Cost of biosecurity activities on the SAC pathway - Australia Post

Question

DAFF has confirmed the actual cost of biosecurity activities on the SAC pathway is 25 cents per declaration. Australia Post's international mail pathway parcels, which carry identical biosecurity risk, are not subject to the SAC charge. Instead, Australia Post pays a flat $15.3 million annual fee that your department has acknowledged does not cover costs, requiring a $7 million per year taxpayer top-up from MYEFO. (source: DAFF annual report) How many international items (including both parcels and letters) did Australia Post process through the Postal Letter Stream in FY24-25? (note: this total number is the equivalent so can compare cost per declaration e.g. 10cents or alternatively what they would pay if they paid the SAC declaration on everything per CAPEC members) What is the per-unit biosecurity cost for those items, and how does it compare to the 25 cents you've confirmed for SAC declarations? Does the Department use any of the over recovery from SAC declarations to absorb costs associated with the Australia Post letter stream? Does the department accept that charging commercial carriers 37 cents while Australia Post's effective per-unit contribution is significantly lower represents a cross-subsidy from private businesses to a government-owned enterprise?

Answer

Please see PDF attachment.

Documents

• Question with answer (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
• SQ26-000518.pdf (opens in a new tab)