Do we like them?

Do we like Australia Post?

Government-owned national post and parcel delivery service, based in Melbourne, Australia.

Our score: 6 out of 10. A useful public service that funds itself, but it has an underlying loss, a run of costly blunders and a Senate row over its post office plans. We'd back it, with reservations.

Australia Post is the government-owned national postie, run as a Government Business Enterprise. Profits go to the Australian Government as a dividend or get reinvested. It says it's self-funded and doesn't need government money. Paul Graham has been CEO since 2021 and announced in October 2026 that he'll retire in mid-2027.

The money is tight. For FY26 it reported a $31.8m pre-tax profit, but that came from $139.4m of property sales. Without them it lost $107.6m. Letters are the problem: volumes fell another 14.7% and the letters arm lost $63.2m. Parcels are growing, with volumes up 5.3%.

The drama this year centres on post offices. A leaked internal document outlined a trial that could buy back up to 36 city licensed post offices. Senator Sarah Henderson accused Graham of misleading the Senate committee. He denied it, saying there was no active program to close post offices.

There have also been some expensive stumbles. The company spent $18.2m on 500 electric trikes, then withdrew them after an independent ergonomic assessment. Earlier, it paused a new uniform polo rollout after posties reported sunburn, despite the SPF50 rating. Older scandals include the Cartier watches row that cost then-CEO Christine Holgate her job.

Our verdict is a 6. It's a public asset that keeps regional Australia connected and pays its way, and it has no big fines in our results. But it's losing money underneath, its governance has had rough patches, and it keeps tripping on worker-safety and consultation issues.