Canada Post Suspends Package Services to Australia and New Zealand due to COVID-19 Outbreak – Updated 12/2/2021
Canada Post followed the US Postal Service by suspending air package services in October to Australia and New Zealand as well. But there has been some good news for Canadian shippers as Canada Post removed many service levels from the suspension list.
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As of December 2, 2021, Canada Post has restored most air services, which include Xpresspost, Tracked Packet, and Small Packet International Air to both countries.
However, International Parcel – Air is still shown as suspended in the latest Canada Post Service Suspension and Availability document and should still be avoided by shippers.
Canada Post also advised that despite restoring more services, items may be delivered 20 to 30 days beyond published delivery standards.
Furthermore, New Zealand Post advised on December 2 they are experiencing significant delays processing and delivering items from all countries. Shipments to New Zealand may take even longer than Canada Post estimates on delays as the NZ advisory came out after Canada Post published its delay estimates.
Status of Other Canada Post International Services
Priority Worldwide, which is transported and delivered by FedEx for Canada Post continues to be one of the best options to ship items in a timely manner to Australia and New Zealand.
There are no known significant delays for this service as this service does not depend on commercial airlines for transport. The air cargo availability on commercial airlines is at the heart of delays for all other service levels.
The following surface mail options are also available with Canada Post currently estimating a transit time of about 12 weeks.
- International Parcel – Surface
- Small Packet International – Surface
And finally, Canada Post continues to accept and transport documents sent via Letter-post and Registered Letter-post, but senders should expect delays, similar to parcel post air services.
We will provide updates to this post when they become available. The last update was on 12/2/2021.
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I don’t understand cancelling packages to Australia. It’s Christmas. It’s been two years since we have seen our daughter, her husband and son due to Covid. I can understand no flights to Aus with the ongoing pandemic but cancelling packages? Now our family can’t receive their Christmas and birthday gifts. Please open up sending packages. It’s heart-wrenching to be separated and not even being able to send gifts.
I agree completely!! It’s so unfair!
Agreed. I haven’t seen my daughter in two years and I was expecting at least our mail service to enable a Christmas gift to be able to connect. Isn’t that the whole purpose of mail service?? We were in the thick of the pandemic last year, unvaccinated and I was able to send her Christmas parcel. It makes no sense.
Also, Canada Post should put an alert on their app when I was trying to figure out the cost of the parcel by placing the destination, weight and dimensions. You would think a corporation of that magnitude when inputting Australia as a destination it would alert the customers that they are restricting parcel air service at that time. I wrapped all the gifts/items, and secured the package for the long journey only to go into the long lineup at the Canada Post kiosk and be told they had suspended delivery to Australia. The CP personnel could not even confirm it because the letter she saw that stated the restrictions was taken out of the binder. She gave me a number to call to “confirm” the suspension of service which I couldn’t even connect by phone with a human being. She then found the letter in the back and asked if I wanted to “risk” it but it might be rerouted when it gets turned away in Australia and then offered a boat service that would take three months. Very poor and inconvenient service.
Unbelievable!!! This is just extremely absurd!
The reason given is outbreak of COVID 19, I dont think there has been ANY reported cases of a parcel getting COVID 19. Could it be that the workers are the ones who are impacted by the pandemic, SURELY much of the parcel processing system is automated. To completely stop accepting parcels at Christmas time is nothing short of cruel. WHAT is the real reason Canada Post, please explain yourself !
It’s the lack of air cargo availability that has created the issue. It’s not just Canada Post, USPS also suspended most mail services. Actually, Canada Post started to accept more mail services now but transit times are still long. Some European postal operators continued to accept packages but warned of very long transit times to Australia of at least 30 to 40 days. Generally, most Express services were not impacted by the suspensions, but most people don’t want to pay the premium price of Express service.
Richard
Thanks for this Richard. I mailed by “small packet -surface” a Christmas box for grandkids in Canberra. I mailed it in late September and it still hasn’t arrived by mid-January, nor can I track it. Something wrong with this!!! At the time of mailing, no one said to me that shipping to Australia would be any different from shipping anywhere else, at any other time. I have been mailing gifts to Australia to my family for more than 20 years.
I would like to send a parcel to my friends in Canada and was told that they are not going to Canada because of Covid. The parcel was for my friends wife . It is a jumper which she could of worn in winter BUT because it is not going she won’t get it until Summer. Absolutely mad.
I sent a parcel to Canada on the 4th November 2021. Christmas gifts and birthday gifts for my 3 grandkids. It arrived in Canada 5th December and sat for 3 weeks ready to be delivered, it’s being sent back to me in Australia. Why is the question I’m asking. No gifts from us the the kids,sone and daughter in law. Absolutely devastated Canada Post 😢
I sent my parcel ” by Surface” meaning by sea out of Vancouver to New Zealand September 2 and another Sept 17 from my Canadian city and the tracking appears that they did not leave Canada until Sept 20 and 27 , respectively.
Normally these parcels would have gotten there in 3 months at the most and often , in years past, in 2 months. That would mean lots of time for Christmas. Canada Post did not post a service delay until the end of Oct!
My parcel would have been well out to sea and closing in on New Zealand by that time!
My parcel includes birthday and Christmas gifts for my daughter and her family ( my only grandchildren) for dates running from Nov 11 to Dec 25, Feb 9 and April 28. The cost of shipping dictates I send as many as possible in one box. Its impossible to know where the shipment is or how much longer it will be. One birthday and Christmas has come and gone and no gifts from their Canadian grandmother!! If it doesn’t get there soon the grandchildren will be too grown for the gifts!!