Chapter 1
Introduction
Referral of the inquiry
1.1
On 14 November 2013, the Senate referred the following matter to the
Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, for inquiry and
report by 11 December 2013:
(a) the overall performance, importance and role of Australia Post in
Australian communities, and the challenges it faces in the immediate and longer
term;
(b) the operations of Australia Post in relation to Licensed Post Offices
(LPOs), with particular reference to:
(i) the importance and role of the LPO network in the Australian postal
system, with particular reference to regional and remote areas,
(ii) the licensing and trading conditions applicable to LPOs, including the
Community Service Obligations, and any effects these may have on operating an
LPO business, and
(iii) marketing, retail and trading arrangements between Australia Post and
LPOs and other entities; and
(c) any related matters.[1]
1.2
Following the tabling of an interim report on 11 December 2013, the reporting
date for the committee's final report was extended to 31 March 2014.[2]
The reporting date was subsequently extended to 27 August 2014 and then to 24
September 2014.[3]
Conduct of the inquiry
1.3
In accordance with usual practice, the committee advertised the inquiry
on its website and wrote to relevant organisations inviting submissions by 25
November 2013. The committee received 213 submissions and these are listed at
Appendix 1. The submissions may be accessed through the committee's website.
The committee also received 845 form letters from Licensed Post Offices.
1.4
The committee held public hearings in Canberra on 6 December 2013, 4 March
and 19 March 2014 and in Adelaide on 5 August 2014. A list of witnesses who
appeared at the hearings may be found at Appendix 2.
1.5
The committee would like to thank all the organisations and individuals
that contributed to the inquiry and the witnesses who attended the public
hearings.
Submissions
1.6
The committee received many submissions from individual licensees. It
was not the role of the committee to address the specific problems raised by
some licensees. However, the committee has used this evidence to build a
picture of the issues before it and to inform its deliberations.
1.7
In addition, a number of submitters requested that their submissions be
received as confidential or be published with their name withheld. While the
committee prefers evidence to be taken in public, the committee was mindful that
submissions contained information concerning the submitter's private
circumstances. In other instances, even with the protection of parliamentary
privilege, submitters were unwilling to provide their evidence in public
because of their commercial relationship with Australia Post.
Structure of the report
1.8
The committee's report is structured as follows:
-
Chapter 2 provides an overview of Australia Post including its
business model, its obligations under the Australian Postal Corporation Act
1989 and a description of the postal network as well as the importance of
Australia Post and Licensed Post Offices to the Australian community;
-
Chapter 3 provides information on changes in the postal
environment including the decline in letter volumes;
-
Chapter 4 analyses the performance of Australia Post and matters
influencing its performance;
-
Chapter 5 canvasses opportunities and challenges for the future
development of Australia Post's business;
-
Chapter 6 provides an overview of Licensed Post Office
arrangements;
-
Chapter 7 discusses the outlook for the Licensed Post Office network
including viability issues;
-
Chapter 8 canvasses issues in relation to specific payments and
other matters impacting on the viability of Licensed Post Offices; and
-
Chapter 9 addresses issues related to mail delivery contracts and
franchisees.
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