Australian
Screen

In 1988-1989 the Australian Postal Commission was converted to the Australian Postal Corporation – referred to as Australia Post. Under the Australian Postal Corporation Act 1989 (the APC Act), Australia Post was required to operate on a corporate model and perform all of its functions in a commercial manner. No longer to receive government funding, it had to meet all of its own costs and pay all government taxes. In addition, it was required to pay a dividend to its sole shareholder, the Australian Government.

While Section 29 of the APC Act gives Australia Post a monopoly on the delivery of letters of 250 grams or less in weight, all other services provided by Australia Post are exposed to competition. During the 1980s, with the speed of business transactions and communication on the increase, private delivery service providers began to make sizeable inroads into a market previously dominated by Australia Post. In these television commercials promoting Australia Post’s courier service using the caption: ‘Our name says it all’, the organisation’s reputation for reliability and dependability is exploited.