Compensation & prohibited items

If you’re sending parcels within New Zealand or overseas from our trial stores, a separate set of terms and conditions applies. Find out all you need to know for trial parcel services for Kapiti or Marlborough.

We make every effort to ensure your item arrives on time and in good condition, but unfortunately sometimes things can go wrong.

General inquiries
What am I covered for?
Compensation limits for sending with New Zealand
Compensation limits for sending internationally
What can't be sent
Prohibited items
High risk items
Other information and exclusions
Making a compensation claim
Further information

General inquiries

Please contact us if you have any questions concerning our products/services, procedures, packaging, missing or damaged items.

Please view our full contact details if you wish to contact us by email or in writing.

What am I covered for?

We cover your items for loss or damage, subject to the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and a number of important limitations and exclusions, up to the limits detailed in the sections below.  We will also refund the postage if your item has been lost.

As our delivery targets are a guide only, we do not cover your items for any delay in delivery.

Compensation limits for sending with New Zealand

• You can't send items valued at more than our standard compensation limits (except when using Ready to Go and Trackme - see next bullet point below).
• If you send items valued at more than our standard compensation limit when using Ready to Go and Trackme, you will be covered up to a maximum of $1,500.

Compensation limits for sending internationally

 You can only send items valued at more than our standard compensation limit overseas by:

• using a service with a higher compensation limit, or
• buying additional compensation cover (if available).

If you do not buy additional cover, or it is not available, you cannot send the item.

For information about buying additional compensation cover please ask at your local PostShop or New Zealand Post retail outlet or call our Customer Service Centre on 0800 73 63 53.

What can’t be sent

There are two types of items that you need to know about – prohibited items and high risk items.  We sometimes refer to high risk items as restricted items.

• Prohibited items are items that you simply aren’t allowed to send with us.
• High risk items are items that we will accept, as long as you meet our specified conditions of carriage detailed under the section high risk items. If you don’t meet our conditions of carriage, the item is prohibited.

Prohibited items

Items are prohibited because they pose a risk to the safety and security of our employees, customers and other people and equipment.  They may appear harmless, but as almost all international items and many domestic items travel by air at some stage, they can become dangerous.

Our Customer Service Centre is always happy to help, but it is your responsibility to check whether the item you want to send is prohibited.  If you send a prohibited item:

• acceptance of that item by us does not free you of any of your responsibilities
• we won’t cover you for any loss or damage
• we may hold you liable for any costs or damages incurred by us
• we may open it (even if we only suspect that it is prohibited)
• we may not deliver it
• we may charge you for its disposal.

There are also penalties for sending prohibited items under the Postal Services Act 1998, Civil Aviation Act 1990 and other legislation.
Prohibited items include, but are not limited to:

• anything that is inadequately packaged or capable of causing damage to people and property – you can find helpful information about how to package certain items at 'How to package items'.
• dangerous goods – explosives, gases, flammable liquids and solids, oxidising substances and organic peroxides, toxic (poisonous) and infectious substances, radioactive materials, corrosives, or highly magnetic and polymerisable substances (these dangerous goods rules are governed by the International Air Transport Association (IATA))
• illegal items (whether in New Zealand or the destination country)
• firearms, firearm parts and ammunition.  Firearm parts are any piece of a firearm that is designed or intended to be an integral part of a firearm, regardless of whether it is in working condition.  Firearm parts include, but are not limited to, the breech/chamber, stock/butt, magazine, silencer, barrel, bolt and trigger assembly.  Firearm accessories such as sights, slings and bipods/tripods can be sent
• lithium ion or lithium polymer batteries*
• drugs (unless in prescription quantities and packaged correctly)*
• unsolicited indecent items or representations of any kind
• human remains, including ashes
• noxious substances or things, or dead animals
• live animals (except for correctly packaged bees, leeches, silkworms or harmless insects)
• perishables
• fragile items*
• travellers cheques, deeds, negotiable instruments (including any bearer security, bill of exchange or uncrossed cheque), bonds or shares, credit or bank cards, cash, currency, bullion or vouchers, gift cards, or tickets for any games of chance (such as raffle and lottery tickets)
• jewellery, watches, precious metals or stones*
• collectibles, antiques, paintings, sculptures or works of art*
• unused stamps*.

*Depending on where you want to send these items, or what service you want to use, you may be able to send them. Refer to the section on high risk items.

Quick reference guide to common prohibited items

This list is a guide only - it is not a complete list of all prohibited items.

High risk items

We will accept the following high risk items, as long as you meet our specified conditions of carriage. When buying additional cover is a condition of carriage, refer to the section on compensation limits for sending internationally. If you don’t meet our conditions of carriage, the item is prohibited.

 *Priority domestic services are FastPost, ParcelPost PO Box Priority and BoxLink.

Special packaging requirements for lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries

Check the table above to see what services you can use to send lithium batteries.

• The battery must be sufficiently wrapped and packaged separately within the parcel and able to withstand a 1.2m drop.  This is the inside package.
• If the battery is enclosed internally and cannot be removed (e.g. iPods), the whole item must be sufficiently wrapped and packaged separately within the parcel and able to withstand a 1.2m drop.  This is the inside package.
• The inside package and the outer package must have a special warning sticker (MAIL285 sticker) attached, which is available at your local PostShop.
• A completed Lithium Battery Document (ADV550) (PDF, 146kb) must be completed and included into the clear pouch with the other international sending documents.

Packaging fragile items

Our general handling and transport processes are the same for all items, and we cannot provide any special treatment for items that are fragile.  It is your responsibility to ensure that any item is well packaged and can withstand a 1.2m drop.  It is not enough to put ‘fragile’ or ‘handle with care’ labels on your item.

Country-specific requirements

When sending items overseas, you should also ensure that:

• your item is not prohibited from export by the New Zealand government, or that you meet any export restrictions  (such as an export permit) if there are any
• your item is not prohibited or restricted in the country you are sending it to.

For further information, contact the New Zealand Customs service or the appropriate New Zealand or overseas government authority.

Other limitations and exclusions

In addition to prohibited and high risk items, other limitations and exclusions apply.  In these circumstances, we are not liable to pay you any compensation.  We may also be unable to deliver your item and have to return it to you (at your expense).

These include situations when:

• you have not complied with all our relevant terms and conditions contained in the Public Contract and Postal Users’ Guide, which are available in your local PostShop or at 'Standard terms & conditions products and services'.
• the item is incorrectly addressed
• the item is seized or confiscated by Customs or any other government agency or border control authority
• you don’t complete any required documentation fully and correctly
• the loss or damage is the result of any negligence by you
• you send something to a country where no postal or courier service exists
• the loss or damage is because of an event beyond our reasonable control
• the loss or damage occurs after delivery
• you buy our goods or services for the purpose of your business and the loss or damage is consequential or indirect, loss of profits or economic loss.
• you make a claim for compensation outside our standard timeframes or don’t provide the claims details that we ask for.

The provisions of the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 do not apply when you buy our goods or services for the purpose of your business.

Making a compensation claim

If you want to claim compensation for an item posted from overseas, please ask the sender to start the claim with the postal authority in the country it was sent from.

All other claims should be made by the sender with New Zealand Post or CourierPost, depending on the service used.

When the contents are damaged or some of the contents are missing

Please take the item and its packaging to your nearest PostShop within 7 days of receiving it. You should not try and fix up the item or its packaging, as we need to see the state that it was in when you received it. If you have sent an item overseas, the person who received it should take it to the postal authority in their country.

We may need to keep the item while we look into what happened.

When the whole item goes missing

What you need to tell us

When making compensation claim, you need to provide us with the following information (where applicable):

• time, date and place of posting
• sender and addressee details
• proof of posting (receipts or invoices)
• evidence of the value of the item, such as the cost or replacement price, receipts or valuation notice (an online auction number is fine for these purposes)
• tracking number
• sender's copy of the consignment note or Customs declaration
• GST number.

Other things you need to know

• When a claim is accepted, we will pay you, up to the compensation limit for each service, the lesser of:
  • the value or declared value of the item
  • an indemnity value as determined by us
  • the cost of repairing the item.
• We individually investigate each claim, which means resolution may not be immediate and some international investigations may take several months to complete.
  • If you’re claiming compensation for second hand goods that you have sold (e.g. on online auction sites), compensation payment will be based on the sale price.
  • If you’re claiming compensation for goods sold in a business situation, compensation payment will be based on the cost price to you, not the retail price of the item.
  • We may choose to fix or replace items, rather than pay compensation.
  • Once we’ve paid compensation for a damaged item, we may dispose of it.
  • If we pay you compensation for a lost item, and it turns up later, it will be our property.  If you want it back, you will have to refund the compensation we paid you.

This guide is a summary of the key information contained in the relevant sections of our Public Contract and Postal Users' Guide.

Further information

For other important information:

• View our standard terms and conditions for business customers
• Visit your local PostShop or New Zealand Post retail outlet; or
• Phone us
• Email us
• Write to us
  Customer Service Centre
  New Zealand Post
  PO Box 39100
  Wellington Mail Centre
  Lower Hutt 5045