From 1 July 2025, Australia Post and StarTrack have shifted their annual pricing review to align with the Australian financial year. The change means rate adjustments will now take effect at the start of each financial year rather than following the previous calendar-based schedule, giving business customers a clearer planning cycle for freight budgets.
What’s Changing
Historically, carrier price reviews did not always land at a predictable point in the financial calendar, making it harder for logistics managers and finance teams to factor shipping cost changes into annual budgets. Under the new approach, both Australia Post and StarTrack will apply pricing updates on 1 July each year, matching the standard Australian financial year that most businesses already use for planning and reporting.
StarTrack, which operates as Australia Post’s dedicated business logistics division, serves 12.6 million delivery locations nationally. The network runs over 1,000 daily national flights to more than 65 destinations and maintains 55-plus depots across the country. With an operation of that scale, predictable pricing cycles matter to the thousands of businesses that depend on these services.
Rate Adjustments
Australia Post has confirmed the following increases effective 1 July 2025:
- Domestic parcel postage: weighted average increase of 1.95%
- International parcels: weighted average increase of 3.25%
- International letters: increase of 5%
These figures represent weighted averages, so individual rate changes will vary depending on service type, parcel weight, and destination. Businesses with negotiated contract rates should review their account terms, as contracted pricing may differ from published general rates.
It is also worth noting that StarTrack introduced mandatory dimensions requirements for API shipments from March 2025. Shippers who integrate via the StarTrack API must now include accurate length, width, and height data on every consignment. This change is designed to improve cubic weight accuracy and reduce billing disputes, but it does require integration updates for any business that had previously omitted dimensions.
What Businesses Should Do
With the new financial-year pricing cycle now in effect, logistics and operations teams should take several steps:
- Review your carrier rate cards. Compare the new published rates against your current contracted pricing. If you are on a general rate agreement, the increases listed above will apply directly.
- Update budget forecasts. Factor the 1.95% domestic parcel increase into your shipping cost projections for FY2025-26. For businesses with significant international volume, the 3.25% and 5% increases on parcels and letters respectively will have a larger impact.
- Check API integrations. If you ship via StarTrack’s API, confirm that your system sends complete dimension data on every consignment. Missing dimensions may trigger re-weighing, delays, or billing adjustments.
- Plan for annual reviews. Going forward, expect pricing updates each July. Build this into your annual procurement and budgeting calendar so there are no surprises.
Looking Ahead
The alignment with the financial year is a welcome simplification. Combined with ongoing technology requirements such as mandatory dimensions, these changes signal a continued push from Australia Post and StarTrack toward greater accuracy and transparency in business freight pricing. For shippers running multi-carrier strategies, it is a good time to benchmark rates across providers and ensure your logistics platform reflects the latest pricing.
Sources: Australia Post pricing updates | Koi: Australia Post and StarTrack price review and technology updates