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NZ Post tracking status

NZ Post “Ready to collect”: what it means

The short answer

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Your parcel is waiting at a collection location, and NZ Post returns it to the sender if it is not picked up in time. Under Collect my parcel that is 10 days from the notification. Take valid photo ID matching the name on the parcel.

When to act: If the collection location still cannot find your parcel after 2 working days, file a complaint and we send it to NZ Post.

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

Also shown as: “Item ready to collect”

What to do now

  1. Find the location in your Ready to Collect email or on your card, and note the date of the notification.

  2. Take valid photo ID that matches the name on the parcel, plus the card or tracking number.

  3. If someone else is collecting for you, send them the Ready to Collect email. They need their own ID, and its number is recorded.

  4. Check the location's opening hours before you go, because NZ Post says availability can change at short notice.

  5. If the location cannot find the parcel, note the date and the place, and screenshot the tracking page.

  6. Still not sorted? File your complaint here. We write it with you and send it to NZ 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 “Ready to collect” mean?

NZ Post's status table says the parcel is ready to collect from a parcel collection location. You usually get here in one of two ways: you or the sender chose Collect my parcel, or a driver missed you and the parcel went to a store or depot. The location is in your notification or on the card. The line does not mean the parcel has been handed to anyone, and the next step is yours.

Under the Collect my parcel terms, you have 10 days from the notification, and uncollected parcels go back to the sender. You need valid photo ID that matches the name on the parcel: an NZ passport or driver licence, an overseas passport, a Kiwi Access Card or an NZ Certificate of Identity. Someone else can collect for you if you send them the Ready to Collect email, and the collector's ID number is recorded and kept for 3 months. After a missed delivery, NZ Post says to bring the card or the tracking number plus photo ID.

Why does NZ Post show it?

  • You chose a collection location for the delivery
  • The sender addressed the parcel to a collection location
  • The driver could not deliver it, so it went to the place named on the card
  • You redirected it to a collection location in the tracking tool

How long does it last?

The next step is yours. If the parcel is not collected within 10 days of the notification, NZ Post returns it to the sender, and tracking then moves to 'Returned to Sender'. It says it sends a reminder email when you have 2 days left. If the Collect my parcel number on the parcel was missing or wrong, no notification email comes, so this tracking line may be your only notice.

Other NZ Post statuses

All NZ Post statuses →

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

If you bought online from a business that arranged the delivery, the seller is responsible. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act (section 5A), a supplier who delivers or arranges delivery guarantees that you will receive the goods at the agreed time or, if no time was agreed, within a reasonable time. Your rights are against the seller, and on delivery the Act gives two. If the failure is substantial, you can reject the goods and choose a refund or, if the seller has one in stock, a replacement. The courier losing the parcel does not take that right away, because the Act treats the carrier as the seller's agent on this point. In any case, the seller owes damages for loss that could reasonably be foreseen. NZ Post's contract is with the sender, and it usually pays any compensation to the sender. The Act sets no number of days, and it does not say whether a parcel left at your address counts as received. It covers sellers in trade and goods normally bought for personal or household use, not a private person selling something second hand.

If you sent the parcel yourself, your contract is with NZ Post, under its Public Contract and Postal Users' Guide, and you are the one who has to raise a problem with it. It promises reasonable care and skill. Its delivery times are targets and its terms say it pays no compensation for delay. If it is liable for a parcel lost or damaged within New Zealand, cover is up to $250 for Economy or $2,000 for Courier, including Courier Economy, plus the postage, depending on its conditions. Its terms set a limit of 21 days from sending for a parcel that never arrived, and 10 days from delivery for damage (7 for a business). NZ Post says Consumer Guarantees Act rights apply alongside these terms, but subject to the Postal Services Act and the carriage rules in the Contract and Commercial Law Act. Those rules limit a carrier's liability for loss or damage to the contract and the rules themselves, unless it caused the loss on purpose (section 244). Government guidance says the same for a carrier you hire yourself, and that the Act can still cover unreasonable delay. A business that sends parcels agrees, as far as the law allows, that the Act does not apply.

Questions about “Ready to collect”

How long will NZ Post hold my parcel for collection?

Under the Collect my parcel terms, 10 days from the notification. After a missed delivery NZ Post's pages differ, from seven working days to 14 days, so aim to collect within a week. After that the parcel can go back to the sender.

What ID do I need to collect a parcel from NZ Post?

Valid photo ID matching the name on the parcel: an NZ passport, NZ driver licence, overseas passport, Kiwi Access Card or NZ Certificate of Identity.

Can someone else pick up my NZ Post parcel?

Yes, under Collect my parcel. Send them the Ready to Collect email. NZ Post records the collector's ID number and keeps it for 3 months.

What if I miss the collection deadline?

NZ Post returns the parcel to the sender and tracking shows 'Returned to Sender'. It says it cannot retrieve a parcel after that. If you bought from a business, whether it sends the parcel again or refunds you depends on the facts of your order.

Based on

  • NZ Post: What does my tracking status mean? (table of status wordings)
  • NZ Post: Collect my parcel Terms and Conditions (10 days, photo ID, collecting for someone else)
  • NZ Post: I have Missed my Parcel (10 days to collect)
  • NZ Post: My item shows Undeliverable (card or tracking number and photo ID)
  • NZ Post: My item to NZ shows Returned to Sender
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (seven working days for signature parcels)
  • NZ Post: Collect my parcel (10 days from the email, reminder with 2 days left, no email if the number is missing or wrong)
  • Tracking history shared on Reddit, r/newzealand: Item ready to collect (one thread)
  • Consumer Guarantees Act, section 5A (guarantee as to delivery), sections 18, 20, 21 and 23 (rejecting goods, substantial failure, damages, refund or replacement), section 2 (who is a supplier and a consumer)
  • Contract and Commercial Law Act, section 243 (carriage of letters by a postal operator is excluded) and section 244 (a carrier's liability for loss or damage)
  • New Zealand government consumer guidance: Delivery issues (the shop is responsible for delivery until the goods reach you; a carrier you hire yourself; delay)
  • NZ Post: Cover for loss or damage (cover limits, who raises a problem, time limits, no compensation for delay)
  • NZ Post: Public Contract (reasonable care and skill, liability caps, Consumer Guarantees Act rights)
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (delivery targets, cover limits, Courier includes Courier Economy, time limits, consumer rights subject to other Acts, claim payments usually go to the sender)
  • NZ Post: Collect my parcel Terms and Conditions (NZ Post's contract to deliver your parcel is with the sender)
  • NZ Post: Delivering together (CourierPost became Courier and Courier Economy, Pace became Express)

Parcel still not here?
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