The Australia Post retail network has a number of distinct arms, including a separation between licensed post offices (LPOs) and their corporate counterparts.
There are 4,433 Australia Post outlets around Australia.
Of these, 2,977 are licensed post offices - constituting 67 per cent of the network. Corporate post offices make up 19 per cent of the network (831 outlets) and 14 per cent are community postal agencies (637).
LPOs may be run solely as a post office or in conjunction with another business such as a newsagency, dry cleaners or convenience store.
The products and services available from these outlets are generally the same as offered at corporately owned and operated outlets.
A licensee is granted a licence to use Australia Post systems, manuals, trademarks and images in the operation of a LPO at nominated premises.
The Post Master's General department (telephony and post services) was established in 1809.
In 1975 it was split into Australia Post and Telecom, as telephone exchanges in Australia were increasingly automated.
Owner/operators of non-official post offices became 'Post Office Agents' to reflect that they were now agents of the principal, Australia Post.
In 1989 Australia Post became a statutory corporation or a government business enterprise.
This meant that Australia Post would be entirely self-funding. It 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.
The community service obligation to provide an accessible and affordable letter service across Australia remains a core pillar of Australia Post.
In early 1993, the Licensed Post Office Agreement replaced the former Post Office Agency Agreement.
It was a major factor in bringing the retail sector of the postal industry into modern business practices.
In part, it involved an expansion in the number of post offices and post office outlets and the conversion of many corporate post offices into privately run LPOs.
In 1996-97 Australia Post achieved a key five-year objective: its retail business became profitable for the first time - with a relatively small profit of $18 million.
Posted Thu 19 May 2011 at 10:41pm Thursday 19 May 2011 at 10:41pm Thu 19 May 2011 at 10:41pm