Australia Post is feeling the pressure as the pandemic lockdown continues. With more people staying home and not able to get to the shops in person, it seems the high volume of goods being shipped has brought the national service to its knees.

Today, Australia Post announced it will temporarily suspend parcel post collections from eCommerce retailers in NSW.

In an email to customers, the service said an increase in online shopping by the 15 million people in lockdown across NSW, ACT and Victoria has put “increased pressure on our network like nothing we have experienced before”.

Australia Post said it will suspend Parcel Post collections from customers in NSW, ACT and Victoria from Saturday, September 4 until Tuesday, September 7.

“Across the country, we are all managing the sustained challenges of the COVID pandemic,” the email states.

“We are also dealing with the impacts of the Delta strain and in any given day, we have close to 500 people out of our workforce, as they follow necessary self-isolation and testing before clearance back to work.

“As we manage staff shortages, temporary facility closures, and parcel volumes as high as Christmas peak period, the suspension will help to clear excess parcel volumes due to these impacts.

“The safety of our people is our highest priority and this temporary measure will allow us to responsibly clear record volumes in parts of our network.

“Our team will be processing all weekend to reduce these volumes to a safe and manageable level and help free up capacity with ULDs and pallets.”

Australia Post said lodgements at Post Offices will continue to be collected and Express Post, Premium and Startrack Express services will remain unchanged.

“Normal medical shipments (normally lodged Parcel Post) will still be accepted subject to confirmation and by arrangement. We're sorry for the inconvenience.”

If you have any important parcels to send or receive, you can check out what the latest impacts on the network are at: http://www.auspost.com.au/service-updates