Skip to content
File a complaint
File a complaint

Australia Post tracking status

Australia Post “Awaiting collection”: what it means

The short answer

Take action

Your parcel is at a Post Office or Parcel Locker, waiting for you to collect it. A Post Office holds it for 10 business days. A locker holds it for 2 business days, then it moves to a nearby Post Office.

When to act: If the Post Office cannot find your parcel, or it goes back before the 10 business days are up, file a complaint and we send it to Australia Post.

Bizzy online

Tell me what happened. I write your complaint with you and we send it to Australia Post.

Also shown as: “Awaiting collection at [facility name]” · “Ready for collection at [location]” · “Ready to collect” · “Your parcel is ready to collect from [location]” · “Your parcel is at [Post Office]. Collect by [date] with valid ID.” · “Your parcel is ready at [Parcel Locker]”

What to do now

  1. Read the location in the tracking or the notice. It may not be the Post Office closest to you, so check its opening hours.

  2. Work out your last day: the 'Collect by' date in the message, or 10 business days from the notice if it gives no date.

  3. Take one valid photo ID, or two valid IDs without a photo, at least one showing your address. The details must match the parcel, and photos of ID are not accepted.

  4. For a Parcel Locker, use the code in your message or the AusPost app, within 2 business days or by the date in the message.

  5. If someone else will collect it, share a collection authorisation from the app or MyPost. Items marked signature required must be collected by you.

  6. Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to Australia Post, so you do not have to chase it yourself.

    Start my complaint

Waiting at a post office, shop or locker with another courier

What does “Awaiting collection” mean?

The parcel is not out for delivery. It is at the location named in the tracking, such as a Post Office, a licensed post office (LPO) or a Parcel Locker. It can land here after an attempted delivery, because you redirected it, or because it was addressed to a collection point. Australia Post says you cannot switch off this notice.

The time limits matter. At a Post Office you have 10 business days before it is returned to the sender, and Australia Post says the hold can sometimes be extended, but this is not guaranteed. At a Parcel Locker you have 2 business days (one Australia Post page says 48 hours), then it moves to a nearby Post Office.

Why does Australia Post show it?

  • The driver could not deliver it or leave it safely
  • The sender required a signature and nobody was there to sign
  • You redirected it to a Post Office or Parcel Locker
  • It was addressed to a Parcel Collect address or a Parcel Locker
  • The driver could not follow your safe place instructions

How long does it last?

Once you collect it, the status changes to 'Delivered'. If you do not collect it within 10 business days, the next line is 'Returning to sender'.

Other Australia Post statuses

All Australia Post statuses →

Who is responsible for a late or missing parcel from Australia Post?

If you bought online from a business, it is in most cases for the seller to put right. The Australian Consumer Law (section 36) says a business that took your payment must supply the goods within the time it stated, or a reasonable time if it stated none, unless the failure was due to someone else or a cause beyond its control and it took reasonable precautions and due diligence to avoid it. A seller may argue that a failure by Australia Post falls under that exception. Section 36 does not itself set out a refund, and the Australian Consumer Law does not say in so many words who carries the risk of a parcel lost in the post. Government guidance in Victoria and Western Australia says the seller is responsible for resolving delivery problems with Australia Post, and that you are entitled to a refund if the seller still does not deliver. State sale of goods law and the seller's terms can also matter and are not covered here. Australia Post generally pays the sender for a lost domestic parcel, but its terms leave the claim with the addressee, up to $100, on parcels a business lodges under Business Standard or Business Express Delivery.

If you posted the parcel yourself, you have a contract with Australia Post, and its General Terms and Conditions apply. Most parcel services include compensation of up to $100 plus a refund of the postage when a parcel is lost or damaged and Australia Post is at fault, and Extra Cover bought when posting can raise that. It pays nothing for delays, except a refund of the postage when Express Post misses its next business day guarantee. Its terms say any rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law apply in addition to them.

Questions about “Awaiting collection”

What does awaiting collection mean on Australia Post?

Your parcel is at the Post Office or Parcel Locker named in the tracking, and it will not come to your door. Collect it with valid ID, or with the locker code, before the time limit runs out.

How long will Australia Post hold my parcel?

A Post Office holds it for 10 business days before returning it to the sender. A Parcel Locker holds it for 2 business days, then it moves to a nearby Post Office. Australia Post does not say the 10 business days start again there, so go by the date in your notice.

Why did my AusPost parcel go to a Post Office without a delivery attempt?

Australia Post says a parcel should go to a Post Office only when the delivery instructions cannot be followed, it is not safe to leave it, or the sender requires a signature. If none applies, keep a screenshot, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to Australia Post.

Why is my parcel at a Post Office that is not my nearest?

Australia Post takes it to a nearby Post Office of its choosing, which may not be the closest to you. You can have the parcel moved to another Post Office for a fee, paid when you collect it.

Can someone else collect my AusPost parcel?

Usually, yes, with a collection authorisation and their own ID, or with proof that they live at the delivery address and their own ID. Items the sender marks as signature required must be collected in person by the addressee.

Based on

  • Australia Post: Missed parcel deliveries (Post Office and Parcel Locker limits, authorisation, ID)
  • Australia Post help: Requested delivery but parcel at Post Office (hold period, transfers, ID)
  • Australia Post: Improving your customers' tracking experience ('Awaiting collection at [facility name]')
  • Australia Post: Trusted tracking and notifications guide ('Ready to collect' messages, no opt out)
  • Australia Post: Tracking and notifications for business (48 hours at a Parcel Locker)
  • Australia Post General Terms and Conditions, clause 4.3 (10 business days to collect)
  • Australia Post help: Return to sender
  • Australia Post MyPost Deliveries Terms of Use, clause 3.13 (from a Parcel Locker to a collection location, date in the notification)
  • Australian Consumer Law (Competition and Consumer Act, Schedule 2), section 36: supply within the stated period or a reasonable time
  • Government of Victoria: Products missing or damaged in transit (the seller resolves delivery problems, refund if the goods are not supplied)
  • Government of Western Australia: Missing or damaged products (the seller resolves delivery problems, refund if the goods are not delivered)
  • Australia Post General Terms and Conditions, clauses 3.1 to 3.8 (delays, lost items, included compensation, claims by addressees on business parcels)
  • Australia Post: Compensation (generally who is paid, amounts, Express Post refund)

Parcel still not here?
File a complaint about Australia Post.

Start my complaint