The ACCC has not objected to Australia Post’s proposed stamp price increase of 8.8 per cent after finding Australia Post would likely not cover the costs of delivering its reserved letter services, even with the higher stamp price.
Unless the Minister for Communications disapproves the proposed increase, Australia Post will increase stamp prices from 1 September 2026 as follows:
Letter type | Current price | Proposed price | Increase |
Small letter (basic postage rate) | $1.70 | $1.85 | 8.8% |
Large letter up to 125g | $3.40 | $3.70 | 8.8% |
Large letter between 125 and 250g | $5.10 | $5.55 | 8.8% |
Australia Post will not increase the price of concession stamps (60 cents each) or seasonal greeting card stamps (65 cents each).
Earlier this year, Australia Post also increased the annual allocation of concession stamps for eligible consumers from 50 to 75, following an ACCC recommendation.
The ACCC’s regulatory role is to assess notifications of proposed price increases for Australia Post’s reserved ordinary letter services, delivered to the regular timetable.
The ACCC uses this process to consider whether Australia Post would collect more revenue than the efficient costs of providing these services.
“After assessing the proposal, we don’t object to Australia Post’s proposed price increases,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.
“Our findings suggest Australia Post will still fall slightly short of recovering the efficient costs of providing these services, even with the proposed price increase.”
Letter usage in Australia has been declining for nearly two decades, and Australia Post expects volumes to keep falling by about 10 per cent annually over the next few years.
Although reduced letter volumes continue to place the reserved letter service under financial pressure, Australia Post’s losses are decreasing, partly due to stamp price increases in 2023, 2024 and 2025. The ACCC estimates that reserved service losses for 2026-27 will be less than Australia Post predicts.
“Australia Post is getting closer to covering its costs for reserved letter services due to recent price increases and changes to Australia Post’s delivery model,” Ms Brakey said.
“In response to recent ACCC recommendations aimed at increasing cost transparency, Australia Post has also made improvements to how it allocates costs between reserved letter services and the competitive parts of its business.”
Australia Post estimates that the price increase will add about 75 cents to annual postage costs for the average household. While Australia Post’s research suggests the average household purchases around 5 letters per year, the ACCC notes that many consumers use the letter service more than this and will be more impacted.
The ACCC also recognises the burden that stamp price increases can place on businesses that are reliant on letter services or legally required to correspond by post.
“Businesses will bear most of the additional costs from this increase, and will likely pass these postage costs on to consumers,” Ms Brakey said.
After the ACCC considered public feedback on its preliminary view, Australia Post submitted a formal price notification on 10 July 2026. The ACCC’s final decision not to object is consistent with its preliminary view.
The ACCC closely considered submissions received during consultation and acknowledges the public opposition to the proposed increase. The ACCC’s decision has been reached primarily through a cost-based approach to assessment consistent with its regulatory role.
The ACCC does not approve any proposed price increase under the Australia Post price notification framework. Only the Minister for Communications has the power to reject a price increase proposed by Australia Post.
The ACCC’s final decision is available on its website.
Note for editors
Australia Post’s proposal is not an additional increase to letter costs, but the same price notification process as outlined in the ACCC’s previous media releases from February 2026 and May 2026.
Background
Under the Competition and Consumer Act, the ACCC is responsible for assessing proposed price increases by Australia Post for its reserved ordinary letter services delivered to the regular timetable.
Australia Post’s reserved ordinary letter services are services for which Australia Post has a statutory monopoly and are declared as ‘notified services’ under the Competition and Consumer Act. The current declaration for Australia Post’s notified services is due to expire on 31 December 2028.
The ACCC must consider Australia Post’s proposed price increases for these services and may decide to:
- not object to the price increase
- not object to a price that is less than that proposed, or
- object to the price increase.
Australia Post is also required to provide written notice of the proposed price increase to the Minister for Communications. It can only increase the basic postage rate if the Minister does not disapprove the proposal within 30 days.
The last price notification from Australia Post considered by the ACCC was in 2024, and prior to that in 2023 and 2022.
While the ACCC did not object to Australia Post’s last price notification, it made a series of recommendations in its June 2025 decision regarding cost allocation, forecast data and customer engagement. A summary of Australia Post’s implementation of these recommendations is available at Appendix 2 of the draft price notification.
