PreSort Letters Lodgement

PreSort Letters Lodgement
Business Letter Services

Introduction The PreSort Letters service offers reduced prices to those customers who can apply barcodes to their articles, sort them into a particular order, place them into appropriately labelled trays, complete documentation prior to posting at a designated postal outlet and comply with relevant mailing conditions. In this module This module introduces you to Australia Post’s requirements for PreSort Letters sorting and lodgement. Learning outcomes At the end of this module you will be able to: identify the sort categories for PreSort Letters articles identify and prepare the correct tray labels for PreSort Letters articles identify the necessary steps to prepare an PreSort Letters lodgement identify and complete the correct lodgement documentation for PreSort Letters

PreSort Letters at a glance
Domestic Registered Post offers you: a unique identification number for every article proof of posting when lodged at the post office counter signature obtained on delivery extra cover of up to $100 is included Additional services for Domestic letters: delivery Confirmation – within Australia and International Person-to-Person Delivery additional Insurance up to $5,000 Charity Mail is an Australia Post service for the delivery of barcoded small PreSort Letters articles from income tax exempt charities. All mailings must meet the conditions of PreSort Letters to access Charity Mail rates. For more information see Charity Mail course PreSort Letters at a glance What is PreSort Letters? PreSort Letters is an Australia Post service for the delivery of large volumes of barcoded articles to addresses within Australia. The minimum lodgement is 300 barcoded letters. Companies can use PreSort Letters for almost any mailing requirement. When a lodgement is prepared according to the conditions of the PreSort Letters service: lodge unbarcoded articles can with the barcoded articles access lower prices by sorting your articles access an Off Peak delivery service (taking up to an additional 3 days for delivery) at lower prices for non time-critical mail exercise the option to arrange your own transport to interconnect with Australia Post’s letter service network at designated facilities use the Charity Mail and the Registered Post service in conjunction with the PreSort Letters service maximise the space available for creative artwork track and segment results of mailings due to information contained in the barcode access private box addresses access the Redirection service

PreSort Letters at a glance
More information More detailed information is available in the PreSort Letters Fact Sheet and PreSort Letters service guide. Prices for PreSort Letters can be found in the Post Charges booklet and the Australia Post website (auspost.com.au). These guides are also available at any Australia Post outlet.

PreSort Letters lodgement
Applying for PreSort Letters You need to apply to use the service so that lodgement facilities can be nominated. On approval, you can commence lodgement of articles. The PreSort Letter Service Application is available at all postal outlets and should be presented to the mail centre or business centre where lodgements will be made. Normally, Australia Post grants approval to lodge articles only at mail centres or business centres. Exceptionally, a Retail Area Manager may approve a lodgement at a post office. Australia Post reserves the right to vary the approved lodgement facility at any time. First lodgement It is recommended that you submit sample articles to Australia Post for testing of barcode accuracy and readability, prior to lodging PreSort Letters for the first time. Information relating to the Barcode Quality Program is available on the Australia Post website at

To qualify for PreSort Letters prices, customers need to meet Australia Post’s bulk mail sorting and lodgement requirements.

Sorting PreSort letters articles Summary This Flow Chart provides an overview of the sorting, tray preparation and lodgement process.

Sorting PreSort Letters articles Introduction To qualify for cost savings, customers need to perform some of the sorting work Australia Post would normally do. For PreSort Letters lodgements, customers need to: choose a sort category prepare letter trays prepare and affix tray labels sort articles into trays These requirements are explained in more detail on the following pages.

Sorting PreSort Letters articles Sort categories To ensure optimum delivery of PreSort Letters articles, you need to prepare and lodge articles correctly. You have the choice to sort articles according to the following sort categories: Sort category Description To qualify Direct trays • Barcoded • Sorted to the BSP • Plastic wrapping permitted for Small and Small Plus articles The minimum quantity is 300 articles (or 4kg of article weight, excluding the weight of the tray) per postcode range. Remaining barcoded articles become ‘Residue’. Residue trays • Not sorted Where there are insufficient barcoded articles to make a Direct tray. No minimum quantity. (The total lodgement must contain at least 300 barcoded articles). Unbarcoded trays • Not barcoded Articles that are not barcoded.

Sorting PreSort Letters articles Barcode Sort Plan (BSP) The Barcode Sort Plan (BSP) allocates every Australian postcode into a specific range, allowing Australia Post to efficiently provide articles to their point of delivery, and is regularly updated (refer table). To ensure the current sort plan is used, download it from the Australia Post website Version number Release date Active date Expiry date VYYYY1 1 February 1 March 31 August VYYYY2 1 August 1 September 28/29 February Upon lodgement, Australia Post staff perform a check to determine if articles have been sorted correctly. Australia Post reserves the right to reject a lodgement if an unacceptable number of articles are incorrectly sorted. Australia Post provides a service for customers and vendors wanting to verify the accuracy of software developed to sort articles according to the Barcode Sort Plan. Further information on this service is available from the Technical Support Centre on

Sorting PreSort letters articles Preparation of letter trays Obtain letter trays at no cost from your lodgement facility. The process for preparing and sorting Direct Trays, Residue Trays and Unbarcoded Trays is as follows: • face all articles in the same direction • sort the articles in ascending postcode order (preferred but not mandatory) • do not bundle or tie the articles • place the articles into letter trays as described on the following page. The maximum acceptable weight for a tray is 16kg (including the weight of the tray). Overflow Direct Trays can be lodged. An overflow tray is a less-than-full tray that contains all articles remaining after the preparation of full trays for the same sort plan BSP number. A maximum of one overflow tray for each sort plan BSP number is permitted.

Sorting PreSort Letters articles Preparation of letter trays Size category Tray use Small, Small Plus In Small Letter Trays, with the addresses facing the front (label end) of the tray Medium, Large In Large Letter Trays, with the addresses face up and with the postage zone imprint at the label end of the tray. To facilitate ease of handling we recommend that large letter trays should not be filled above the handle holes.

Sorting PreSort Letters articles State separation of Residue and Unbarcoded trays Where there are 2,000 or more Barcoded Residue articles, or 2,000 or more Unbarcoded Residue articles, then separate the articles into state based trays as follows: For volumes of: Then: Less than 2,000 articles Prepare national trays Affix tray labels for the state where the lodgement is occurring 2,000 or more articles Separation of articles by state is required, as follows: • place articles into separate trays for each state – NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS and NT as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan • affix tray labels for the state of the destination.

Sorting PreSort Letters articles State Sorting of Residue and Unbarcoded trays Where the volumes of Residue or Unbarcoded are 2,000 or more letters then separate the letters into State based trays, using Tray Labels for the following 8 destinations: State Destination Equates to BSP Number range NT Darwin, Alice Springs 001 ACT Canberra 019 NSW Sydney 003–018, 020–021 VIC Melbourne 022–034 QLD Brisbane 002, 035–044 SA Adelaide 045–048 WA Perth 049–053 TAS Hobart 054

Sorting PreSort letters articles How to prepare tray labels Tray labels containing a barcode of Code 128 type C symbology are required for the PreSort Letters Service. Plastic label pockets are affixed to all letter trays. Prior to lodgement a completed tray label must be placed in the label pocket with the printed side visible. Any old labels on trays must be removed prior to lodgement. There are two options for obtaining labels: 1. Labelling software Australia Post recommends the use of Print On Demand Labelling Systems for preparing lodgements. Print on Demand Systems are available either free of charge from Australia Post (VISA Labelling) or may be purchased from third party suppliers. These labels must conform to specifications, which are subject to periodic review. Specifications may be obtained by contacting the Technical Support Centre on or by downloading documentation from the Australia Post website Third party software must be approved by Australia Post prior to use. Blank label stock is also provided free of charge by Australia Post. This label stock is heat sensitive, and is suitable for use only in direct thermal label printers.

Sorting PreSort letters articles How to prepare tray labels 2. Pre-printed tray labels Australia Post provides preprinted tray labels at no cost. Order or obtain these labels from your local lodgement facility. Order forms may also be printed or downloaded from the Australia Post website

Sorting PreSort letters articles How to prepare tray labels How to complete tray labels Write name and address (or name and telephone including area code) of the mailer in the Sender space.  Write your Job Number in the Job No. space (this number is optional, and is created by and relevant to you and should match with lodgement documentation).  For Off Peak articles only: • place a tick in the Off Peak space • write the lodgement date in the Date space.

Sorting PreSort letters articles How to prepare tray labels How to affix tray labels to letter trays Label pockets are affixed to all letter trays. Remove any old tray labels on trays prior to lodgement. Place a completed tray label in the label pocket with the printed side visible.

Sorting PreSort letters articles Preparing Small Volume Lodgements If you are lodging less than 2,000 articles Australia Post suggests you consider the following simplest lodgement. Place all the barcoded letters in trays and affix completed Residue tray labels for the State of lodgement. Place any unbarcoded letters in separate trays and affix completed Unbarcoded tray labels for the State of lodgement. Small volume lodgements do not normally need to consider Direct Trays as it is unlikely that there will be at least 300 barcoded letters addressed to a single sort plan number. Where to lodge Articles must be presented during business hours at an approved lodgement facility, or designated facility in the case of articles linehauled interstate by carriers other than Australia Post. See Advanced: Linehaul and Interconnect module. To change your approved lodgement office, complete and submit a PreSort Letter Service Application.

Sorting PreSort letters articles Preparing Large Volume Lodgements Advance Notification of Large Lodgements at Mail Centres Due to limited spare capacity at some lodgement points you are requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements over 50,000 articles, no later than Friday of the week prior to lodgement. If you make regular lodgements at the same facility you can request a standing lodgement arrangement and avoid the need for notification. Interconnect Option You have the option to arrange your own interstate transport to interconnect with Australia Post’s letters service network at designated facilities in the state of destination and benefit from cheaper Same State prices. Complete an application form, PreSort Letter Service Application ( ), nominating the facility(s) where the articles are to be presented for lodgement and forward the application to the Australia Post contact (as listed on the inside front cover of the PreSort Letters service guide) in the state in which your business is located. Supporting lodgement documentation is required at the time of mailing.

Sorting PreSort letters articles Preparing Large Volume Lodgements Lodgement in ULDs Steel cage containers known as Unit Loading Devices (ULDs) can be obtained from Australia Post, subject to availability and in instances where large mail volumes are to be lodged. Contact your mail facility for further information. ULDs remain the property of Australia Post and all other rules and regulations pertaining to the use of the ULD are applicable. Australia Post reserves the right to charge for any ULD that you damage or do not return. The maximum weight for a loaded ULD is 600kg (including the weight of the ULD which weigh around 100kg). This means that 500kg is available for the contents. Be aware that ULDs will often exceed the maximum weight limit before they are completely full. In order to maximise transportation efficiency and ULD utilisation, mailers should ensure that each ULD is used as efficiently as possible.

Sorting PreSort letters articles Preparing Large Volume Lodgements ULD Labelling It is a requirement that you affix a label to each ULD, containing the following information:  the name of the Mailing Agent the lodgement date (optional, but must be the correct if shown)  the number of ULDs in the lodgement (eg 1 of 8, 2 of 8, etc)  the gross weight (actual or deemed) of the ULD and its contents the Job Number (or reference), and customer name for each individual job contained in the ULD  the number of trays for each individual job contained in the ULD (optional, but must be the correct if shown).

Sorting PreSort Letters articles Summary Sorting PreSort Letters articles involves: determining the most appropriate sort category reviewing the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP) preparing and attaching the correct labels to each tray sorting articles into the trays For more information about sorting PreSort Letters articles, refer to the PreSort Letters service guide and the Australia Post website (auspost.com.au).

Lodging PreSort Letters articles Introduction Once an PreSort Letters lodgement is prepared, sorted and ready for bulk mailing, customers need to: complete documentation lodge the PreSort Letters articles These requirements are explained in more detail on the following pages.

Lodging PreSort Letters articles Complete documentation Once a lodgement is prepared and sorted, complete the required lodgement document(s) and lodge your articles. The type of documentation will vary depending upon whether a postage meter has been used. Obtain these documents from your local lodgement facility or download from and A Lodgement Document is to be completed for each lodgement in the same price and weight category.

Lodging PreSort Letters articles Complete documentation Completing the PreSort Letters Lodgement Document The customer details – contact, phone/fax, department, business name and address. Mailing agent details, if lodging on behalf of the customer. Enter a Lodgement Number or Job Number (generated by customer). Tick the correct size of the mailing. Record the total number of articles in each sort category and add a total If you lodging the articles knows the purpose of the mailing, tick the appropriate box. Otherwise, tick ‘Don’t Know’. Sign the Declaration. The mailing agent will do so if they are lodging on your behalf. If you have an Australia Post charge account, tick ‘yes’ and record the account number. If not, tick ‘no’. Indicate here, if you have chosen Regular or Off Peak… The name of the facility where mail will be lodged. …. and here if you require any special services (eg Registered Post)

Lodging PreSort letters articles AMAS Declaration The lodgement documents include a mandatory customer declaration certifying that current AMAS approved software is in use and that the DPIDs contained within address records used to produce the mailing are valid against the latest version of the PAF. If you repeatedly present articles that are subsequently rejected due to incorrect assignment of DPIDs, Australia Post reserves the right to request subsequent lodgements be supported with documentary evidence that the addresses have been processed against the latest version of the PAF. To assist in this regard, it is mandatory for AMAS approved batch software to generate an Address Matching Processing Summary Report. The report format and content is indicative of the type of information to be produced by AMAS Address Matching Processing batch software on each execution of a matching submission so that users have the appropriate evidence to support lodgements when requested to do so.

Lodging PreSort Letters articles Lodging PreSort letters Supporting document (Manifest) Each lodgement in excess of 2,000 articles requires a PreSort Letters Supporting Document. There is no standard form provided by Australia Post, so create your own supporting document – a simple Word (or equivalent) document suffices. A sample supporting document can be downloaded from and the minimum description requirements are provided in the following table. Sort category List the number of articles and trays Direct Trays  for each Sort Plan Number  for each state and territory  the total for Direct Trays Residue Trays  for each state and territory  the total for Residue Trays Unbarcoded Trays  for each state and territory  the total for Unbarcoded Trays

Lodging PreSort Letters articles Lodging PreSort letters Other considerations – Use of pallets Where pallets are used to transport articles to the lodgement point, the dimensions of these pallets should conform with the Australian standards (1,165mm x 1,165mm) and total load must weigh less than 600kg. Pallets can only be used to transport articles to mail centres. Australia Post does not accept responsibility for the pallets and will not accept any transfer of hiring charges.

Lodging PreSort Letters articles Summary Lodging PreSort Letters articles involves: Completing required documentation: PreSort Lodgement Document, or Metered Lodgement Document, if a postage meter is used for payment Address Matching Process Summary Report Manifest, if lodgement volume exceeds 2,000 Lodging the articles at an approved lodgement facility For more information about lodging PreSort Letters articles, refer to the PreSort Letters service guide and the Australia Post website (auspost.com.au).

PreSort Letters requirements What will it cost? Prices for PreSort Letters articles vary by size and weight category, the sort category, the destination state and the delivery standard. Prices are available in the PreSort Letters service guide, the Post Charges Guide (MS11) and the Australia Post website (auspost.com.au). Articles attract Same State prices when lodged within the same state as the delivery address (as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan). For charging purposes, the ACT is considered to be part of NSW, and South Australia does not include Northern Territory. Australia Post provides a variety of payment options. For details, please discuss with your lodgement point or Account Manager, or the PreSort Letters Coordination Team on Note: If you want to pay using an Australia Post charge account you will need to lodge at the office at which you hold the account. Otherwise you will need to arrange with your account manager or Australia Post credit management for your account to be made available at the selected lodgement office.

Summary The key points covered were: You have the choice to presort articles into three categories: Residue, Unbarcoded Trays, and Direct Trays Small volume lodgements do not normally need to consider Direct Trays as it is unlikely that there will be at least 300 barcoded letters addressed to a single sort plan number. Unbarcoded letters must be presented in separate trays from Residue or Direct. A Direct Tray requires a minimum of 300 barcoded letters or 4kg of letter weight (excluding tray weight) where all addresses belong to a single sort plan (postcode range) as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP). There are 54 individual sort regions that comprise the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP). Sorting of PreSort Letters must be based on the BSP number assigned to each postcode. Tray labels containing a barcode of Code 128 type C symbology are required for the PreSort Letters Service. Prior to lodgement a completed tray label must be placed in the label pocket with the printed side visible. You are requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements over 50,000 PreSort Letters, no later than the Friday of the week prior to lodgement. A manifest is required to support each PreSort Letters lodgement in excess of 2,000 articles that has not been metered.

Assessment You now need to complete a short assessment to check your understanding of the information covered in this module. This assessment consists of 10 multiple-choice questions and should take you approximately 10 minutes to complete. To pass the assessment, you need to answer at least eight of these questions correctly. Attempt this assessment as many times as you need to. If you do not pass, it is recommended that you review this module again.

Assessment You have the choice to sort PreSort Letters to three categories. These are: 1 a. Residue, Small Postcode Direct, Large Postcode Direct b. Residue, Unbarcoded Tray, Direct Tray c. Residue, Office of Delivery, CBD Sort Correct answer = B Correct. Residue, Unbarcoded Tray, Direct Tray are the three PreSort sort categories.

Assessment What is the minimum number of barcoded letters required to make up a Barcode Direct Tray. 2 200 300 2000 Correct answer =B Correct. 300 Barcoded letters is the minimum volume for a Barcode Direct Tray.

Assessment 3 True or False?
Where the volumes of Residue or Unbarcoded are 2,000 or more letters then separate the letters into State based trays. 3 a. True b. False Correct answer = A Correct. Where the volumes of Residue or Unbarcoded are 2,000 or more letters then separate the letters into State based trays

Assessment The maximum acceptable weight of a letter tray including the tray weight is? 4 a. 6kgs b. 12kgs c. 16kgs d. 22kgs Correct answer = C Correct. The maximum weight including the tray weight is 16kgs

Assessment 5 The minimum acceptable weight of a Direct Tray is? a. 2kg
b. 4kg c. 16kg d. 20kg Correct answer = B Correct. A Direct Tray requires a minimum of 300 barcoded letters or 4kg of letter weight (excluding tray weight) where all addresses belong to a single sort plan (postcode range) as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP).

Assessment How many individual sort regions are there in the Barcode Sort Plan? 6 a. 25 b. 54 c. 75 d. 38 Correct answer = B Correct. There are 54 individual sort regions that comprise the BSP.

Assessment 7 When is the BSP updated each year? a. January and June
b. March and September c. May and December d. April and November Correct answer = B Correct. Updates to the BSP are made in March and September each year

Assessment 8 True or False?
When preparing Direct trays, it is preferable to sequence letters in postcode ascending order. True False Correct answer = A Correct. When preparing Direct trays, sequencing of letters in postcode ascending order is preferred but not mandatory..

Assessment When are customers requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements of PreSort Letters? 9 a. With every lodgement b. For lodgements over 2,000 c. For lodgements over 50,000 d. Customers are not required to provide advance notice Correct answer = C Correct. Limited spare capacity at some lodgement points means customers are requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements over 50,000 PreSort Letters.

Assessment When is a manifest required with a lodgement of PreSort Letters? 10 a. When the lodgement exceeds 2,000 articles that have not been metered b. Manifests are not required with PreSort Letters c. You should include a manifest with every lodgement of PreSort Letters. Correct answer = A Correct. A manifest is required to support each PreSort Letters lodgement in excess of 2,000 articles that has not been metered

PreSort Letters Lodgement

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