An Australia Post employee allegedly stalked a 64-year-old woman he encountered on his mail run, prompting police to apply for a personal safety intervention order against him.
The 41-year-old man resigned when confronted by the organisation but the victim said she has been left in fear and does not think Australia Post’s investigation into the matter was adequate.
Bella*, who lives by herself in a rural Victorian city, received a 12-minute audio recording from the postal worker sent on a USB stick which outlined how he had come to know her on his mail run.
She said that when she first listened to it, she had no idea who it had come from and was shocked to hear his “sleazy and entitled” voice.
“I felt sick to my stomach, it was overwhelming,” Bella told Guardian Australia. “I could only listen to the first few minutes before having to stop. It made my skin crawl.
“Initially I didn’t know who it was or where it had come from, and the fear was in not even knowing what or who I was looking out for.”
In the recording, the man outlines how he had seen her in town coming out of a shop, and then recounts his attempts to see her.
He also speaks about another woman he has been watching. He says he knows where the second woman lives, and explains that he deliberately went past her workplace to see her, even when he was not working. One day he went into the business to see her in person. “We would have seen one another on and off for five years,” he says.
When Guardian Australia contacted the second woman, who was easily identifiable from the recording, neither Australia Post nor the police had been in contact with her. She only became aware that she had been potentially stalked by the man when contacted by the Guardian.
In the recording, the man outlines his interest in Bella over an extended period, and explains his reaction when seeing her coming out of a shop.
“I remember thinking something along the lines of ‘she looks in pretty good nick’ or ‘a million bucks’ or some kind of statement that was going on in my head,” he says.
“I was actually going to ask you if you were heading on a date and where you were taking me, but you know it always comes to you afterwards, you know.”
The man says that “not for a lack of trying” he had not seen her again since, suggesting he had tried repeatedly to track her down over a six-month period.
He then explains that about six months later he had volunteered to work to help out his superior and had “specifically” requested to work the mail route that covered her house.
He later hand-delivered the recording to her house, attached to an Australia Post postcard, after trying unsuccessfully for weeks to see her.
After a complaint to Australia Post, the man quit when confronted about the prospect of an investigation.
Bella also lodged a complaint with police and an application was made for a personal safety intervention order against the man. This was granted in August.
She said she had been living in fear for months and that despite complaints to Australia Post about the lack of support, they had “wiped their hands clean of this”. She sought financial support to upgrade her home security but said this request had been rebuffed by Australia Post.
“It has been horrendous. I am a 64-year-old woman living alone, I can’t sleep,” she told Guardian Australia. “I am up half the night checking my windows and I have had my dogs sleeping with me.
“It is horrible, I am constantly worried about it and they haven’t offered me any sense of security.
“Australia Post has a lot to answer for. This man has used organisational privilege to stalk women, and the organisation has to be responsible for him.
“They don’t seem to have any accountability for the fear this man has instilled and I am not going to stay silent for anyone else’s comfort.”
Correspondence between the woman and Australia Post shows she outlined her concerns about her safety situation and requested help.
“Regardless of the termination of your employee, I am still left with an uncertain situation and for me at my age I find the lack of support from [Australia Post] unnerving,” she wrote in a letter in July.
“I do not feel safe in my home. It was the only space I had that I could find safety and now that has been taken from me.”
In response, Australia Post’s executive general manager for people and culture, Sue Davies, says: “I appreciate that this has been an upsetting and difficult experience for you.”
She says she reviewed the matter to “assess whether it has been handled appropriately” and the man had resigned immediately when confronted.
“Having reviewed the actions taken, I am satisfied that Australia Post has done all that it can to manage this matter appropriately and in a timely manner,” Davies says in the letter.
“I acknowledge, however, that the communication to you regarding the progress and outcome of this matter did not meet your expectations.”
The woman was also told that Victoria police were best placed to assist her in addressing her security concerns.
A spokesperson for Australia Post said once the complaint had been made, the organisation had “immediately launched an internal investigation and assisted the Victorian Police in their investigation of the matter”.
“Australia Post sincerely apologises to the customer for this unacceptable behaviour, which falls well below our expectations of team members,” she said.
“Australia Post has zero tolerance for this type of behaviour and regularly conducts training with team members to ensure they know their obligations and responsibilities.”
The spokesperson did not outline what the investigation entailed, and did not respond to questions about compensation.
Bella said she felt there had been “no humanity” in their response, and was concerned that at least one other woman had potentially been stalked by the man.
“I just think it is damning on Australia Post that they have full knowledge that two women over a lengthy period of time have been stalked by an employee and they have not investigated or done anything,” she said. “I think it is reprehensible.”
*Name changed for privacy
