I received an email from AusPost this morning advising they're joining a group of international postal services in temporarily suspending all parcel deliveries to the United States and Puerto Rico, effective immediately, until they can sort out the mess that are the new tariff changes affecting anything with a value. They've provided the following link for more details:
Retail customers: https://auspost.com.au/sending/parcels-overseas/internationa…
Business customers: https://auspost.com.au/business/shipping/parcels-internation…
TL/DR short points
- This includes even parcels below the de minimis USD$800 threshold exemption.
- AusPost are engaging a third party provider, Zonos, to manage tariff declarations and collection of duties. If you send anything with a value (which will be everything - see below) you may need to pre-pay duties up-front before sending.
- AusPost will not accept anything with a declared value of less than AUD$1.
- New mandatory reporting requirements means you must declare country of origin (COO) and HS tariff codes on all documentation.
Full email copied below:
Dear Chazzozz,
As a result of the recently introduced changes to the import tariff requirements set out in US Executive Order 14324, Australia Post has joined a number of international postal operators to temporarily suspend partial postal services to the United States (US) and Puerto Rico, effective immediately until further notice.
This decision has been made to ensure compliance with the new US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) requirements. Specifically, the requirement for duties and taxes to be prepaid on all shipments prior to their arrival in the US. The key changes are as follows:
- Suspension of the de minimis USD$800 threshold exemption.
- New mandatory customs declaration requirements.
- Duties for imported goods to be collected prior to goods entering the US.
Australia Post is partnering with Zonos®, an authorised CBP third-party provider to offer a solution that, once launched, will allow services to the US to resume. We will advise customers once this solution has been implemented and services resumed. We will provide an update once this solution has been implemented, but in the meantime, you can register for this service, so you are ready when it launches.
What this means for you:
- Postal goods due to be shipped to the US and Puerto Rico and lodged from 26 August 2025 will not be accepted by Australia Post until further notice.
- We continue to accept letters and documents of no commercial value. However these items must still comply with the new mandatory declaration requirements.
- Items lodged after 26 August 2025 will be returned to sender.
- In preparation for when services resume, you will need to sign up with Zonos® and create a Verified Account to send goods to the US and Puerto Rico. (Details below on how to access the duty calculation and payment services with Zonos®).
We understand that this may cause inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work to resume services to the US in line with the new regulations.
Updated process for US sending
To be compliant with the new mandatory customs declaration requirements, there are new mandatory fields that must be completed when lodging customs declarations and sending to the US and Puerto Rico:
- Country of Origin (COO) – this refers to the country of manufacture of the goods.
- Value of Goods – This must be declared accurately for each item within your parcel. Values less than AUD$1.00 will not be accepted.
- Harmonised System (HS) Tariff Code – It is your responsibility to ensure that the correct HS tariff number is used. You can use our auto-lookup here or refer to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website when entering details manually.
Please note:
- Items missing any of the required information will be rejected by Australia Post and returned to sender.
- CBP will not assess or accept items with incomplete declarations.
- Sending to Puerto Rico has also been impacted by these tariff changes as we understand they are under US Customs territory.
Paying duties and taxes via Zonos®
Once implemented, Zonos® will help streamline the calculations and pre-payment of duties and taxes for postal goods entering the US and Puerto Rico, and assist customers with their payment and compliance with global tax regulations.
You will need to set up a Verified Account with Zonos® to ensure your shipments are accepted and to minimise the risk of processing delays. This account enables duties to be collected and paid to CBP via Zonos® prior to your goods arriving into the US.
What you need to do:
- Create a Verified Account
- Use the sign-up link provided by Australia Post and register for an account.
- Provide the required business details
- If you are a MyPost Business account holder, please provide your APBCN. This can be found on your MPB dashboard on the Send & Save page under your unique QR Code.
- If you are a business contract customer please provide your MLID number. Contact your Account Manager to access this.
- Add a payment method
- Zonos® will invoice you directly for duties.
- Connect your Zonos® Account Key to Australia Post
- Once approved, you will receive a Zonos® Account Key which will be linked to your Australia Post account.
- The Zonos® Account Key ensures that whenever you create a shipping label with your Australia Post account, Zonos® can automatically validate that your postal goods are tied with your Zonos® Verified Account, confirming to Australia Post that your duties and taxes compliance requirements have been met so your postal goods can be sent without delay.
For billing, Zonos® will directly invoice you and handle the duty payments with CBP. Through your Verified Account you will also have access to the Zonos® Dashboard, allowing you to view duty breakdowns, manage payments and download invoices.
We recommend setting up your Zonos® Verified Account as soon as possible. Once you have signed up for a Zonos® Verified Account, Australia Post will advise when this service will resume.
We’re here to help
We appreciate these changes are significant and we are here to help. Please note that the information above is subject to change. We are monitoring the situation closely and will provide updates for US sending on our website. We recommend you visit the official websites of the relevant authorities for the most up-to-date information.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss how we can support you further, please call us on 13 11 18, Monday to Friday, 8am - 6pm (AEST).
Regards,
Gary Starr
Executive General Manager
Parcel, Post and eCommerce Services
Just expect chaos.