Common boxes

Having a single post office box number in each capital gives your business a consistent national presence. By streamlining your correspondence, an Australia Post common box can save you time and money.

Common boxes are:

  • Cost-effective - using the same address on all your stationery and marketing materials saves you artwork and printing costs.
  • Time-effective - providing customers with a convenient and memorable address can streamline potentially time-consuming business processes - for example, order processing, claims management and subscription or donation processing.
  • Consistent - your postal address in Sydney is the same as your postal addresses in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart. Your common box number can also be extended to Canberra and Darwin if required.

How common boxes work

Common boxes are available at the General Post Office (GPO) in each capital city. The standard common box package includes Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart. You can also choose to extend your common box number to Canberra and Darwin.

Once your application is approved, your organisation is allocated a GPO Box number between 9800 and 9999. This becomes your new address in each state. Your stakeholders then simply address their mail to your GPO Box number in their own capital city. The address appears in your corporate stationery and marketing materials as follows:

GPO Box xxxx
In Your Capital City

Common box fees

Fees for common boxes operate on the same structure as post office boxes - there are no additional charges to have a single national post office box number. You simply pay the standard fees that apply to post office boxes in each state or territory GPO.

Applying for a common box

An application form can be obtained from the GPO in your capital city. Only one application form needs to be completed when applying for a national common box. Lodge your form at the GPO in your capital city.

Payment can be made by cash, cheque, EFTPOS or Australia Post charge account at the time you lodge your application.

If you'd like further advice about common boxes, ask at your GPO or you can also contact us.

Terms and conditions apply to post office boxes, locked bags and Mail2Day.