Australia Post has signalled their intention to increase the cost of stamps from next month. The good news is, not all postage costs will be going up.Australia Post has formally notified the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of a planned price increase to ordinary letters.
The ACCC has indicated that they will not oppose this change, which is planned to take effect on 3 April 2024. The only person who could block the increase of postage prices is the Minister for Communications.
The Minister has indicated that she is satisfied with the ACCC’s findings that the increases are designed to cover increased costs and not to boost profit, and also said that she is pleased to see the changes would not affect either concession prices for stamps or the cost of Christmas stamps.
So, what’s changing?
There will be a 30-cent increase to small letters, from $1.20 to $1.50. This is known as the ‘basic postage rate’. Postage costs for larger letters are set as a multiple of this rate.
To put it simply, the cost of a single stamp is going up, which increases the cost of ordinary letters (those that require stamps) across the board.
Letter size
Max. dimensions Stamps Previous Cost New Cost Concession Price Small letter or postcard (250g)
130 x 240 x 5mm 1 $1.20 $1.50
$0.60
Large letter
(up to 125g)
260 x 360 x 20mm
E.g. C5, C4, B4 size envelopes 2 $2.40 $3.00
$1.20
Large letter
(up to 250g)
260 x 360 x 20mm
E.g. C5, C4, B4 size envelopes 3 $3.60 $4.50
$1.80
Large letter
(up to 500g) 260 x 360 x 20mm
E.g. C5, C4, B4 size envelopes 5 $6.00 $7.50
$2.40
Christmas stamps will continue to cost 65 cents and can be used to send Christmas cards throughout November and December.
You will still be able to use older stamps, however you will have to be sure that the value of the stamp covers the new postage cost – meaning that for a small letter you will need to use either two old stamps instead of one new stamp or an old stamp plus a 30 cents stamp.
The last increase of postage prices was in January 2023, when the cost of stamps increased by 10 cents.
You can find information on other pricing changes on the Australia Post website.
Concession prices
For those who have a free MyPost concession card, the concession stamp rate will remain at 60 cents. These stamps are sold in a booklet of five stamps for $3 and have been the same price for 10 years.
You can buy up to 50 stamps a year, which is 10 x $3 booklets.
Concession stamps are interchangeable with regular stamps, meaning that you would use the same number of concession stamps to send a letter as you would if you’d bought regular stamps. You can find this information here or in the table we have included earlier in this article.
Concession stamps do not have a dollar value, which means that you can continue to use existing concession stamps after the price increase.
If you do not have a MyPost concession card but think you might be eligible, you can ask your local post office how to apply or download the application form online. The following Australian Federal Government concession cards are accepted as proof of eligibility:
- Pensioner Concession Card
- Health Care Card (all types)
- Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs Card
- Veterans’ Repatriation Health Card
Other articles
Australia Post has formally notified the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) of a planned price increase to ordinary letters.
The ACCC has indicated that they will not oppose this change, which is planned to take effect on 3 April 2024. The only person who could block the increase of postage prices is the Minister for Communications.
The Minister has indicated that she is satisfied with the ACCC’s findings that the increases are designed to cover increased costs and not to boost profit, and also said that she is pleased to see the changes would not affect either concession prices for stamps or the cost of Christmas stamps.
So, what’s changing?
There will be a 30-cent increase to small letters, from $1.20 to $1.50. This is known as the ‘basic postage rate’. Postage costs for larger letters are set as a multiple of this rate.
To put it simply, the cost of a single stamp is going up, which increases the cost of ordinary letters (those that require stamps) across the board.
Letter size | Max. dimensions | Stamps | Previous Cost | New Cost | Concession Price |
Small letter or postcard (250g) | 130 x 240 x 5mm | 1 | $1.20 | $1.50 | $0.60 |
Large letter | 260 x 360 x 20mm E.g. C5, C4, B4 size envelopes | 2 | $2.40 | $3.00 | $1.20 |
Large letter | 260 x 360 x 20mm E.g. C5, C4, B4 size envelopes | 3 | $3.60 | $4.50 | $1.80 |
| Large letter (up to 500g) | 260 x 360 x 20mm E.g. C5, C4, B4 size envelopes | 5 | $6.00 | $7.50 | $2.40 |
Christmas stamps will continue to cost 65 cents and can be used to send Christmas cards throughout November and December.
You will still be able to use older stamps, however you will have to be sure that the value of the stamp covers the new postage cost – meaning that for a small letter you will need to use either two old stamps instead of one new stamp or an old stamp plus a 30 cents stamp.
The last increase of postage prices was in January 2023, when the cost of stamps increased by 10 cents.
You can find information on other pricing changes on the Australia Post website.
Concession prices
For those who have a free MyPost concession card, the concession stamp rate will remain at 60 cents. These stamps are sold in a booklet of five stamps for $3 and have been the same price for 10 years.
You can buy up to 50 stamps a year, which is 10 x $3 booklets.
Concession stamps are interchangeable with regular stamps, meaning that you would use the same number of concession stamps to send a letter as you would if you’d bought regular stamps. You can find this information here or in the table we have included earlier in this article.
Concession stamps do not have a dollar value, which means that you can continue to use existing concession stamps after the price increase.
If you do not have a MyPost concession card but think you might be eligible, you can ask your local post office how to apply or download the application form online. The following Australian Federal Government concession cards are accepted as proof of eligibility:
- Pensioner Concession Card
- Health Care Card (all types)
- Commonwealth Seniors Health Card
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs Card
- Veterans’ Repatriation Health Card
