How to Address a Letter in Australia

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If you’re sending a letter in Australia, or from Australia to a different country, you’ll need to address it in a standard way so Australia Post can be sure where to send it. In the middle of the envelope, write in your recipient’s name, address, suburb, state, and postal code. Also include your return address in the upper left corner of the envelope. Then you’re all ready to put on some stamps and post your letter.

Method 1
Method 1 of 2:

Addressing Your Letter

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  1. Fold the paper in thirds, horizontally, and slide it into the envelope. Depending on the envelope, you may need to moisten the adhesive with your tongue or a damp sponge, or you might need to peel off the paper backing over the adhesive before you can seal it. You can also use a bit of tape or a sticker to seal the envelope closed. [1]
    • Turn your envelope over. You will write on the side that is an entire blank rectangle, not the side with the flap.
  2. With dark ink, print their full name neatly in a single line. You can address your letter to multiple people if they live at the same place. If they both share a family name, you can write their first names, and then the last name, like: “John and Jane Rose.” If they do not share a common family name, you can include up to two people’s full names. [2]
    • If you are sending a formal letter, add the recipient's title ("Mr.," "Mrs.," "Dr.," and so on).
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  3. The street address is the number of house or building and the name of their street. For example: "10 Eastern Road." [3]
    • If the recipients live in an apartment complex, place their apartment number followed by a slash before the street number. For example, "14/10 Eastern Road" would be apartment 14 of the 10th building on Eastern Road.
  4. Right below where you wrote the street address, write out their suburb (e.g. Milton, Turramurra or Malvern). Then, write the abbreviation of their state or territory. Finally, write their postal code. All of these items should be on one line of writing, and all in capital letters. If your recipient has a post box number, include it here.
    • You can find the postal code for a suburb from the Australia Post Website at https://auspost.com.au/postcode . [4]
    • The state abbreviations are: [5]
    • QLD for Queensland
    • NSW for New South Wales
    • ACT for Australian Capital Territory
    • VIC for Victoria
    • TAS for Tasmania
    • NT for Northern Territory
    • SA for South Australia
    • WA for Western Australia.
  5. Write their country code in all capitals on the same line as you wrote their town and state. For example, if you’re sending something to the United States, write “USA.” If you’re sending your letter within the country, you don’t have to write any country code.
  6. This will be the return address in case your letter can’t be delivered. Format your address the same way you formatted your recipient’s. Write out your full name, and on the line below, write your street address. Finally, put your suburb, state abbreviation, and postal code on the bottom line. [6]
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Method 2
Method 2 of 2:

Posting Your Letter

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  1. The number of stamps you need depends on the size and weight of your letter and how far you need it to go. The maximum size for a standard letter is 260mm wide (10 in), 360mm long (14 in), and 20mm (.8 in) thick. You can send a letter to anywhere in Australia for $1 worth of stamps in Australian currency. [7]
    • If you’re sending your letter overseas, it’ll be more pricey. It’ll cost 2.10 Australian dollars to have your letter arrive in 10 or more days, and $18.55 to send your letter in just 5 days.
    • If you have a concession card, you can purchase stamps at a reduced rate. [8]
  2. You can buy stamps and stick them on yourself. If you don’t have enough stamps at home, or are confused about how many you might need, you can bring your letter to the post shop counter, and ask them to help you. [9]
    • If you have a bunch of old domestic 70 cent stamps, you can still use them. You can buy 30 cent stamps online or at a few post offices, to combine with your 70 cent ones to make an even dollar.
  3. Just put the letter in your post box, or bring it into the post shop if you prefer. Post carriers don’t work on public holidays or weekends, so if you drop off your letter then, it’ll sit for a bit before delivery. [10]
    • Post collection time is 3:00pm local time. That means if you post a letter after 3:00pm, they’ll collect it the next day.
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    Are PO box numbers used?
    Community Answer
    In Australia, Post Office boxes are addressed in the same way. Find out more over at the official Australia Post website.
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  • Question
    Where do I put the sender's address?
    Luis E. I. Herrera
    Community Answer
    If space allows after writing the recipient's details, you may put it in the top left corner on the front of the envelope. Otherwise, you may put it on the back flap of the envelope.
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  • Question
    When including a building name, suite number and street address for a company address does the suite number go on the same line as the street address
    Maya Mahony
    Community Answer
    Put the name of the building first, then on the next line put the suite number and the street address, separated by a slash, just like you were addressing for an apartment.
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      Warnings

      • If you accidentally don’t put on enough postage stamps, the post office will return the letter to you. If you haven’t included a return address, they’ll ask your recipient to pay.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-is-licking-envelopes-still-a-thing/
      2. ↑ https://www.today.com/home/how-address-envelope-t156576
      3. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/addressing-an-envelope.pdf
      4. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/postcode
      5. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/correct-addressing.pdf
      6. ↑ https://www.usps.com/international/letters.htm
      7. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/sending/letters-australia
      8. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/sending/stamps/concession-stamps
      9. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/content/dam/auspost_corp/media/documents/addressing-an-envelope.pdf
      1. ↑ https://auspost.com.au/sending/letters-australia/regular

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      To address a letter in Australia, start by writing the recipient’s full name on the front and center of the envelope. Under the name, write the street address, which consists of the house or building number and the name of the street. If the person lives in an apartment, write the apartment number followed by a slash and then the building number. For example, 5 slash 130 Sunnyside Lane. On the next line, write the name of the suburb, the state or territory abbreviation, and the postal code. You can look up postal codes for each suburb on the Australian Post website. If the recipient has a post office box number, put it on this line as well. For addresses outside of Australia, include one more line with the country code, such as USA for the United States of America. Finish up by putting your own name and address in the upper left corner of the envelope. For more tips, such as how to stamp and post the letter once you’ve addressed it, read on!

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