The Senate has established a formal inquiry into Australia Post's retail network.
Submissions close 7 August 2026.
What’s on this page
This page has everything you need to make a submission to the Senate inquiry into Australia Post’s retail network. Use the red navigation bar to jump to any section as you go.
WHY IT MATTERS — New to the inquiry? Start here.
FAQS — Common questions about making a submission.
TERMS — The terms of reference. What Parliament is asking, in plain English.
PLANNER — Unsure what to include? Use our questions to organise your thoughts.
WRITE — Know what you want to say, start here.
CHECKLIST — Ready to lodge? Work through this before you submit.
LODGE — Step-by-step guide to lodging on the Parliament website.
The Senate has established a formal inquiry into the management of Australia Post’s retail network. Submissions close 7 August 2026. Whether you have already decided to make a submission or are still considering it, this page explains the inquiry, answers common questions, and helps you prepare your submission.
LPOG has been actively engaging with parliamentarians, analysing the Senate proceedings and preparing its own submission to the inquiry. This page has been developed to help licensees understand the process and prepare their own independent submissions.
The Senate has asked a series of questions about the management of Australia Post’s retail network. Those questions include how Australia Post has engaged with licensees and other stakeholders, how decisions have been made and communicated, the role Post Offices play in Australian communities, and whether evidence previously provided to Parliament was adequate.
Those questions arise during a period of significant change across the network. Many licensees have experienced changes to services, remuneration, operating arrangements and customer behaviour. The committee is seeking evidence about how these changes have affected Post Offices, their communities and the long-term sustainability of the network.
Australia Post will have the opportunity to present its perspective to the committee.
Individual licensees have the opportunity to provide something equally important: firsthand experience of operating a Post Office in their own community.
The committee’s report is due 12 October 2026. The committee’s recommendations will be considered by Parliament as part of its examination of these issues. What those recommendations contain will be shaped by the evidence the committee receives.
The committee cannot compel anyone to provide evidence of what it is actually like to run a Post Office right now. It cannot create evidence about what has changed, how businesses have been affected, or what operating a Post Office is like today.
That evidence only exists if licensees provide it.
Your submission does not need to cover everything. It does not need to address every term of reference. It does not need to be long, formally written, or prepared by a lawyer.
What it needs to do is describe your experience, your observations, and the impact on your business, with whatever detail you can provide.
Your submission is the only evidence the committee can receive about your business, your community and your experience. No-one else can provide it.
The committee is interested in evidence based on firsthand experience, not polished writing.
Every submission adds to the evidence before the committee. Together, independent submissions help Parliament understand how decisions made at a national level are affecting individual Post Offices and the communities they serve.
No two Post Offices are exactly the same. Your experience may highlight evidence that no other submission contains.
We have put together answers to the questions licensees most commonly ask about the inquiry. If something is on your mind, it is probably covered below.
Already ready to start writing? Go straight to the Submission Planner.
A Senate inquiry is Parliament’s way of gathering evidence about an issue before deciding what recommendations to make. The committee asks people and organisations to provide written submissions, may hold public hearings, and then prepares a report for Parliament.
This inquiry is examining the management of Australia Post’s retail network.
A submission is a written document you send to the committee setting out your views, observations, and experience relevant to the inquiry. It becomes part of the evidence considered by the committee when preparing its report.
Submissions can be as short as a few paragraphs or as long as several pages. There is no required format. The committee is interested in firsthand evidence, not formal documents.
Submissions close 7 August 2026. The committee’s report is due 12 October 2026.
The committee prefers submissions through its online portal, which sends an email confirmation from the secretariat when your submission is received. If you are planning to submit, allow a few days before the deadline in case of technical issues.
If you have operated a Licensed Post Office and have firsthand experience relevant to one or more of the inquiry’s terms of reference, a submission from you may assist the committee.
You do not need to be a policy expert. You do not need to have experienced every issue the inquiry covers. If you have observations about how changes to the network have affected your business or your community, that is evidence the committee cannot get from anyone else.
Write about your own experience operating a Licensed Post Office and how it relates to what the committee is examining. You do not need to cover every topic the inquiry addresses.
Start with what you know. You do not need to research the issues or prove what has happened across the network.
The Submission Planner below walks you through a series of questions to help you identify what is most relevant to your situation. Your submission should focus on your own observations and their impact on your business.
The Terms of Reference section of this page explains each of the committee’s six questions in plain English. It also describes the kinds of evidence that may be relevant to each one.
That is enough. A submission that addresses one issue clearly, with specific observations and evidence, is more useful to the committee than a submission that attempts to cover everything briefly.
The committee is building a picture from many submissions. Your specific experience of a specific issue may help the committee understand something that would otherwise be missing.
No. The committee has stated that you do not need to address each term of reference. Address the ones that are relevant to your experience.
The Terms of Reference section of this page explains what each term covers and describes the kinds of evidence that may be relevant to each one
There is no minimum or maximum length. The committee’s guidance suggests submissions are generally no longer than four to five pages, but shorter submissions are read and considered.
A submission that clearly describes your experience and its impact on your business will be useful regardless of its length.
The committee is interested in evidence based on firsthand experience, not polished writing. A submission written in plain, straightforward language is entirely appropriate.
If writing is difficult, you can use voice-to-text on your phone or computer to speak your submission and convert it to text. The Submission Planner on this page is also designed to help you think through what you want to say before you start writing.
AI can help you organise your thoughts, identify what is relevant, and plan what you want to say. Your submission should be written in your own words and reflect your own experience.
You remain responsible for the accuracy of everything in your submission.
Include whatever you have that is relevant and accurate. This might include records of changes to your commission payments, correspondence about services or operating arrangements, data showing changes in transaction volumes, or a factual account of how specific changes have affected your business.
You do not need formal documentation. A clear, specific account of your observations is itself evidence. If you do have documents that support your observations, refer to them in your submission and attach them where appropriate.
For further guidance on what makes a strong submission, see the Parliament website’s guide to submitting.
The committee does not distribute submissions to Australia Post or any other third parties. If your submission is published, it becomes a publicly available document that anyone can read. If you have concerns about what your submission contains, the question below explains how to request a confidential submission.
Yes. The committee allows confidential submissions and your submission will only be read by committee members and secretariat staff.
To request confidentiality, write the word ‘confidential’ clearly on the front of your submission and provide a brief reason for your request. Keep your name and contact details on a separate page rather than in the main body of the submission. You can also attach sensitive documents separately and request that the attachment be kept confidential while the main submission is published.
The committee has the authority to publish any submission, but the secretariat will contact you before doing so if you have requested confidentiality. If you are considering a confidential submission, the committee secretariat recommends contacting them first. Their details are at the bottom of this page.
The committee will decide whether to accept your submission. This can take several weeks. You will be notified of the outcome.
If accepted, your submission will be read by committee members and may be referred to in the committee’s final report, due 12 October 2026. Most accepted submissions are published on the committee’s website with your name, unless you have requested confidentiality. You cannot withdraw or alter a submission after it has been published, but you can send a supplementary submission if you have something to add.
The committee’s report will reflect the evidence it receives. A submission from a licensee who has operated through the changes this inquiry is examining provides evidence the committee cannot obtain any other way.
Every submission provides a different perspective. When many independent licensees describe similar experiences, the committee is able to identify patterns across the network that no single submission can demonstrate on its own.
Your observations about your business and your community are the evidence this inquiry exists to hear.
What are terms of reference?
When Parliament establishes an inquiry, it sets out a list of specific questions it wants the committee to examine. These are called the terms of reference. They define the scope of the inquiry and tell anyone making a submission what the committee is actually asking about.
This inquiry has six terms of reference. You do not need to address all of them. Most submissions focus on the one or two that are most relevant to the author’s own experience.
Don’t worry if only one or two of these terms apply to you. Most submissions focus on the issues most relevant to the author’s own experience. Read the ones that sound relevant and skip the rest.
Australia Post’s engagement with licensees, representative bodies, shareholder ministers and other stakeholders about its plans for the retail network.
What this means in plain English: The committee is asking whether Australia Post kept the people affected by its decisions properly informed. It wants to understand how changes to the retail network were communicated, whether licensees had an opportunity to provide input before decisions were made, and whether that feedback was genuinely considered.
Evidence that may assist the committee: Evidence that may assist the committee includes your direct experience of how Australia Post communicated with you about changes affecting your business. This could include how you first became aware of changes, how much notice you received, whether you had an opportunity to provide feedback before decisions were made, and how Australia Post responded to any questions or concerns you raised.
The governance, transparency and decision-making processes underpinning Australia Post’s plans for the retail network.
What this means in plain English: The committee wants to understand how Australia Post makes decisions about the retail network and whether those decisions are transparent. It is asking whether licensees were given enough information to understand why decisions were made and whether they had an opportunity to question or understand them. This term is less about what changed and more about how and why decisions were made, and whether licensees had enough information to understand them.
Evidence that may assist the committee: Evidence that may assist the committee includes information about how decisions affecting your business were explained to you. This may include your own observations, correspondence, meeting notes or other records that help illustrate whether the reasons for decisions were communicated clearly. This could include whether the reasons for decisions were clearly explained, whether you were able to understand why changes were being made, and whether you had any opportunity to ask questions or seek clarification.
The crucial role that licensed post offices play in delivering services to support local communities, particularly in regional, rural and remote Australia.
What this means in plain English: The committee wants to understand the role Licensed Post Offices play in supporting their communities, particularly where people rely on them to access essential services. It is asking licensees to describe what their Post Office provides, who uses it, and why it matters to the community it serves. This term is an opportunity to describe your community as you know it, not as it appears in a policy document.
Evidence that may assist the committee: Evidence that may assist the committee includes information about the services your Post Office provides, the people who rely on those services, and your observations about the role your outlet plays in the local community. This may include your own observations, business records, or correspondence that helps explain how your Post Office supports the community it serves.
Letters or statements from valued community members who rely on your Post Office can also assist the committee. If customers, local businesses, or community organisations would be willing to write a short letter describing what your Post Office means to them and what they would lose if it were no longer there, you can attach those letters to your submission as supporting documents.
Alternative business models to support the sustainability of Australia Post’s retail network.
What this means in plain English: The committee is asking what would make Licensed Post Offices commercially sustainable over the long term. That may include the mix of services offered through Post Offices, how licensees are remunerated, how licences are structured, and whether additional face-to-face services such as banking, Medicare, government services or identity verification could strengthen both community access and business viability. As a licensee, this term is asking: what would make your Post Office more sustainable over the long term, what barriers are preventing that, and what changes would make the biggest difference?
Evidence that may assist the committee: Evidence that may assist the committee includes your observations about the commercial sustainability of your outlet. This may include changes to transaction volumes or revenue over time, the impact of services being added or removed, your experience of the current licence arrangements, barriers to investing in your business, and your views on what changes would best support the long-term sustainability of your Post Office and the community it serves.
The adequacy of Australia Post’s evidence to the Senate Estimates hearing on 27 May 2026.
What this means in plain English: On 27 May 2026, Australia Post’s CEO appeared before a Senate committee and gave evidence about the Post Office network. The committee is now examining whether that evidence reflected the experience of licensees operating the network. It is asking whether that evidence gave Parliament an accurate and complete picture of the network’s situation. This term may be relevant if your experience of operating a Post Office differed from the picture of the network presented to Parliament at that hearing.
Evidence that may assist the committee: Evidence that may assist the committee includes factual information about the operation of your Post Office that helps the committee compare the evidence presented at the hearing with the experience of licensees operating the network. This may include records of service changes, correspondence with Australia Post, data showing changes to your transaction volumes or revenue, and any other factual information that describes the operation of your Post Office during the relevant period.
Any other related matters concerning the management of, and plans for, Australia Post’s retail network.
What this means in plain English: This term gives the committee flexibility to consider evidence that is relevant to the inquiry but does not fit neatly under the previous five terms. It is an explicit invitation to raise issues that matter to your business and community, even if they do not map directly to terms (a) through (e). If there is something significant about your experience as a licensee that you have not been able to address under the other terms, this is where it belongs.
Evidence that may assist the committee: Evidence that may assist the committee includes any observations, information or experience relevant to the management of Australia Post’s retail network that you consider important and have not addressed elsewhere in your submission. There is no prescribed scope for this term. If it is relevant to the management of Australia Post’s retail network and you consider it important, this term allows you to include it in your submission.
You do not need to address every term of reference. Most submissions focus on the issues most relevant to the author’s experience.
If you are not sure where to start, the Submission Planner below will guide you through a series of questions to help you identify the evidence most relevant to your situation.
If you are ready to submit and do not need further assistance you can head over to the Parliament website here;
There is no required format for a submission. The structure below maps to the planning notes you received from the Submission Planner. Use it as a guide and adapt it to suit your own situation.
Start with a short introduction. Tell the committee who you are, the name and location of your Post Office, how long you have been a licensee, and a sentence or two about the community you serve. This gives the committee context for everything that follows.
Your submission will have one section for each experience you worked through in the planner. Open your planning notes. For each section, read through your answers and write two to four paragraphs in your own words explaining what happened, what you observed, and what effect it had on your business or community.
You do not need to answer every question you were asked in the planner. Use what is relevant. Add anything you remembered afterwards. Write it the way you would explain it to someone who knows nothing about your Post Office.
Each section should describe your experience, not argue a position. The committee draws its own conclusions from what you tell them.
Your notes will remind you what documents you identified. Before you lodge, gather them. Attach only what directly supports what you have written. Quality matters more than volume.
Consider asking your community
If there are customers, local businesses, or community members who rely on your Post Office, consider asking whether they would be comfortable writing a short letter describing what your Post Office means to them and what it would mean if it were no longer there. The letter does not need to be long or formal. Set it aside with your other evidence ready to attach when you lodge.
Use your answer to the final question that is noted in blue in your planning notes as the starting point for a short closing paragraph. This is your opportunity to summarise your submission and leave the committee with your final thoughts.
Before you save and lodge
Write your submission in plain language in your own words. Save it as a PDF when you are done. The portal also accepts DOC, DOCX and TXT, but PDF is recommended as it preserves your formatting.
Your submission should generally be no longer than four to five pages, but shorter or longer submissions are equally welcome. The committee is interested in your firsthand experience, not polished writing.
Work through this checklist before you lodge your submission.
Your submission
Your evidence
Confidentiality
Contact details
Ready to submit
Remember: Your submission does not need to be perfect. The committee is interested in your firsthand experience, honestly and accurately described.
When you have your submission ready, lodge it through the committee’s online portal.
Submissions are lodged through the Parliament of Australia website. The process takes around ten minutes once your document is ready.
Use the Lodge My Submission button below.
Find the blue Upload Submission button on the right side of the page.
Use your email address and a password of your choice. You will need this account if you want to return to your submission later.
On the Make a Submission page, scroll down and confirm Australia Post retail network is selected. Click Next.
Under "Is this account for a personal submission or for providing a submission on behalf of an organisation?" select Personal.
Fill in your contact details and click Next.
A note on privacy
Published submissions become part of the public record. They can be cited by the committee in its report, referenced in parliamentary debate, and read by senators and their staff.
If you are comfortable with your submission being published, this gives your evidence the widest reach.
If you have concerns about specific content, you can request that your submission be kept confidential. You can also publish your main submission and request confidentiality for attachments only. See the FAQ above for how to do this.
The choice is yours. LPOG does not recommend one option over the other because individual circumstances vary.
Upload your submission document and any supporting evidence. Accepted file types are PDF, DOC, DOCX, and TXT. Click Submit.
After you submit
You will receive an email confirmation from the secretariat once your submission has been received. The committee will review your submission and notify you of the outcome. If you have questions at any point, contact the committee secretariat directly.
Phone: +61 2 6277 3526
Email: ec.sen@aph.gov.au
