Australia Post to open four new sites in regional SA communities

Four new Australia Post sites will open in regional SA communities later this year to increase the number of parcels it can mail and improve delivery speed as online shopping rises.

The purpose-built facilities at Murray Bridge, Kadina, Port Pirie and Tanunda are already under construction, with each expected to handle between 2000 and 3700 parcels per day.

The locations were chosen because they are growth areas where demand for parcel deliveries continues to rise or current operational capability is constrained.

With online shopping in SA rising 4.9 per cent year-on-year and 9 per cent during the November to December peak period, the new sites will increase parcel capacity and improve delivery speed.

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Artist impression for new Australia Post sorting facilities at Port Pirie. Picture: Australia Post.

Artist impression for new Australia Post sorting facilities at Murray Bridge. Picture: Australia Post.

The Murray Bridge site is expected to open in June, followed by the Kadina and Port Pirie facilities in July, then Tanunda’s in August.

It comes after a number of areas across the state have lost their Australia Post services in recent years – a Limestone Coast town’s office was due to close after its licensee retired while deliveries to a Virginia office were halted last year, forcing residents to collect mail elsewhere.

However, Australia Post announced last year it would open an almost half-a-billion-dollar parcel facility at the former Holden site in Elizabeth by 2028, which will be able to process up to 400,000 parcels per day – double the current capacity at its Adelaide Airport site.

Australia Post executive general manager of network operations Shane Plant said the four new facilities showed their commitment to regional communities and their growing needs.

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Artist impression for new Australia Post sorting facilities at Tanunda. Picture: Australia Post.

Artist impression for new Australia Post sorting facilities at Kadina. Picture: Australia Post.

“With 80 per cent of South Australian households now shopping online, parcel volumes in regional areas continue to grow,” Mr Plant said.

“These modern facilities are built to handle that growth, setting us up to support our customers into the future.

“We’ve focused on designing sites that improve safety, increase capacity and streamline transport flow, creating more efficient workplaces for our teams so they can get on the road safely and deliver for our customers now and into the future.”

All four sites will have rooftop solar to generate energy and support EV chargers for electric vehicles.

They will be run by staff relocated from existing Australia Post delivery centres.