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NZ Post tracking status

NZ Post “With courier for delivery”: what it means

The short answer

Normal

Your parcel is on board with the local driver and NZ Post expects it to reach you today. If nobody can take it and there is no safe place, you get a card instead. Assume it is too late to redirect it or add a Leave my parcel authority.

When to act: If the parcel has not arrived by the end of the next working day, file a complaint and we send it to NZ Post.

Bizzy online

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

Also shown as: “Your item is with our courier for delivery” · “It should be with you today” · “Out for delivery” · “Handover”

What to do now

  1. Have someone home if the parcel needs a signature, because it is too late to add a Leave my parcel authority.

  2. Keep the path clear and your number easy to see. NZ Post says drivers may stay out of a property with a dog or a 'Beware of the Dog' sign.

  3. Check the back door, carport and mailbox later in the day, because a parcel with no signature can be left somewhere weatherproof and out of public view.

  4. Look for a Missed my parcel card on the doorstep or in the mailbox if no parcel turns up.

  5. If the line repeats the next morning, screenshot both dates.

  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

What does “With courier for delivery” mean?

NZ Post's status table says 'Your item is with our courier for delivery. It should be with you today.' Its scan guide adds that the item is on board with the delivery agent. This is the last leg, and the first line that points to an actual day. NZ Post's tracking pages give no time of day. In one tracking record from a shipping platform, the scan came at about 7am and the delivery a few hours later.

'Should' is the key word. The line does not promise delivery today, and it does not mean the driver is close. In that same record, the line appeared on two mornings in a row before the parcel arrived, so it can repeat when a parcel is not delivered on the first day. NZ Post says Leave my parcel cannot be added once the parcel is with the courier, and that redirecting stops at its 'Out for delivery' and 'Handover' scans, which it does not define. So assume the driver works with the address and instructions already on it.

Why does NZ Post show it?

  • The normal last step for Courier, Courier Economy and Economy parcels
  • The driver or delivery agent has scanned the parcel on board
  • The run did not reach your address that day, so the line can repeat the next morning
  • Weather events or network conditions on the route
  • A rural address, which can take longer

How long does it last?

Usually 'Delivered' the same day. If a signature was needed and nobody was home, or there was nowhere safe to leave it, tracking shows 'Delivery attempted' and a Missed my parcel card is left. If the day ends with no change, look again the next morning, because the line can repeat.

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 “With courier for delivery”

What does 'With courier for delivery' mean on NZ Post?

The parcel is with your local driver or delivery agent, and NZ Post says it should be with you today. It is the last scan before 'Delivered' or 'Delivery attempted'.

What time does NZ Post deliver when it says 'With courier for delivery'?

NZ Post gives no time of day on its tracking pages. In one shared tracking record the scan came at about 7am and the delivery just before 11am, but your run may be different.

Why does it still say 'With courier for delivery' the next day?

The driver may not have reached you, and the line can repeat the next morning, as it did in one shared record. If the parcel has not arrived by the end of the next working day, file a complaint on Complain.biz and we send it to NZ Post.

Can I change the address once it is with the courier?

Assume not. NZ Post says a parcel can only be redirected until it gets the 'Out for delivery' or 'Handover' scan, and Leave my parcel cannot be added once it is with the courier.

Based on

  • NZ Post: What does my tracking status mean? (table of status wordings)
  • NZ Post: Parcel scans using our NZ Post tracking tool, and what they mean
  • NZ Post: Redirecting your parcels using the NZ Post Tracking tool (until Out for delivery and Handover)
  • NZ Post: Leave my parcel (cannot be added once with the courier)
  • NZ Post: My item shows Delivery attempted - rearrange delivery (dogs, signature, safe place)
  • NZ Post: Postal Users' Guide (weatherproof place, network conditions, weather events)
  • Sweet Spot tracking record for an NZ Post (Courier Post) parcel (one shared history)
  • 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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