Australia Post eParcel is an ideal solution for businesses shipping over 2,000 domestic and international parcels a year. ShipEngine's integration with Australia Post includes outbound and return label creation and supports shipments containing alcohol. Australia Post is available for shipments originating from Australia.
Connection Requirements:
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A Business Credit Account and a Parcel Contract. If you are not yet an account or contract customer, fill in the form on Australia Post's Get Started with eParcel page or call their National Customer Contact Centre.
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An Australia Post developer account. Once Australia Post has approved your account, visit their registration page to register and create a developer account.
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Your Australia Post eParcel Account Number, API Key, and API Secret.
Manifest Requirements:
Australia Post requires a manifest for each day's shipments.
To manifest your Australia Post shipments, use ShipEngine's Create a Manifest endpoint. For more information about Manifests and Order Summary Reports, see the Australia Post User Guide PDF.
Failure to manifest will result in additional fees!
Australia Post will add a surcharge to your monthly invoice for non-manifested shipments.
To connect your Australia Post account to ShipEngine, you must first register for Australia Post's Shipping and Tracking API.
Important
These steps require an Australia Post developer account. If you have already registered or have a MyPost account, please log in with those details.
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Log in to your developer account and go to the Australia Post Register for a Shipping & Tracking API Key page. Click the Register for a Key button.
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Fill in the form with the appropriate information, then click the Next button.
You can separate multiple account numbers with commas to add more than one account at a time.
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Select Yes to see the drop-down of Platform Partners. Find ShipEngine in the drop-down menu. Check the box to confirm consent and click Next.
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Select your state/territory from the drop-down menu.
You may add more account numbers in the Comment box if they did not all fit on the first step.
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Click Send to finish the form.
You will receive an email at the address specified on the first page of the form. Follow the instructions in the email to complete the setup.
If you have any issues with the form or setup email, contact Australia Post's Customer Connectivity team at customer_connectivity@auspost.com.au.
Important
Make sure you have completed the emailed instructions to register for Australia Post API access before connecting your account to ShipEngine.
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Log in to ShipEngine in a new tab or browser window.
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Select the Australia Post tile.
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Review Australia Post's manifesting requirements in the pop-up window, then click the Continue setup button.
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Enter your Australia Post Account Number, API Key and API Secret into the corresponding fields.
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Click the Connect button.
ShipEngine's integration with Australia Post eParcel supports the following standard features:
ShipEngine's integration with Australia Post eParcel allows for the following additional features:
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
|
Export Declaration Number (EDN) |
ShipEngine supports EDN tax identifier numbers on shipments. This is required for shipments over AUD$2000. |
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Return Services |
Australia Post eParcel requires you to use one of the returns services to create a return label:
|
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Wine Delivery Services |
Australia Post eParcel allows you to ship wine using the following services:
See Australia Post’s Guide to Wine Deliveries or the PDF Wine Delivery guide for information on how to use this service. |
|
Rates include GST and surchages |
Australia Post eParcel rates include Goods and Services Tax (GST), fuel surcharges, and security surcharges. |
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Include Australia Post branding on labels |
In the carrier settings for Australia Post eParcel in ShipEngine, choose whether the Australia Post logo and branding appear on the label. This is useful when you are using stationery not already branded for Australia Post. This is not related to ShipEngine's Label Branding feature, where your store logo is printed on the label. Store logos are not currently supported on Australia Post eParcel shipping labels. |
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Manifesting Required |
Australia Post requires you to manifest your shipments (both outgoing and return shipments). To avoid fees, close and manifest your shipments by the 4th Sunday of every month. For more information about Manifests and Order Summary Reports, visit the Australia Post User Guide PDF page. Learn more about manifests in the ShipEngine Developer Docs. |
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Label Messages |
Label Messages 1 and 2 will print to sender reference fields on an Australia Post eParcel label. Label Message 3 will print to the Delivery Instruction field. |
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Multi-Package available for Domestic Shipments |
Multi-Package shipping is available for all Outbound Domestic Shipments. It is not available for international services or eParcel returns. |
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Identify unmanifested eParcel shipments with Email Notifications |
Ask your Australia Post Account Manager or eParcel Consultant to set your account up so you receive notification emails for errors and for successful manifest transfers. This will help you to identify any problems as they occur. Contact eParcel consultants here: eparcelsupport@auspost.com.au |
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Set confirmation type with Automation Rule |
You can use Automation Rules to set the delivery confirmation for Australia Post shipments to Authority to Leave and No Authority to Leave. |
The customs form generated and printed through ShipEngine will depend on which international service you have selected along with a combination of dimensions, weight, and value.
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CN22 form = A6 size
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CN23 form = A5 size
Review the table below to see which services result in which customs forms. For Standard and Express services, review the additional details below the table to see which conditions the CN22 form requires, as this can affect which printing layout you will need.
If the requirements are not met for International Express and Standard (without Signature), the labels will print as CN23 forms.
|
International Service |
Customs Form Generated |
|---|---|
|
International Economy |
CN22 |
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International Standard (w/o Signature) * |
CN22, CN23 |
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International Economy with Signature |
CN22 |
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International Express - Merchandise * |
CN22, CN23 |
The following criteria must be met for Standard and Express shipments to generate a CN22 form:
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Parcel dimensions are ≤90cm (L + W + D combined)
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The greatest dimension is ≤60cm
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Total consignment value is ≤$500 AUD
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Parcel weight is ≤2kg
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Destination country eligibility must be met, as outlined here.
International Standard shipments must also meet the following criteria to generate CN22 forms:.
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No Signature on Delivery
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Destination country eligibility must be met, as outlined here..
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The recipient's Ship To address has a 40-character limit for each address line. If you exceed this limit, the label won't show any characters beyond 40.
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By default, Australia Post eParcel shipments do not have a confirmation type selected.
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Australia Post eParcel does not support test labels.
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ShipEngine does not natively print the four label sheets. You can use our workaround using PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.
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For international shipments with Australia Post eParcel, you must select Service Confirmation as the confirmation type.
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ShipEngine does not return estimated delivery dates for Australia Post. Refer to Australia Post's delivery guidelines for estimated delivery times.
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to Troubleshoot or Resolve |
|---|---|
|
Price difference between the rate and the carrier fee |
What it means: If you see a price difference between the rate and the carrier fee, it could be a fuel surcharge. |
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Error: Your combination of suburb, state & postcode doesn't match. Please review and try again. |
What it means: This error means the customer's address is not valid per Australia Post. What to do: Compare the address with Australia Post's Find a postcode results and correct the address as needed. |
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Errors when creating an Australia Post manifest |
What it means: Sometimes, these errors indicate a slow response from Australia Post that ShipEngine was not able to process successfully, but the manifests are generated as expected on Australia Post's side. What to do: If you have an eParcel account, log in and check your manifest history to see if the Australia Post manifest is available. If you're not able to access the manifest there, contact ShipEngine Support with the full text of the error and the date of the shipments you are trying to close. If you are trying to close a specific selection of shipments (instead of the full day), include the full list of the shipments. |
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Error: The shipment {shipment_id} cannot be modified or included in a new order, as the shipment is contained in an order currently being finalized. Australia internal system error has occurred when processing your request. Please attempt the request again at a later time, or email us at customer_connectivity@auspost.com.au if the problem persists. |
What it means: This message indicates that the shipment has already been manifested or is in the process of being manifested. |
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Error: The action cannot be performed using the account number {ACCOUNT NUMBER} because the account has exceeded the credit limit and has been blocked. Please contact your Account Manager or email us at customer_connectivity@auspost.com.au. |
What to do: You will need to contact Australia Post and have the block lifted against your account using the steps outlined in the error. This block generally takes 1-hour post-conversation to be lifted. |
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Error: Phone entered is invalid 'shipments[0].from.phone' |
What it means: The Ship From Location and the eParcel account phone number do not match. What to do: Adjust your Ship From location phone number to match the eParcel account phone number. |
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Error: The transit cover amount cannot be greater than the total item contents value. |
What it means: The Carrier Insurance amount is higher than the customs amount. What to do: Change the insurance total to be equal to or less than the total customs declaration amount. |
