Sending Dangerous Goods

It’s important you understand your legal obligations as a sender of Dangerous Goods and the approval processes required for us to transport Dangerous Goods on your behalf.

While we are permitted to carry Dangerous Goods on your behalf and have robust systems and procedures in place, we can only do so if you comply with the obligations set out in the Land Transport Rule Dangerous Goods 2005 (PDF - 300KB) and meet the conditions in our Dangerous Goods policy. For this reason, you must seek approval from us before sending Dangerous Goods.

All dangerous goods shipped by NZ Post (or approved partners) must be marked, labelled, documented and presented as per Land Transport Rule Dangerous Goods 2005 Rule 45001/2005. Labels sized 100x100mm should be used on all dangerous good parcels. Labels sized 50x50mm should be used only where the 100x100mm label cannot fit. Dangerous Goods labels must not have other labels placed partially over them and must not wrap around the edge of the parcel or box. If the label doesn’t fit diagonally in the first instance, squarely placed on the side or top of the box, so long as it does not wrap over the edges, is also accepted (diamond on its side).

For any Dangerous Goods parcel we receive with incorrect or incomplete documentation, packaging or labelling, or if any compulsory requirement hasn’t been followed, an admin fee of $9.50 (excl. GST) will be charged. This is to cover our costs to either correct the error ourselves, or to return or dispose of items that don’t comply.

If you are unsure about what is classified as a dangerous good, or sending requirements, more information can be found within our Dangerous Goods Policy, or from your Dangerous Goods Consultants.

Dangerous Goods processing timeframes

Please notify your receivers expecting products that are classified as Dangerous Goods that there is always additional processing time. We usually advise a timeframe of 1-5 additional days for Economy items.

The additional processing period within the North or South Island is 1-2 days (which may be extended to 2-3 days as required), and 3-4 days between islands (due to extra requirements for items travelling on interisland ferries).

This extended timeframe is because our team carefully sort products for North and South Islands, Rural versus urban, and check that parcels comply with our requirements to be transported. Please let your receivers know that they should expect additional time for processing depending on their location.