Skip to content
File a complaint
File a complaint

Australia Post tracking status

Australia Post tracking not updating: why, and what to do

The short answer

Keep an eye on it

A gap in scans alone does not mean your parcel is lost, as Australia Post only updates tracking at key checkpoints. Some scans appear late or never. It looks further 10 business days after the expected delivery date.

When to act: If the parcel has not arrived 10 business days after its expected delivery date, or 15 business days for a parcel coming from overseas, 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: “No recent update”

What to do now

  1. Find the expected delivery date. If none is shown, enter your postcode on the tracking page to get an estimate.

  2. Count business days from that date, not from the last scan.

  3. Look for a card, email, SMS or app notice about a missed delivery or collection.

  4. Check the mailbox and under or behind things near the door, and ask anyone at your home or workplace who may have taken it in.

  5. Check the address on your order, and keep a screenshot of the tracking with the date of the last scan.

  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

No update for days with another courier

What is going on

Australia Post says updates appear at key checkpoints, so a parcel can keep moving without a new line. Some events are delayed for technical reasons, and the tool shows only the most recent and relevant ones. If an 'in transit' event comes late and the parcel is delivered first, you see only the delivery. Its terms also say it cannot guarantee that tracking is always accurate or up to date.

There is no fixed number of days after which Australia Post counts a parcel as lost. Its terms say it may treat an item as lost if it cannot be found after a reasonable period for delivery has passed and after reasonable inquiries. Some services for items sent from Australia, such as International Post Registered and International Economy, show no tracking events at all.

Why it happens

  • The parcel is between checkpoints
  • A scan was delayed for technical reasons
  • A scan is hidden because tracking shows only the most recent and relevant events
  • Congestion in the network at busy times of year
  • An item from overseas is waiting for customs clearance or is with another carrier
  • The service has no tracking events, such as International Economy
  • Less often, the parcel has been lost

What usually happens next

Most late parcels arrive within 5 business days of the expected delivery date. Australia Post looks further at a domestic parcel after 10 business days. For a parcel from overseas, its help page gives both 10 and 15 business days to wait.

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 “Tracking not updating”

Why is my AusPost tracking not updating?

Australia Post says scans appear at key checkpoints, some are delayed for technical reasons, and the tool hides events that are out of date or out of sequence. It says a parcel is still moving even if no scans have appeared recently. That is a general statement, not a check of your parcel.

How long before Australia Post treats a parcel as lost?

Australia Post has no fixed number of days for this. Its terms say it may treat an item as lost when it cannot be found after a reasonable period for delivery and reasonable inquiries. It looks further at a domestic parcel 10 business days after the expected delivery date.

Who gets compensation for a lost Australia Post parcel?

For a lost domestic item, and for items sent overseas, Australia Post generally pays the sender, unless the sender gives up that right to the other party. Its terms leave the claim with the addressee, up to $100, for parcels a business lodges under Business Standard or Business Express Delivery. If you bought from a business, it is in most cases for the seller to put right.

Why is my AusPost tracking number not working?

Compare it with your order confirmation or receipt first. A number with no activity for over 3 months is archived and may show 'Pending', and some services for items sent from Australia show no tracking events at all, such as International Post Registered and International Economy.

Why does my international parcel show nothing on AusPost tracking?

Australia Post says tracking of an incoming item depends on the service used in the country it was sent from. An item handed to another carrier may also have no expected delivery date.

Based on

  • Australia Post help: No recent update
  • Australia Post help: Taking longer than expected
  • Australia Post: Lost or late items (what to check, waiting periods)
  • Australia Post General Terms and Conditions (lost items, tracking accuracy, claims by addressees on business parcels)
  • Australia Post: Compensation (who is paid)
  • Australia Post help: International tracking (services with no events, other carriers)
  • Australia Post help: Expected delivery date
  • Australia Post help: What your status means (3 month archive)
  • Australia Post: Tracking service (network congestion, time of year)
  • Australia Post help: International delays and disruptions (10 and 15 business days, both for parcels from overseas)
  • 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