The postal service in Australia is called Australia Post and this service covers the whole country. Post offices offer a range of services including bill paying services and stationery supplies. Customers can purchase car insurance, apply for a passport and use the banking services which are offered by the post office. British expats should note that it is possible to apply for a British passport through the Australian post office.

When you are addressing letters in Australia you need to be aware that the service makes use of letter sorting technologies in order to sort the letters property and the address format should be kept standard to ensure that mistakes do not occur. Most addresses are written on three lines. The first is for the name of the recipient. The second line is for the house number and street name or the PO Box number. The final line should have the name of the town, the post office where the items is to be delivered, the state and postcode. It is recommended that this line is printed in capital letters and there should be no punctuation or any underlining as this can cause a problem with the sorting.

The postcode should be the last thing that appears in the address and it is important to use the correct post code. There is a search facility for postcodes on the post office website. Whether you are handwriting or typing you should use dark inks rather than colours such as red. It is recommended that a return address is included on the envelope.

Some customers choose to use a post office box or a private bag in order to collect their post from the nearest office. This service is particularly useful in rural areas and remote areas as some places do not have a proper delivery system. Mail is guaranteed to be kept secure and can only be collected by you. Most post offices give 24 hour access to their post office boxes so you can collect at a time that is convenient to you. You can opt for a box if you are expecting a lot of post or a bag if you think you may only get a few items through the post. The post office can send you an email or a text message when you have mail so you do not have any wasted trips to check your box. Boxes are available in a range of sizes.

In some busy urban areas the post offices are open from 9 am to 9 pm 7 days a week. In smaller towns and suburbs most will close at 5 pm. In some rural areas the post offices may only be open on a part time basis but the search facility on the post office website will give you the opening hours for the post office outlets in your area.

If you are away from home on holiday you can arrange to have your post redirected or held at the post office. There may be fees payable for this service but this will depend upon the service type that you have chosen and the length of time that you use the service for.

In addition to traditional postal and banking services the Australian postal service can perform identity checks. You may be asked for an ID check by an organisation such as a new employer or bank. You will be given a form with the details of the check to be carried out and you simply complete this, take it to the post office with original documentation such as birth and marriage certificates and they take care of the rest. A fee may be payable for this service but this will depend upon the type of check that is to be carried out.

Post office staff can also witness official documents for you. There are two types of witnessing that can be carried out. Staff can witness your signature on a document or certify that a photocopy of an official document is an accurate copy of an original. These services do not require an appointment and can be done over the counter but you would need to be sure that the organisation that requires the witnessing will accept the post office service as some do not.