Christmas is fast approaching, and Australia Post has revealed how soon you’ll have to send off cards and presents overseas if you hope to have them arrive on time.
It announced on Monday the cut-off dates for more than 180 international destinations, with the latest date for select locations set to be December 9 with the Express service.
Australia Post delivered about 52 million parcels each December for the past two years.
Australia-wide worker shortages may affect delivery times this year, so it might be wise to send Christmas mail as soon as possible.
Australia Post international deadlines
For Economy Air, November 14 is the deadline for many destinations, including China, Jordan and Greenland.
If you’re willing to pay more to post with International Express, you have until December 9 to send mail to destinations like the United States, Britain, New Zealand and Canada.
AusPost will announce the Christmas deadlines for posting within Australia in the coming weeks.
For the full list of Christmas deadlines by country, visit AusPost’s website.
Cut-off dates are no guarantee
Gary Starr, Australia Post executive general manager, customer and commercial, said the postal service worked closely with international carriers to help Australians get their cards and gifts to loved ones for Christmas.
But there’s still no guarantee the mail will reach its destinations in time.
“For anyone who wants to send internationally for Christmas this year, we’re encouraging them to visit our website and post by the dates advised,” Mr Starr said.
“As always, we’ll continue to deliver items sent after these dates as quickly as possible, but they may not arrive until after Christmas.”
International sending dates vary depending on the destination and may be affected by factors including customs delays and overseas postal disruptions.
The news comes after chief executive Paul Graham urged people to order their presents at the start of September if they wanted delivery by Christmas.
Australia Post has started recruiting up to 7000 extra workers needed for the Christmas period, Mr Graham said, a task made difficult by the tight labour market.
