POAAL Podcast

POAAL member insurance with GSK Insurance Brokers

Ernie Calalesina, Senior Account Manager at GSK Insurance Brokers, discusses insurance for POAAL's Licensee and Contractor members.

• Overview of GSK Insurance Brokers and its experience with delivery owner-drivers
• Insurances for Licensed Post Offices (LPOs), including public liability insurance, business pack insurance, personal accident, and workers' compensation
• Assistance available for insurance queries and claims
• Insurance for Australia Post and Star Track Contractors, including public liability insurance, personal accident and illness, marine cargo (marine transit), and commercial motor insurance
• Payment options, including monthly payments

 

Inward mail processing: a perspective

POAAL's Bob Chizzoniti shares some perspectives on inward mail processing, and some other thoughts on how post office operations have been modernised and streamlined over the years.

• Mail counts and the burden on post office owners
• Scheduling the mail count across Australia
• Different strategies to measure mail volumes in post offices
• Sorting and counting the mail before scheduled mail completion time
• Difficulties sorting large letters
• POABR and the old POA unit payment system
• POAAL's payment reform drive
• Daily balancing in the pre-technology era

 

Next-generation posting box

Royal Mail has introduced a new-look street posting box in the UK, featuring solar panels, a parcel lodgement chute, and a barcode scanner.

 

• Royal Mail is trialling a new-look street posting box in five locations
• Linking posting boxes to the post's app
   
• Lodging parcels in street posting boxes with proof of posting
   
• Inbuilt solar powered barcode scanner
   
• Capacity of posting box
   
• Solution for time-poor consumers lodging parcels outside business hours
   
• Could Australia Post link its MyPost app to street posting boxes?
   
• Parcel lockers
   
• Enhancing street posting boxes

 

Bank@Post, dog attacks, and PO Box maintenance

POAAL's Bob Chizzoniti discusses some key highlights from Australia Post's appearance at Senate Estimates in February 2025, as well as some PO Box maintenance tips.

• Dog attack statistics and countermeasures
• Expansion of Bank@Post to include ANZ
• Future expansion of Bank@Post 
• PO Box spares
• Repairing PO Boxes
• Handling unpaid PO Box renewals

 

Post-Christmas post office clean-up

POAAL's Bob Chizzoniti shares some tips on optimising post office operations during the quiet post-Christmas period.

• Check passport photo supplies
• Back office printer
• Clearing out old and out-of-date forms and pamphlets
• Creating space in the back office
• Evaluating saleability of old stock
• Consumables
• Staff training and barcode scanning
• Check order quantities for seasonal stamps

Victorian Small Business Commissioner Lynda McAlary-Smith

POAAL spoke with Victorian Small Business Commissioner Lynda McAlary-Smith about her office's role in assisting small business owners, in particular in resolving disputes.

We discuss:

• Overview of the role of the Victorian Small Business Commissioner
• Small business dispute resolution, including for owner/drivers
• Resolving contractual disputes and disputes relating to unpaid invoices
• Termination notices for owner/drivers
• How alternative dispute resolution works through the Victorian Small Business Commissioner’s office
• Low-cost dispute resolution, including mediation
• Success rates of dispute resolution via the Victorian Small Business Commissioner
• Understanding how mediation works
• Retail leases, including dispute resolution
• Key issues in retail leases, including unpaid rent, repairs and maintenance, and making good the premises

 

Australia Post EGM Retail Josh Bannister

Josh Bannister, Executive General Manager Retail, Brand & Marketing at Australia Post, is the senior Australia Post executive with responsibility for Licensed Post Offices. In this discussion, Josh covers:

• Key highlights from Australia Post's 2023/2024 financial results
• Pushing last posting dates closer to Christmas
• Extended opening hours at post offices, including LPOs
• Christmas-themed parcel cards
• Pop-up parcel collection locations
• Parcel sub locator tool for storing and retrieving carded parcels
• Recruiting Christmas casuals
• Availability of stock
• Passport applications and renewals
• The New Delivery Model

 

Carded parcel planning and management

POAAL recently surveyed Licensees on how they manage carded parcels in their LPOs. POAAL Director Bob Chizzoniti discusses some of the main themes of the survey, including:

• Impact of large parcels on carded parcel storage
• Planning parcel storage as local population grows
• Demands on parcel storage during the Christmas peak
• Sending reminder notices to addressees
• Encouraging customers to collect their parcels quickly

PO Box management tips

POAAL's Bob Chizzoniti discusses PO Box management tips, including:

• Managing keys
• Effective filing of PO Box applications
• Basic PO Box maintenance

Reminding customers to collect carded parcels

POAAL's Bob Chizzoniti discusses the results of POAAL's recent survey on carded parcels, in particular reminding customers to collect carded parcels:

• Phoning addressees to remind them to collect their parcels.
• Pressure to manage storage space
• Sending text message reminders to customers
• Encouraging earlier parcel collection
• Sending reminder notices
• Improving parcel management processes ahead of peak season