New Postcodes To Keep Mail Moving

New Postcodes To Keep Mail Moving In The Right Direction

Some 1.8 million mailers introducing New Zealanders to their new postcodes will be sent to every household, rural address and New Zealand Post PO Box from tomorrow (1 June) as New Zealand Post publicly launches its new four-digit postcode system.

Peter Fenton, the Chief Executive of New Zealand Post’s Postal Services Group, says the new system – which replaces all postcodes currently in use – has been designed to help reduce the instances of misdirected mail caused by incorrect addressing or problems caused by duplicate or similar street names.

“New Zealand Post has always endeavoured to ensure that all mail is delivered accurately and on time, however in more recent years, this has become more of a challenge. An increasing proportion of mail is incorrectly addressed and the number of delivery addresses continues to expand with the development of new suburbs and the increase in apartment and urban fringe living,” says Mr Fenton.

“There are 18 Beach Roads in the Auckland area alone – which gives an idea of the confusion and frustration that can occur in the absence of postcodes,” says Mr Fenton.

Under the new system, there are no streets with the same name within an urban postcode boundary.

Mr Fenton says the introduction of new four-digit postcodes is central to ensuring New Zealand Post continues to deliver customers’ mail accurately and on time and is a key component of a wider investment programme which involves upgrading mail sorting technology across the country.

Under the new postcode system the country is divided into some 1850 new postcode areas, with up to 10,000 delivery addresses per postcode. The postcodes start with ‘’ in Northland and progress southward, ending with codes starting with ‘9’ in Otago and Southland. Rural Delivery (RD) areas will get dedicated postcodes for the first time.

Mr Fenton says the new postcodes will be of particular value to businesses and organisations that generate large volumes of addressed mail, with reduced ‘Return to Sender’ or undeliverable mail issues. New Zealand Post has been working with these customers for some time to introduce the changes.

“New Zealanders don’t have to contact their electricity company, bank or other service providers with their new postcodes, these organisations will contact their customers when they are ready to start using them.”

But he adds that every New Zealander should take note of their new postcode – and remember it. “We’ll increasingly find that businesses and other organisations will require the inclusion of a postcode – especially when delivery addresses are needed for the likes of online transactions.”

New Zealanders have not traditionally been users of postcodes – unlike, for example, people in the US and UK – “who generally know their postcodes or zip codes in the same way they know their home phone number or, more recently, their email addresses”.

Mr Fenton says that the mail will still get through if it’s not carrying a postcode – or carries an old postcode. “However I’d encourage everyone to remember their new postcode and use it when asked.”

From Thursday 1 June, people can visit www.nzpost.co.nz/mynewpostcode to check out their new postcode and get more information.

Postcode Competition

The postcode mailers will also give New Zealanders the chance to win one of three $10,000 trips to the ‘postcode of their choice’ overseas – such as Beverly Hills 90210 or London SW1.

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