Australia Post: anything we can do to help keep our team safe and reduce risk is important

The data, tracked and logged by Posties on their handheld devices, shows that dogs remain the number one logged hazard encountered, with low hanging branches and obstructive trees also posing a high safety risk. Some of the more unusual hazards that Posties have to contend with include magpie and other bird attacks, insect nests in letterboxes and roped off driveways.

Across the country, NSW had the highest number of logged hazards throughout the year at over 20,000, followed by Victoria with nearly 19,000 logged hazards.  In the other states and territories Queensland logged over 16,000 hazards, South Australia logged over 13,000 hazards, Western Australia had over 10,000, Tasmania logged 1,300 the ACT logged over 900 and the Northern Territory logged over 500 hazards.

The top five logged hazards encountered by Posties across the country in the last 12 months include:

1. Unrestrained or aggressive dogs
2. Low hanging branches, obstructive trees/shrubs
3. Surface conditions such as cracked footpaths and uneven surfaces
4. Letterbox conditions including sharp, jagged or rusted edges
5. Blind driveways and obstructive cars

Australia Post rolled out the digital hazard tool 12 months ago in a bid to help reduce incidents and injury to Posties. Provided to every Postie, the hazard tool enables them to easily, immediately and digitally log a hazard when they come across it. The next time they, or any other Postie, approach a pre-logged location they will receive a warning notification on their device, allowing them to avoid it or take extra care.

Rod Barnes, Australia Post Executive General Manager Network Operations highlighted that Posties just want to be able to complete their deliveries safely, without hitting their heads on low-hanging branches, navigating badly cracked footpaths or having to avoid aggressive dogs.

“The nature of the job requires our Posties to be out and about every day so anything we can do to help keep our team safe and reduce risk is important. This national hazard database allows us to track hazards consistently and accurately, ultimately reducing the risk for our team members.

“Once a hazard is logged in the system we take the necessary steps to try and resolve it for our team. This might include engaging local council for issues such as badly cracked pavements or writing to the customer to fix the issue in the case of unrestrained dogs. The safety of our team is our number one priority and if they cannot do their job safely then we may be unable to deliver until the hazard is fixed,” said Mr Barnes.

In addition to the hazard tool Australia Post also uses telematics, including video footage and sensors, across its delivery fleet to help to reduce serious accidents as its delivery team takes to the streets each day.