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Australia Post is raising costs again. Are you ready to make the switch?

Australia Post’s latest price hike isn’t a one-off – it’s part of a confirmed 3-year roadmap of rising postage costs. The price of mailing a standard letter jumped from $1.50 to $1.70 in July 2025 and it’s only going up from here.

For councils and utilities, this means one thing: the longer you stay tied to physical mail, the more you’ll spend – every year, without fail.

So, the question isn’t whether you can afford to switch to digital. It’s whether you can afford not to.

Postage hikes aren’t surprising anymore – but your response should be

For a long time, organisations have absorbed these increases quietly. A few extra cents per letter, maybe a slight bump in the budget and back to business as usual. But now, with tens or even hundreds of thousands of notices sent annually, those ‘few cents’ can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in additional overhead.

And it’s no longer a guessing game. With the next round of price rises already locked in, this is no longer about adapting to change – it’s about choosing to act on it.

That’s the opportunity. Because while Australia Post’s cost structure is becoming more rigid, your communications model doesn’t have to be.

Making the transition to digital is easier than you think

There’s a misconception that moving away from paper means overhauling systems, retraining staff, or disrupting service. But in reality, secure digital delivery solutions like Payreq Bill&Pay are designed to sit alongside your existing billing systems, not replace them.

The transition can be phased. You can start with rates notices, water, or instalments. Residents can self-register online, reducing admin burden. And once they’re set up, they can access their notices via a secure digital mailbox – and receive them by email too, if that’s what they prefer.

You’re not asking people to change how they pay – just how they receive their information.

And unlike paper, the benefits compound:

No printing
No postage
No return-to-sender
No guessing whether delivery happened

Instead, you gain a reliable, trackable channel that grows more efficient the more you use it.

Your residents are already digital – your notices should be too

Let’s be honest: most people expect to receive bills and notices online. They’re managing their bank accounts through apps. Paying utilities on their phones. Accessing government services digitally.

Yes, email is a step in the right direction – but it’s not secure, it’s not traceable, and it leaves councils exposed to delivery issues and data risks. A digital mailbox, on the other hand, offers proper delivery confirmation, long-term access, and multi-address forwarding (for accountants, partners, property managers).

It’s email with guardrails.

A change that protects your budget and your future

As physical mail becomes more expensive, less predictable, and less aligned with public expectations, staying the course becomes the riskier option.

Switching to digital isn’t just about reducing cost. It’s about gaining control.

Control over how and when notices are delivered.
Control over what happens when residents move.
Control over how you scale, communicate, and innovate.

It’s the difference between reacting to change, or shaping it.

So, if you’ve looked at your latest postage bill and thought, “Enough’s enough,” you’re not alone. Many businesses have already made the shift. Others are planning it now.

The good news? You don’t need to wait for the next hike to act.