to wider postal sector players to modernise the institution and deliver better end-user experiences. This could involve:
- a new organisational and membership model that provides designated and commercial operators as well as wider sector players such as airlines, customs bodies, e‑retailers, courier and logistics companies with the opportunity to participate in the UPU
- offering UPU products and services to the new membership base, and/or
- some other form of increased interoperability of the commercial and mail logistics channels, standards and customs clearance arrangements.
The questionnaire, prepared by the UPU, aims to gather further details about the state of postal markets in different countries and to examine potential ways and conditions for opening up the UPU to the wider postal sector, to the benefit of market participants, businesses and consumers. Your participation in this questionnaire will allow you to voice your views and shape how opening up the institution could benefit you.
WPSPs include:
- other domestic postal operators
- courier and integrator companies
- e-retailers and ecommerce merchants
- logistics service providers
- financial service providers
- contributors to the postal supply chain
- airlines
- railways, and
- other transport companies.
We are seeking responses on behalf of the UPU from Australian WPSPs. Responses from WPSPs will help the UPU examine the ways in which the union may want to open up.
Relevant documentation
Participate
18 Aug 2022 14:30 AEST
26 Sep 2022 23:59 AEST
Closed
This consultation is closed.