Members of the Jindabyne East Residents Committee have supported Australia Post’s position of not offering a daily home delivery service to residents of East Jindabyne and Tyrolean village.

Committee members say a daily service is not economically viable, and one residents of each village can do without.

Australia Post provides over-the-counter services at local post offices in remote areas where a physical roadside mail delivery can’t be made.

Included as a remote area, according to Australia Post, are the village locations of East Jindabyne and Tyrolean, just outside the centre of Jindabyne.

Australia Post says it monitors growth areas and considers introducing delivery where it’s practical, based on the size of the local population, where they have got the nearby resources to carry out the service.

However, these points might limit the organisation’s ability to deliver, including the safety for its postees, the location geographically, and the cost of providing the service.

When considering where to offer street delivery, the organisation needs to take into account the sustainability of the network.

Factors such as the location, safety and population of both Tyrolean and East Jindabyne, means Australia Post does not offer residential postal services and instead residents collect their mail from either a PO Box at Australia Post on Snowy River Way in Jindabyne or at the Jindabyne East Community Post Agency (CPA) on Kosciuszko Rd, also known as the East Jindabyne Service Station, where residents can utilise an over-the-counter collection service or a 24/7 parcel locker.

An Australia Post spokesperson said, Australia Post understands how important mail delivery and other postal services are to local communities.

“Residents of East Jindabyne and Tyrolean currently use the Jindabyne Post Shop to collect their parcels and mail which is open from Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm. Residents in these areas are also eligible for a reduced rate PO Box,” the spokesperson said.

“We monitor growth areas carefully. Mail collection and delivery arrangements vary from place to place, depending on the location, safety, size, needs and preferences of each community. Residents interested in a delivery service can submit a delivery change request via the Australia Post website for assessment.”

Approximately an eight-minute drive to the Jindabyne Post office and two minutes to the East Jindabyne Service Station, Australia Post has ensured both locations have post office boxes available for those residents and they are available at a reduced rate because they are not able to do the delivery direct to them now.

Australia Post does consider requests for mail delivery services via its website, if residents in those areas are passionate about asking for delivery.

If the population in both villages grows to a higher level, Australia Post will consider providing delivery mail services in the future.

Mail collection and delivery arrangements do vary in each community and Australia Post must consider a range of factors before offering this service.

Jindabyne is offered the service to residential addresses as it’s a more populated area making it a feasible option for Australia Post and the numbers fluctuate over the winter season, adding a layer of complexity to the service offered.

Jindabyne East Residents Committee member, Shane Trengrove, said he has lived in East Jindabyne for 22 years and has not received a postal service since he moved in.

“While I can see it being an inconvenience for some, for me it has not been an issue as most of my mail is electronic these days and I don’t have a lot of hard copy mail to collect,” Mr Trengrove said.

“I’m glad I don’t have a physical mailbox as it deters junk mail and I’m happy to collect my mail from the East Jindabyne Service Station as it’s become a bit of a hub for local East Jindabyne residents, and we can all catch up over coffee.

“It is my belief that many residential addresses in East Jindabyne are not occupied by homeowners and are either used as holiday homes or short-term rentals, so a daily mail service to an area mostly surrounded by absentee homeowners just isn’t viable in this area.

“I would urge that Australia Post asks the residents of East Jindabyne and Tyrolean if they would like to receive a postal service and get an updated response, as I remember a similar survey being carried out in the early 2000s but nothing since.”

Committee member, Margaret Mackinnon, another East Jindabyne resident for many years, echoed Mr Trengrove’s comments and said it’s not economical and the area simply just does not need a daily service.

“Collecting your mail for East Jindabyne residents has become a social outing, a hub for many of us to collect our mail and catch up over a coffee,” Ms McKinnon said.

The Jindabyne Service Station is a locally owned and operated, independent service station.