Australian Postcode and Addressing Rules for Direct Mail

Getting Australian addresses right is the difference between a postcard that lands in a letterbox and one that's returned or undelivered. This guide covers Australia Post's addressing standards, what to watch for in Shopify customer data, and the address types that Print Post won't deliver to.

Standard Australian address format

Australia Post requires a specific address format for addressed mail. The correct order is:

    UNIT NUMBER / STREET NUMBER STREET NAME STREET TYPE

    SUBURB STATE POSTCODE

Example:

    42 PITT STREET

    SYDNEY NSW 2000

Key formatting rules:

Suburb name should be in uppercase
State abbreviation (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, ACT, NT) not the full state name
Postcode follows the state abbreviation on the same line
Unit number precedes the street number: "UNIT 3 / 42 PITT STREET" or "3/42 PITT STREET"

State abbreviations reference

State / Territory	Abbreviation	Postcode range
New South Wales	NSW	1000–2999
Victoria	VIC	3000–3999
Queensland	QLD	4000–4999
South Australia	SA	5000–5999
Western Australia	WA	6000–6999
Tasmania	TAS	7000–7999
Australian Capital Territory	ACT	0200–0299, 2600–2618
Northern Territory	NT	0800–0999

Address types that Print Post won't deliver to

Not all Australian address types accept addressed marketing mail via Print Post. The most common exclusions for Shopify brands are:

Parcel lockers

Australia Post's parcel locker service provides customers with a secure locker address for receiving parcels. Format: "Parcel Locker XXXXXXX [Street Address]". Parcel lockers only receive parcels, not flat mail. TouchDrop automatically filters these from postcard sends.

Parcel collect

A variation of the parcel locker service where customers collect parcels from a Post Office counter. Format: "Parcel Collect XXXXXXX [Post Office Name]". Not suitable for addressed flat mail.

PO Boxes

PO Box addresses (e.g. "PO Box 123, SYDNEY NSW 2000") do receive mail, but are often business addresses rather than residential delivery points. These can be included in postcard sends but conversion rates tend to be lower than residential delivery.

Incomplete addresses

Addresses missing the street number, suburb, or postcode — common in Shopify stores where checkout address validation is lenient — will be filtered by TouchDrop's validation before the send.

Shopify address data quality

Shopify's checkout collects addresses in a relatively freeform way. Customers can enter suburb names with incorrect capitalisation, abbreviated state names, incorrect postcodes for their suburb, or parcel locker addresses as their shipping address. TouchDrop validates this data against Australia Post's addressing requirements before queuing postcards for print — invalid addresses are excluded rather than sent.

Common issues in Shopify address data for Australian stores:

Suburb spelled incorrectly or using a local colloquial name
Postcode not matching the suburb-state combination
Parcel locker or parcel collect addresses used as shipping addresses
ACT postcodes listed with NSW or vice versa (common border area confusion)

Address validation handled automatically.

TouchDrop filters invalid addresses before every campaign send.

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