A leaked plan to close 36 post offices sparked a Senate inquiry. COSBOA’s Skye Cappuccio explains what small businesses stand to lose.
A leaked Australia Post business case revealing plans to close up to 36 metropolitan post offices and shift regional and rural licences onto fixed-term arrangements has triggered a Senate inquiry, and two small business groups want to make sure operators aren’t left out of the conversation.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA) and LPO Group have each made submissions to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee inquiry into the management of Australia Post’s retail network. The inquiry was established after the leaked document, dated 9 June, surfaced details of a “format conversions” strategy that Coalition senators say Australia Post’s own CEO did not disclose during earlier Senate estimates hearings. Submissions closed 7 August, with the committee’s report due 12 October.
A leaked plan sparks scrutiny
Licensed Post Offices (LPOs) are independent small businesses in their own right, and Australia Post says small businesses make up 88 per cent of its business customers.
For many communities, especially in regional, rural, remote and outer metropolitan Australia, the local post office is often the easiest place to access services that are otherwise hard to find in person, including banking, identity verification, passport applications and government transactions.
COSBOA CEO Skye Cappuccio said the debate shouldn’t just be about how many outlets stay open, but what people can actually do once they’re inside one.
“For small businesses, a local post office provides access to services they rely on every day,” Cappuccio said. “For a small business, having to travel to another town or suburb to do banking, send freight, verify documents or complete an important transaction costs time and money, and takes someone away from running the business.”
More than a mail drop
LPO Group Chair Scott Etherington argued the inquiry needs to look past headline numbers of open outlets and focus on what services are actually available at the counter.
“An outlet can remain on the map while the services available from the counter change significantly. The real measure is not simply presence, it is capability,” Etherington said.
“Banking, identity and government services give people a reason to use their local post office and help sustain the independent small businesses operating them.”
He said parcels remain central to Australia Post’s future, but shouldn’t come at the expense of everything else on offer.
“Parcels are an essential part of Australia Post’s future and nobody is suggesting otherwise. But parcels and services should work together. We have an established national network, trained people and infrastructure already in place. The opportunity is to make better use of it and give communities more reasons to use their local post office, not fewer.”
The commercial squeeze
Cappuccio said Australia Post clearly needs to keep changing as the way Australians shop, send goods and communicate evolves. But she said that shouldn’t come at the cost of the operators running much of the network day to day.
COSBOA’s submission raises concerns about the commercial pressure on LPO operators, including whether their pay reflects the actual cost of delivering these services, and what happens to operators who’ve already invested in their businesses if licence terms shift under them.
“LPO operators employ people, pay rent, invest in their premises and carry the same rising costs as every other small business,” Cappuccio said. “They need fair, transparent commercial arrangements and a genuine voice when decisions are being made that affect the viability and value of their businesses.”
She added that small business operators shouldn’t be expected to shoulder disproportionate commercial risk in situations where they have little control over decisions that directly affect their revenue and costs.
What comes next
Cappuccio said the inquiry is a chance to work out how the network can evolve without stripping away the face-to-face services small businesses and communities depend on.
“Modernisation shouldn’t mean fewer options for small businesses and communities,” she said. “Australia already has an extensive network of local post offices, operated in large part by small business owners. We should be looking at how we support their long-term viability and make the most of the services and infrastructure already in place.”
The committee’s report is due 12 October, with Australia Post expected to have its own opportunity to respond to the concerns raised.
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