Business groups seek lifeline for regional post offices

Sean Cao

21st Aug 2026

Business organisations have stressed the importance of regional post offices in providing support for small businesses in rural, remote and outer metropolitan Australia.

The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (Cosboa) and Licensed Post Offices (LPO) Group have each made submissions to the Senate Environment and Communications References Committee inquiry into the management of, and plans for, Australia Post’s retail network. 

According to the organisations, access to face-to-face services, including banking, identity verification, passport and government services, has been increasingly difficult for many communities.

“For a small business, having to travel to another town or suburb to do banking, send freight, verify documents or complete an important transaction costs time and money, and takes someone away from running the business,” said Cosboa CEO Skye Cappuccio.

“This isn’t about trying to preserve the past. Rather, we should be asking how we make the most of an extraordinary national network that already exists in communities across Australia – from banking and identity services to government transactions and parcels – while making sure the small business owners operating much of that network have a sustainable business model,” Cappuccio added.

LPO Group chair Scott Etherington said the inquiry should look beyond headline outlet numbers and examine the services available through the network.  

“An outlet can remain on the map while the services available from the counter change significantly. The real measure is not simply presence – it is capability.

“We have an established national network, trained people and infrastructure already in place. The opportunity is to make better use of it and give communities more reasons to use their local post office, not fewer,” Etherington added.

Cappuccio said the inquiry is an opportunity to consider how the network could evolve while maintaining access to the face-to-face services small businesses and communities rely on. 

“Australia already has an extensive network of local post offices, operated in large part by small business owners. We should be looking at how we support their long-term viability and make the most of the services and infrastructure already in place,” she added.