The global response to the CoronaVirus Pandemic has affected many people and businesses. This page will have updates about:
- Private Box Operations
- NZ Post updates
- Risk of infection from mail
- Are you or your business an essential service?
Private Box operations will be affected by the Current Covid-19 alert level for New Zealand which is currently at Level 4.
Private Box Operations
Private Box is an essential service and is operating. Most staff are working from home. Online support is available via phone and email, Mon-Fri 9am-4pm NZ Time.
We can receive deliveries at our Wellington Office from 9am until 1pm Monday to Friday.
Our Auckland office is closed during Level 4. See Mail Service below for more details.
Pickups
In order to protect staff and stop the spread of Covid-19 picking up mail in person is no longer available.
Please login to your account at https://secure.privatebox.co.nz to request mail to be scanned, forwarded to your current location or "Parcel Collect" (to have it delivered to Z stations or a Countdown supermarkets).
Please note - Post Shops are closed and you will not be able to collect mail from them when using parcel collect, counter delivery or post restante services.
- Level 1 - Customer pickups 9am - 4pm.
- Level 2 - Customer pickups 9am - 1pm only. Scheduled pickup recommended.
- Level 3 - Scheduled pickups only.
- Level 4 - No customer pickups.
Mail Service
Our office in Auckland is now closed until the lockdown is over. How does this affect you?
- We will no longer be able to accept courier or parcels at 17b Farnham Street.
- Expect delays in handling mail delivered to this address. We have set-up an NZ Post mail redirection to have mail delivered to Wellington for processing.
- Business Services such as Registered Office addresses are not affected at this time, and do not need to be changed.
We can still receive couriers and parcels at Level 1, 6 Johnsonvile Road, Johnsonville, Wellington 6037. However during the lockdown I do recommend getting important items delivered directly to where you are during the lockdown period.
A summary of current service levels are detailed below:
|
Location |
Letters |
Parcels |
Company services |
|
Auckland |
Redirected to Wellington |
No longer accepted. Please use Wellington address or own address. |
Business as usual |
|
Wellington (Head office) |
Processed same day |
Processed same day |
Business as usual |
|
Christchurch |
Redirected to Wellington |
Not accepted | None |
All PO Box services have NZ Post mail redirections in place and will be processed as normal by the Wellington office.
Free automated scanning
To help with receiving your mail digitally during the lock down all customers can now have mail scanned automatically without the 80c charge. To enable automatic scanning please goto https://secure.privatebox.co.nz/mailbox/rules > Folder Rules > Add Rule (or just email us and we can enable this for you).
You may like to enable scan to email as well - this is enabled on the same page under Folder Rules (choose "when mail is scanned").
Please note - items over 2 pages will still be charged an additional page fee of 25c per page.
For more info please see https://support.privatebox.co.nz/hc/en-us/articles/206297903-Setting-up-Automatic-Mail-Scanning
New Zealand Post Updates
Domestic mail service
New Zealand’s mail services are operating with some minor changes:
- CourierPost has changed the way it delivers Signature Required parcels. Note that Private Box does not use the Signature Required service.
- Post Shops are closed and you will not be able to collect mail from them when using parcel collect, counter delivery or Post Restante services. If you usually use these services we recommend using Parcel Collect at a Z service station or Countdown supermarket.
For latest updates from NZ Post please see https://www.nzpost.co.nz/business/covid19updates
Business redirections
It is now possible to set-up NZ Post business redirections online using these steps
You can now continue as you would usually with an online Redirection Order application.
International Mail Service
NZ Post is adapting to the global response as it unfolds. Notable recent changes are:
- China - All mail to and from China have resumed
- Iran - No international express courier
- Japan - expect delays
- Korea - expect delays
- Somalia - all services suspended
- Syria - all services suspended
- Ukraine - all services suspended to Crimea
For more NZ Post updates see: International Mail Updates
Risk of infection from mail
The risk of infection from mail is low as the majority of the virus will die within a few hours in dry conditions. CDC.gov says "Currently there is no evidence to support transmission of COVID-19 associated with imported goods."
Practising good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene is the best defence ( wash your hands frequently with soap and water).
We are monitoring for further information around this area of concern and will take an evidence based approach to how we handle mail.
Are you an essential service?
To help with planning and prioritisation please let us know if you are operating an essential service and intend to stay open during the lock down. You can provide this information here - https://forms.gle/uqUiqzPFXGwFt4xr5
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