Increase to postage rate

The basic postage rate increased from 70c to $1 effective 4 January 2016.Several mail-related LPO parents, including Mail Management Fee, Outward Mail Processing Fee, and PO Box fee, increased in line with the BPR increase.The increase in mail payments will be especially welcome at rural LPOs that perform a lot of mail work and host Mail Contractors.Licensees should check the LPO Payment Scheme for all the LPO payments linked to the price of the stamp.POAAL made a submission to the ACCC in support of Australia Post's application for an increase to the BPR. Australia Post's letters service must be self-funding.POAAL's decision to support Australia Post's application for a price increase was based on our own research, our evaluation of Australia Post's application, and the input of POAAL's State Branch Committees.POAAL also received a huge amount of feedback from Licensees on Australia Post's plan for a two-speed letters service and to price the regular letters service at $1.While one group alleged in its submission that "Australia Post has leveraged their monopolistic advantage to broker deals with the LPOs, Unions and the Charity sector to garner their support for the BPR increase", POAAL can assure Licensees that at no stage did it strike any "deal" with Australia Post on the matter. POAAL is independent of Australia Post and receives no funding or subsidy from Australia Post.