Unaddressed Mail is an ideal way for candidates to communicate with their constituents during an election campaign.

This low cost alternative to addressed mail provides you with access to every letterbox in your electorate including private post office boxes. Research shows that it is deemed to be less intrusive than other media.

If you need more information on how to use Unaddressed Mail then please contact the Unaddressed Mail Co-ordination team on 1300 768 470.

Key Benefits

Direct access to letterbox delivery points and post office boxes. It is essential to include post office boxes if you need comprehensive coverage of an area.
Delivered by professional staff, with the regular mail.
No requirement to address mail.
Lower price than addressed mail.
Proven media in election campaigns.

Key Requirements

Unaddressed Mail must be booked a minimum of three weeks prior to the start of the delivery period.
During a federal election campaign, the minimum booking period is reduced to two weeks for unaddressed mail that is lodged and delivered in the same state.
Delivery over one week – Monday to Friday of nominated week.
Lodgement is required five business days prior to the delivery start date for same state deliveries and seven business days prior for interstate deliveries.
Envelopes should not include a return address for unclaimed articles as Unaddressed Mail does not include a return to sender service.
Specific requirements for mail preparation and lodgement. These requirements are explained in the Unaddressed Mail Service Guide * or you can ask your Australia Post Representative.
Unaddressed Mail is delivered by postcode area so there may be some delivery overlap of adjoining electorates although Australia Post will make reasonable efforts to minimise or eliminate such occurrences.
Web page: www.auspost.com.au/unaddressed

Price Guide (intrastate/interstate) - effective 3 September 2007

		INTRASTATE		INTERSTATE
Size	Weight (g)	Regular	Select	Regular	Select
Small letter	Up to 50 Over 50-100 Over 100-250	12.8 ¢ 16.0 ¢ 20.0 ¢	14.8 ¢ 18.0 ¢ 22.0 ¢	14.7 ¢ 18.9 ¢ 23.5 ¢	16.7 ¢ 20.9 ¢ 25.5 ¢
Large letter	Up to 50 Over 50-100 Over 100-250	17.6 ¢ 22.2 ¢ 27.0 ¢	19.6 ¢ 24.2 ¢ 29.0 ¢	20.6 ¢ 26.2 ¢ 32.0 ¢	22.6 ¢ 28.2 ¢ 34.0 ¢

Delivery Service Standard

Delivery between Monday and Friday of nominated week.
Please note that the service does not provide for delivery on specific days.

Postal Vote Applications

Postal vote applications are crucial in ensuring that the votes of as many enrolled citizens as possible are counted. Candidates and political parties distribute postal vote applications to their electorate to ensure that recipients know that this option is available if they are unable to make it to a polling place on election day.

Additional Information

For more information visit the Unaddressed Mail section on the Australia Post website.

Unaddressed Mail Service Guide *
Unaddressed Mail Brochure *
Unaddressed Mail Postal Vote Applications *
Unaddressed Mail Flyer *
Unaddressed Mail 2 Weeks Prior to Delivery Guide *

Quick Guide

Unaddressed Mail Quick Guide *

Lodgement Document

Unaddressed Mail Lodgement Document *

First Week of Election Campaign

Many parties and candidates decide to distribute postal vote applications in the first week of the election campaign. This allows voters to complete and send the application early in the election campaign and therefore allow processing of these applications in the weeks prior to polling day.

Australia Post usually requires candidates to book at least two weeks prior to the first day of delivery but this is impractical for postal vote applications as candidates do not know the date on which the election will be called.

To address this issue Australia Post have devised a special procedure to enable delivery of postal vote applications in the first week of the election campaign. This process is described in greater detail in the Unaddressed Mail - Postal Vote Applications publication.

What do I need to do?

Submit your booking as soon as possible.
Bookings made after the election is called will not be delivered during the first week and will be held over until at least the second week of campaigning.
Prepare articles and mail trays so that they are ready to be lodged on the first business day after the election is called.

Following the Postal Vote Application process does not guarantee that all articles will be delivered by the Friday of the first week of the election campaign. Australia Post will aim to deliver articles within four business days after lodgement, not including the day of lodgement.

Note: The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has guidelines for the reproduction of postal vote applications and these should be consulted when you are preparing artwork. The AEC also advises candidates to seek legal advice on whether their postal vote application complies with the relevant legislation.

Quick Guides

‘Quick Guides’ have been developed for each of the Core Services to assist first-time users.
They cover most essential information. They should be read in conjunction with the more detailed Service Guides that are provided for each of the Services outlined.