Packaging standards

We want to help you get your parcel to its destination safely, so we’ve put together some simple guidelines. By following these easy steps, you can help us to:

  • Protect your parcel against damage while it is being transported and delivered.
  • Protect other customers’ parcels – you could be liable for damage to other items if it’s caused by inadequate packaging.
  • Protect our people and equipment against injury or damage.

Your responsibility

By accepting your item, we do not acknowledge that your packaging is sufficient to ensure the item is delivered undamaged. Please ensure that any items is well packaged to endure a 1.2 metre drop

Choosing the best packaging

Boxes are a great choice because they have flat surfaces, which means labels can be accurately positioned and easily read by our sorting machines, and they are more stable on our conveyor belts.

Best practice: Secure your box and place the label on a flat surface so it’s clearly identified:

Courier Packs or your own stationery bags also work well as long as they’re not too full. When overfilled, they become rounded and labels can distort, which makes it difficult for our sorting machines to read the labels.

  1. The label must be placed in the centre of the Courier Pack so our machines can read and process the address and barcode.
  2. The label should be placed so that it cannot bend or wrap and it should not be placed on the edge as this will distort readability and potentially cause delays.

Best practice: The Courier Pack is the right size for its contents and the label is centred:

Best practice

AVOID

Packaging to avoid

Avoid any loose packaging, such as straps, flaps, ribbons, strings or handles. Loose packaging can get caught on the moving parts of our sorting machines, causing the machine to stall.

AVOID

AVOID

AVOID

Avoid using dark or shiny labels as these can be difficult for our sorting machines to read. Instead, use packaging that is matte and bright or light in colour. Glossy or slippery packaging can also cause problems on our sorting machine’s conveyor belts when processing your parcels.

Protecting your items in transit

Please ensure that any item is well packaged to endure a 1.2 metre drop. On occasion parcels could be dropped, have items dropped on them, be nudged, placed sideways and/or upside down, so it is important that the parcel is packaged safely.

Most items can be packaged in a single box. We recommend cushioning the corners, wrapping individual items with a cushioning material and using a filler or cushioning material to stop contents from moving inside the box, as this could damage the contents or packaging.

For items that need additional protection, consider using the ‘box in a box’ method. Seal your box and place it into a sturdy, larger box, with cushioning material or filler between:

Internal and external packaging must be designed, constructed, filled, secured and strong enough to withstand the normal conditions of transport, automation and manual handling. This could include shock, vibration, temperature variations and being stacked on or under other items.

We recommend packaging materials such as:

  • Handi Bubble Wrap
  • Polychips
  • Corrugated cardboard
  • Shredded or rolled paper
  • Polyethylene foam sheeting
  • Dividers (between bottles, jars etc.)

When using boxes, where possible use new packaging as re-used boxes can lose strength over time. If you re-use boxes, please make sure other delivery labels are removed first. When old labels are left on the box, this can result in processing delays as our automated label reading equipment may read the old label instead of the new one.

When sending heavy items, please make sure they can’t move within the parcel during delivery to avoid damaging the outer packaging.

Best practice: Avoid empty spaces inside the parcel:

Best practice

AVOID

AVOID
  1. Ensure all items within packaging are secure and not prone to internal movement
  2. Don’t leave empty spaces. If you’re using dividers, ensure empty spaces are filled with even weight distribution.
  3. Even with dividers, empty spaces can allow bottles to move within the package, increasing the chance of a breakage.

If we identify that correct packaging hasn’t been used, e.g. bottles can be heard knocking against each other, we will raise the issue with you, and if not resolved we reserve the right to refuse the item.

NZ Post's top tips:

  • Secure boxes with plenty of tape but don’t cover your label or tickets
  • Always use extra packaging for shelf display boxes as these aren’t usually very durable
  • Fill any empty space in boxes with fillers so your boxes don’t collapse
  • Avoid overfilling boxes and Courier Packs as this could cause the packaging to split and affect the readability of labels or tickets

Learn more about how to package items.