News
19 August, 2026
Experiencing a day in the life of local posties
The Australia Post Bowral Delivery Centre was a hive of activity on Tuesday morning, as it often is most mornings throughout the year.
The Australia Post Bowral Delivery Centre was a hive of activity on Tuesday morning, as it often is most mornings throughout the year.
The centre’s 20 posties and 35 contract drivers can process up to an incredible 6000 parcels and sometimes upwards of 8000 letters on a normal day, according to delivery manager, Brett Howell.
With temperatures below freezing especially at this time of the year, their team has previously had to deliver in snow!
Their operations are split over two sites at Bowral (which has been in operation for 25 years since 2001) and at Moss Vale.
“We service 12 Post Offices & Licensed Post Offices, and we delivered over 1.5 million scannable articles last year plus mail,” Bowral Delivery Centre Manager Brett Howell told The Southern Wire.
“And our night shift team at Moss Vale sorts by hand most of the scannable items plus the mail.”
The centres employ 30 corporate staff (with 20 of those being posties) and 35 contract drivers; and they are a dedicated team, with two staff with over 40 years’ service, and five staff with over 30 years’ service.
“At our peak time of year, we can often see an increase of up to 40% with our posties often delivering 200+ parcels per day plus mail and Christmas cards,” Mr. Howell said.
“We cover an area of some 1,600 square kilometres here in the Southern Highlands. Every ‘postie’ delivers to more than 1,200 houses on a daily basis in the main towns such as Mittagong, Bowral and Moss Vale, but they also deliver to the villages as far north as Colo Vale, Hill Top and Yerrinbool; as far south as Marulan, and we even stretch down as far as Kangaroo Valley in the east and High Range and Wombeyan Caves Rd in the west.
“Being a postie in the Highlands is a challenge, with sometimes upwards of 10 – 12 days of wet weather hampering delivery efforts somewhat,” he added.
“It’s a tough business to be in now too, as the number of houses keeps growing, but the numbers of letters are starting to drop.
“There are also early starts, with shifts starting at 6:00am and running through to between 2pm and 4pm.”
The Bowral Delivery Centre has a fleet of three – wheeled 100 percent electric bikes that top out at a maximum speed of 45kph, as well as the old fashioned ‘postie bikes’ for the more rugged and challenging areas.
“We’re also trialling deliveries of brand-new electric bikes here at Australia Post, too,” Mr. Howell said.
Towards the latter half of the year and closer to the Christmas period is when they need to recruit for extra workers, including not only postal workers, but also mail sorters and van and truck drivers.
“We are looking to take on some ‘Christmas casuals’, with four to six weeks of casual employment, and applications will be opening soon,” Mr. Howell said.
“We also have night shift workers at Moss Vale who work from 11pm to 7am, if you are keen to take that on.”
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Read More: Bowral, Moss Vale, Southern Highlands