Australia Post is changing how Parcel Locker addresses work

What's changing

Australia Post is making two changes that affect anyone who captures, validates or stores Australian addresses.

• The format of Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect addresses is changing
• For the first time, these addresses will be included in the Postal Address File (PAF), the authoritative database of every deliverable address in Australia

Both changes come with a firm deadline. All AMAS-certified software providers must be recertified by 31 May 2026.

What is a Parcel Locker?

A Parcel Locker is a secure, self-service collection point that allows consumers to have parcels delivered to a nearby location instead of to their home address. The Parcel Lockers are located in convenient places such as near Post Offices, supermarkets and train stations. There are over 1,100 locker facilities available nationwide.

When a parcel is delivered to a Parcel Locker, the recipient is sent a notification letting them know the goods are available for collection and how to access the locker.

What is Parcel Collect?

Parcel Collect is a service that allows parcels to be delivered to and collected from Post Offices which can only be accessed during the store's opening hours. Parcels delivered to Parcel Collect locations are not stored in lockers but in back offices and retrieved by staff on request.

The key difference: Parcel Lockers are automated, available 24/7 and located in a wider range of locations. Parcel Collect requires staff-assisted collection during opening hours from a Post Office.

Why Parcel Locker addresses were never in the PAF

Until now, a Parcel Locker address looked like this:

That 10-digit number was the Australia Post Customer Number (APCN), used by Australia Post to look up the recipient's phone number and send a collection notification. Because the Customer Number was tied to an individual rather than a physical location, these addresses couldn't be published in the PAF without exposing customer data.

The result was a gap in address validation. Parcel Locker addresses were real, deliverable and verifiable but no validation tool could confirm the accuracy of the 10-digit APCN.

The new format

Starting with PAF version V2027.0, Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect addresses will look like this:

Key changes:

• The locker number now refers to the physical location of the locker facility, not the customer
• The street address of the facility is no longer part of the address
• 4,000+ Parcel Locker addresses will be added to the PAF nationally
• No customer ID is included

One thing that hasn’t been confirmed is how Australia Post will notify recipients when their goods are ready for collection. Previously, having the APCN on the parcel linked the goods with a customer and their contact details - for notification purposes. We expect the recipient's mobile number is likely to be mandatory on the label. Stay tuned for more on this.

What this means for Addressfinder customers

We're already working with Australia Post on this change and making the necessary changes in our system to handle the new data in an accurate and reliable way. The new data has recently been released for development and testing purposes only, once we have completed this work and passed Australia Post's AMAS recertification we intend to release it.

Australia Post has given considerable thought to how these new addresses will work and we're expecting to be able to release them with no required changes for our customers' systems.

Addressfinder will be updating our systems to provide seamless access and handling of these new addresses.

What this means for businesses

For the first time, Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect addresses can be properly validated against an authoritative source. That's good news but it may require action.

If your address validation provider hasn't updated to the new PAF data, you may start seeing issues: valid addresses entered in the new shorter format getting rejected, or old-format addresses slipping through that are no longer recognised. We expect there will be a transition period where both formats are accepted, but this hasn't been confirmed by Australia Post yet.

If your platform has custom address validation rules or handles address formatting outside of a standard validation provider, for example, regex patterns that expect a 10-digit locker number, or field-level formatting logic built around the old structure, this change may also break that.

For address validation vendors and data partners, this is a structural change, not a minor data refresh. The updated AMAS Developer and Data Guide (Section 3.5 and Glossary) covers the revised abbreviations for Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect as Postal Delivery Types.

What this means for consumers

There is still a lot of uncertainty regarding these changes. We believe for those using a Parcel Locker or Parcel Collect address, the old 10-digit APCN will be phased out. Your address format will be shorter and cleaner, and should work more reliably across online checkouts.

If you have a Parcel Locker or Parcel Collect address saved in any retailer accounts or loyalty programs, it is worth checking whether it needs updating once the new format is live.

A few things still to be confirmed

• How Australia Post will communicate the format change to existing Parcel Locker and Parcel Collect users
• Whether there will be a formal migration path for old-format addresses stored in retailer systems
• The exact date when we expect to release this new data

There are still quite a few details to be released by Australia Post and more to be worked through. We will be communicating more information about these changes.

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