please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . january 2016 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . january 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message australia post type government owned corporation owned by the commonwealth of australia industry postal service predecessor postmaster general s department founded 25 april 1809 1809 04 25 headquarters melbourne victoria australia number of locations 4 429 metropolitan retail outlets 1 2561 retail outlets in rural & remote areas 1 area served australia key people john stanhope board member and chairman ahmed fahour managing director and chief executive officer products postal services digital services retail express post logistics printing services revenue a 6.6 billion 2016 2 operating income a 400 million 2016 net income a 36 million 2016 2 number of employees 32 732 2013 1 website auspost.com.au australia post provides postal services in australia and its overseas territories . australia post is the trading name australian postal corporation formerly the australian postal commission is the australian government owned entity responsible for the services . the head office of australia post is located at 111 bourke street melbourne 3000 . this location also serves as a post office . contents 1 history 1.1 future ready strategy 2010 present 2 ongoing activities 3 organisational structure and information 3.1 board members 3.2 executive committee 3.3 employment 4 facts and statistics 5 products and services 5.1 letters and associated services 5.1.1 postal services 5.1.2 postage rate 5.1.2.1 basic domestic 5.1.2.1.1 large letters 5.2 agency services and retail merchandise 5.3 parcels and logistics 5.4 digital services 5.5 startrack 5.6 criticism 6 letter boxes 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit the sydney general post office george street facade circa 1900 an old style post box in marrickville sydney before colonial control of mail started in 1809 mail was usually passed on by ad hoc arrangements made between transporters storekeepers and settlers . these arrangements were flexible and depended on cooperation of the country people . it was common for early settlers to ride many miles out of their way to deliver neighbours mail that had been collected from informal distribution points . 3 the first organisation of a postal service in australia commenced in 1809 with the appointment in sydney of the first postmaster of new south wales . he was an ex convict isaac nichols who took the post operating from his home in george street sydney . his main job was to take charge of letters and parcels arriving by ship to avoid the chaos of people rushing aboard ships as soon as they arrived at sydney s wharves . nichols would pick up the mail and post a list of recipients outside his house . 4 he would advertise in the sydney gazette the names of all those who received mail . recipients paid a fixed price of one shilling per letter to collect mail from nichols home with parcels costing more depending on how heavy they were . vip addressees were accorded personal delivery by nichols . 5 the postal act of 1825 allowed the governor to fix postage rates and appoint postmasters outside sydney enabling the first organised postal service . 6 letter deliveries began in 1828 and posting boxes first appeared in 1831 . 5 stamps were not required in those days as the addressee paid for the letter not the sender . 5 postal services grew throughout the australian colonies as they were established . a regular overland service between sydney and melbourne port phillip district began in 1838 . also in 1838 the first prepaid stamped letter sheets were introduced in sydney . 5 by 1849 uniform postal rates were established by agreement between the colonies . prepaid adhesive stamps were introduced in the 1850s . victoria was the first to make prepayment by stamps compulsory in 1852 . 5 monthly steamship sea mail to the united kingdom was established in 1856 . the separate colonies joined the universal postal union in 1891 . following federation in 1901 the colonial mail systems were merged into the postmaster general s department pmg . this body was responsible for telegraph and domestic telephone operations as well as postal mail . an airmail service was introduced in 1914 . 5 the world s first large scale mechanical mail sorting system was introduced in australia according to australia post and operational in the sydney gpo in 1967 . this coincided with the introduction of the current system of 4 digit postcodes in australia . 7 on 1 july 1975 separate government commissions were created to undertake the operational responsibilities of the pmg . one of these was the australian postal commission trading as australia post . it later changed its name to the australian postal corporation on 1 january 1989 when it was corporatised though it still trades as australia post . under amendments to the apc act that came into effect in march 2008 quarantine inspection officers of a state or territory are authorised to request australia post to open for inspection packets and parcels sent from interstate which they believe may contain quarantine material . the legislation also authorised australia post to remove from the mail articles that are suspected of being scam mail . 8 the 200th anniversary of postal services was celebrated in 2009 . 8 future ready strategy 2010 present edit in february 2010 ahmed fahour was appointed md and ceo of australia post . 9 in may 2010 he announced a new strategy dubbed future ready designed to reinvigorate australia post . this included a new organisation structure as well as a renewed foray into digital businesses under the eservices strategic business unit . 10 in september 2015 the corporation announced its first loss in 30 years . the a 222 million loss was down from a 116 million profit the previous year . large decreases in addressed and stamped mail led to a 381 million loss in the mail delivery side of the business . parcel delivery then accounted for over half of total revenue . overall revenue was stable at 6.37 billion . 2 a year later on friday 26 august 2016 australia post returned to profit on the back of strong parcel courier performance and re structuring . however mail performance reached an all time low . ongoing activities edit express yellow and normal red street posting boxes riverina mail sorting centre in wagga wagga new south wales post office in quilpie queensland australia post is continuing to broaden its product and service range and to invest in technology based infrastructure programs . as of 2016 update it operates in three core areas letters and associated services ; retail merchandise and agency services ; and parcels and logistics . it offers delivery services retail products financial services such as bill payment and banking through its retail network logistics and fulfilment services and direct marketing and database management services . it also has a number of subsidiaries and joint ventures including sai cheng logistics international a joint venture logistics company established with china post in 2005 . australia post operates normal mail delivery as well as an express courier service through messenger post . 11 australia post is self funding and uses its assets and resources to earn profits which can be reinvested in the business or returned as dividends to its sole shareholder the commonwealth government . under its community service obligations australia post is committed to providing an accessible affordable and reliable letter service for all australians wherever they reside . the corporation reaches more than 10 million australian addresses ; operates 6 990 postal outlets ; 1 and serves more than a million customers in postal outlets every business day . when the basic domestic letter rate was increased to 1.00 on 4 january 2016 12 there were no changes to prices of concession stamps or seasonal greeting stamps which remained at 60 cents and 65 cents respectively . at the same time a category of priority mail was introduced as distinct from regular under which delivery standards were varied and a 50 cent priority label was required as additional payment for the better standard . 13 under the australian postal corporation act 1989 letters up to 250 grams are reserved to australia post other people and businesses can only carry them if they charge four times the basic postage rate . all of the other goods and services provided by australia post are sold in fully competitive markets and in 2005 06 nearly 90 per cent of the corporation s profit from ordinary activities before net interest and tax came from selling products and services in competitive markets . organisational structure and information edit ford transit australia post van board members edit john stanhope chairman brendan fleiter deputy chairman ahmed fahour managing director & ceo peter carne talal yassine susan bitter michael d ascenzo executive committee edit ahmed fahour managing director & group ceo ewen stafford group chief operating officer corporate and commercial services christine corbett executive general manager postal services bob black executive general manager parcel and express services ceo startrack chris blake executive general manager corporate affairs & people greg sutherland chief marketing officer marketing and customer experience andrew walduck chief information officer information digital and technology janelle hopkins group chief financial officer paul burke corporate secretary & general manager government affairs catherine walsh general manager human resources group & postal services employment edit this article has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this section uses citations that link to broken or outdated sources . please improve the article or discuss this issue on the talk page . help on using footnotes is available . january 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this section needs to be updated . please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information . january 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message empty cells have no data available for that year . all results as at 30 june of the year indicated . year full time staff part time staff other staff source 1993 31934 3999 annual report 1994 31130 4204 5626 annual report 1995 31621 4501 5253 annual report 1996 32040 5689 7849 annual report 1997 31111 6185 8466 annual report 1998 29564 6961 9151 annual report 1999 28205 6756 9776 annual report 2000 26915 8482 9455 annual report 2001 27079 8458 9660 annual report 2002 26950 8812 9703 annual report 2003 26394 9033 9557 annual report 2004 26019 9030 9559 annual report 2005 25851 8953 9570 annual report 2006 25387 9196 6415 annual report 2007 25026 9498 6247 annual report 2008 25093 9936 annual report 2009 25149 10360 8106 annual report dead link 2010 24205 10252 annual report 2011 23369 10103 14 2012 23221 9810 annual report 2013 23526 8938 annual report an index of all annual reports can be found here http auspost.com.au about us publications.html source australia post employee profile job cuts in june 2015 australia post announced that in view of mounting losses and especially the accelerating decline its letter delivery service it would reduce its workforce by 1 900 over three years through voluntary redundancies . at the time mail delivery losses were approaching 500 million for the 2014 15 financial year . 15 facts and statistics edit nationwide there are 7 950 postal routes serviced by 10 000 posties . motorcycles like the