Pre Sort Letters Lodgement Business Letter Services Introduction
Pre. Sort Letters Lodgement Business Letter Services
Introduction The Pre. Sort Letters service offers reduced prices to those customers who can apply barcodes to their articles, sort them into a particular order, place them into appropriately labelled trays, complete documentation prior to posting at a designated postal outlet and comply with relevant mailing conditions. In this module This module introduces you to Australia Post’s requirements for Pre. Sort Letters sorting and lodgement. Learning outcomes At the end of this module you will be able to: • identify the sort categories for Pre. Sort Letters articles • identify and prepare the correct tray labels for Pre. Sort Letters articles • identify the necessary steps to prepare an Pre. Sort Letters lodgement • identify and complete the correct lodgement documentation for Pre. Sort Letters
Domestic Registered Post offers Charity Mail is an Australia Post you: service for the delivery of barcoded • small a unique identification number for Pre. Sort Letters articles from every article income tax exempt charities. All • mailings proof ofmust posting when at the meet the lodged conditions of post office counter Pre. Sort Letters to access Charity Mail What is Pre. Sort Letters? For more information see Charity • rates. signature obtained on delivery Pre. Sort Letters is an Australia Post service for the delivery • Mail ofextra large volumes course cover of upoftobarcoded $100 is included articles to addresses within Australia. The minimum lodgement is 300 barcoded letters. Pre. Sort Letters at a glance services for Domestic Companies can use Pre. Sort Letters for almost any mailing Additional requirement. letters: When a lodgement is prepared according to the conditions • ofdelivery the Pre. Sort Letters service: Confirmation – within • lodge unbarcoded articles can with the barcoded articles Australia and International • access lower prices by sorting your articles • Person-to-Person Delivery • additional Insurance up to • access an Off Peak delivery service (taking up to an additional 3 days for delivery) at$5, 000 lower prices for non time-critical mail • exercise the option to arrange your own transport to interconnect with Australia Post’s letter service network at designated facilities • use the Charity Mail and the Registered Post service in conjunction with the Pre. Sort Letters service • maximise the space available for creative artwork • track and segment results of mailings due to information contained in the barcode • access private box addresses • access the Redirection service
Pre. Sort Letters at a glance More information More detailed information is available in the Pre. Sort Letters Fact Sheet and Pre. Sort Letters service guide. Prices for Pre. Sort Letters can be found in the Post Charges booklet and the Australia Post website (auspost. com. au). These guides are also available at any Australia Post outlet.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Applying for Pre. Sort Letters You need to apply to use the service so that lodgement facilities can be nominated. On approval, you can commence lodgement of articles. The Pre. Sort Letter Service Application is available at all postal outlets and should be presented to the mail centre or business centre where lodgements will be made. Normally, Australia Post grants approval to lodge articles only at mail centres or business centres. Exceptionally, a Retail Area Manager may approve a lodgement at a post office. Australia Post reserves the right to vary the approved lodgement facility at any time. First lodgement It is recommended that you submit sample articles to Australia Post for testing of barcode accuracy and readability, prior to lodging Pre. Sort Letters for the first time. Information relating to the Barcode Quality Program is available on the Australia Post website at www. auspost. com. au/bqp
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement To qualify for Pre. Sort Letters prices, customers need to meet Australia Post’s bulk mail sorting and lodgement requirements.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles Summary This Flow Chart provides an overview of the sorting, tray preparation and lodgement process.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles Introduction To qualify for cost savings, customers need to perform some of the sorting work Australia Post would normally do. For Pre. Sort Letters lodgements, customers need to: • choose a sort category • prepare letter trays • prepare and affix tray labels • sort articles into trays These requirements are explained in more detail on the following pages.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles Sort categories To ensure optimum delivery of Pre. Sort Letters articles, you need to prepare and lodge articles correctly. You have the choice to sort articles according to the following sort categories: Sort category Direct trays Description • Barcoded • Sorted to the BSP • Plastic wrapping permitted for Small and Small Plus articles Residue trays • Barcoded • Not sorted To qualify The minimum quantity is 300 articles (or 4 kg of article weight, excluding the weight of the tray) per postcode range. Remaining barcoded articles become ‘Residue’. Where there are insufficient barcoded articles to make a Direct tray. No minimum quantity. (The total lodgement must contain at least 300 barcoded articles). Unbarcoded trays • Not barcoded Articles that are not barcoded. • Not sorted No minimum quantity. (The total lodgement must contain at least 300 barcoded articles).
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles Barcode Sort Plan (BSP) The Barcode Sort Plan (BSP) allocates every Australian postcode into a specific range, allowing Australia Post to efficiently provide articles to their point of delivery, and is regularly updated (refer table). To ensure the current sort plan is used, download it from the Australia Post website www. auspost. com. au/sortplans Version number Release date Active date Expiry date VYYYY 1 1 February 1 March 31 August VYYYY 2 1 August 1 September 28/29 February Upon lodgement, Australia Post staff perform a check to determine if articles have been sorted correctly. Australia Post reserves the right to reject a lodgement if an unacceptable number of articles are incorrectly sorted. Australia Post provides a service for customers and vendors wanting to verify the accuracy of software developed to sort articles according to the Barcode Sort Plan. Further information on this service is available from the Technical Support Centre on 03 9106 8098.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles Preparation of letter trays Obtain letter trays at no cost from your lodgement facility. The process for preparing and sorting Direct Trays, Residue Trays and Unbarcoded Trays is as follows: • face all articles in the same direction • sort the articles in ascending postcode order (preferred but not mandatory) • do not bundle or tie the articles • place the articles into letter trays as described on the following page. The maximum acceptable weight for a tray is 16 kg (including the weight of the tray). Overflow Direct Trays can be lodged. An overflow tray is a less-than-full tray that contains all articles remaining after the preparation of full trays for the same sort plan BSP number. A maximum of one overflow tray for each sort plan BSP number is permitted.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles Preparation of letter trays Size category Tray use Small, Small Plus In Small Letter Trays, with the addresses facing the front (label end) of the tray Medium, Large In Large Letter Trays, with the addresses face up and with the postage zone imprint at the label end of the tray. To facilitate ease of handling we recommend that large letter trays should not be filled above the handle holes.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles State separation of Residue and Unbarcoded trays Where there are 2, 000 or more Barcoded Residue articles, or 2, 000 or more Unbarcoded Residue articles, then separate the articles into state based trays as follows: For volumes of: Then: Less than 2, 000 articles • Prepare national trays 2, 000 or more articles Separation of articles by state is required, as follows: • Affix tray labels for the state where the lodgement is occurring • place articles into separate trays for each state – NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS and NT as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan • affix tray labels for the state of the destination.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles State Sorting of Residue and Unbarcoded trays Where the volumes of Residue or Unbarcoded are 2, 000 or more letters then separate the letters into State based trays, using Tray Labels for the following 8 destinations: State Destination Equates to BSP Number range NT Darwin, Alice Springs 001 ACT Canberra 019 NSW Sydney 003– 018, 020– 021 VIC Melbourne 022– 034 QLD Brisbane 002, 035– 044 SA Adelaide 045– 048 WA Perth 049– 053 TAS Hobart 054
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles How to prepare tray labels Tray labels containing a barcode of Code 128 type C symbology are required for the Pre. Sort Letters Service. Plastic label pockets are affixed to all letter trays. Prior to lodgement a completed tray label must be placed in the label pocket with the printed side visible. Any old labels on trays must be removed prior to lodgement. There are two options for obtaining labels: 1. Labelling software Australia Post recommends the use of Print On Demand Labelling Systems for preparing lodgements. Print on Demand Systems are available either free of charge from Australia Post (VISA Labelling) or may be purchased from third party suppliers. These labels must conform to specifications, which are subject to periodic review. Specifications may be obtained by contacting the Technical Support Centre on 03 9106 8098 or by downloading documentation from the Australia Post website www. auspost. com. au/traylabels. Third party software must be approved by Australia Post prior to use. Blank label stock is also provided free of charge by Australia Post. This label stock is heat sensitive, and is suitable for use only in direct thermal label printers.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles How to prepare tray labels 2. Pre-printed tray labels Australia Post provides preprinted tray labels at no cost. Order or obtain these labels from your local lodgement facility. Order forms may also be printed or downloaded from the Australia Post website www. auspost. com. au/traylabels.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles How to prepare tray labels How to complete tray labels Write name and address (or name and telephone including area code) of the mailer in the Sender space. Write your Job Number in the Job No. space (this number is optional, and is created by and relevant to you and should match with lodgement documentation). For Off Peak articles only: • place a tick in the Off Peak space • write the lodgement date in the Date space.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles How to prepare tray labels How to affix tray labels to letter trays Label pockets are affixed to all letter trays. Remove any old tray labels on trays prior to lodgement. Place a completed tray label in the label pocket with the printed side visible.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles Preparing Small Volume Lodgements If you are lodging less than 2, 000 articles Australia Post suggests you consider the following simplest lodgement. • Place all the barcoded letters in trays and affix completed Residue tray labels for the State of lodgement. • Place any unbarcoded letters in separate trays and affix completed Unbarcoded tray labels for the State of lodgement. Small volume lodgements do not normally need to consider Direct Trays as it is unlikely that there will be at least 300 barcoded letters addressed to a single sort plan number. Where to lodge Articles must be presented during business hours at an approved lodgement facility, or designated facility in the case of articles linehauled interstate by carriers other than Australia Post. See Advanced: Linehaul and Interconnect module. To change your approved lodgement office, complete and submit a Pre. Sort Letter Service Application.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles Preparing Large Volume Lodgements Advance Notification of Large Lodgements at Mail Centres Due to limited spare capacity at some lodgement points you are requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements over 50, 000 articles, no later than Friday of the week prior to lodgement. If you make regular lodgements at the same facility you can request a standing lodgement arrangement and avoid the need for notification. Interconnect Option You have the option to arrange your own interstate transport to interconnect with Australia Post’s letters service network at designated facilities in the state of destination and benefit from cheaper Same State prices. Complete an application form, Pre. Sort Letter Service Application (8835117), nominating the facility(s) where the articles are to be presented for lodgement and forward the application to the Australia Post contact (as listed on the inside front cover of the Pre. Sort Letters service guide) in the state in which your business is located. Supporting lodgement documentation is required at the time of mailing.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles Preparing Large Volume Lodgements Lodgement in ULDs Steel cage containers known as Unit Loading Devices (ULDs) can be obtained from Australia Post, subject to availability and in instances where large mail volumes are to be lodged. Contact your mail facility for further information. ULDs remain the property of Australia Post and all other rules and regulations pertaining to the use of the ULD are applicable. Australia Post reserves the right to charge for any ULD that you damage or do not return. The maximum weight for a loaded ULD is 600 kg (including the weight of the ULD which weigh around 100 kg). This means that 500 kg is available for the contents. Be aware that ULDs will often exceed the maximum weight limit before they are completely full. In order to maximise transportation efficiency and ULD utilisation, mailers should ensure that each ULD is used as efficiently as possible.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort letters articles Preparing Large Volume Lodgements ULD Labelling It is a requirement that you affix a label to each ULD, containing the following information: the name of the Mailing Agent the lodgement date (optional, but must be the correct if shown) the number of ULDs in the lodgement (eg 1 of 8, 2 of 8, etc) the gross weight (actual or deemed) of the ULD and its contents the Job Number (or reference), and customer name for each individual job contained in the ULD the number of trays for each individual job contained in the ULD (optional, but must be the correct if shown).
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles Summary Sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles involves: • determining the most appropriate sort category • reviewing the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP) • preparing and attaching the correct labels to each tray • sorting articles into the trays For more information about sorting Pre. Sort Letters articles, refer to the Pre. Sort Letters service guide and the Australia Post website (auspost. com. au).
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles Introduction Once an Pre. Sort Letters lodgement is prepared, sorted and ready for bulk mailing, customers need to: • complete documentation • lodge the Pre. Sort Letters articles These requirements are explained in more detail on the following pages.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles Complete documentation Once a lodgement is prepared and sorted, complete the required lodgement document(s) and lodge your articles. The type of documentation will vary depending upon whether a postage meter has been used. Obtain these documents from your local lodgement facility or download from www. auspost. com. au/presort and www. auspost. com. au/metering A Lodgement Document is to be completed for each lodgement in the same price and weight category.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles Complete documentation Completing the Pre. Sort Letters Lodgement Document The Mailing Enter Tick Sign Indicate If Record The …. you and customer name the alodging have agent Lodgement the here correct here, Declaration. ofan total ifthe details, the details if. Australia you size you facility have – The if lodging contact, Number of mailing Post chosen articles number where require thecharge mailing. mail agent on any knows Regular of phone/fax, or articles behalf Job will special account, will the Number be orof do lodged. in Off the so if customer. department, (generated they tick Peak… purpose each services ‘yes’ are sortlodging of and category the by business record customer). (eg on and your the name and behalf. account mailing, add Registered address. a total tick number. Post) the If not, tick ‘no’. appropriate box. Otherwise, tick ‘Don’t Know’.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort letters articles AMAS Declaration The lodgement documents include a mandatory customer declaration certifying that current AMAS approved software is in use and that the DPIDs contained within address records used to produce the mailing are valid against the latest version of the PAF. If you repeatedly present articles that are subsequently rejected due to incorrect assignment of DPIDs, Australia Post reserves the right to request subsequent lodgements be supported with documentary evidence that the addresses have been processed against the latest version of the PAF. To assist in this regard, it is mandatory for AMAS approved batch software to generate an Address Matching Processing Summary Report. The report format and content is indicative of the type of information to be produced by AMAS Address Matching Processing batch software on each execution of a matching submission so that users have the appropriate evidence to support lodgements when requested to do so.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles Lodging Pre. Sort letters Supporting document (Manifest) Each lodgement in excess of 2, 000 articles requires a Pre. Sort Letters Supporting Document. There is no standard form provided by Australia Post, so create your own supporting document – a simple Word (or equivalent) document suffices. A sample supporting document can be downloaded from www. auspost. com. au/presort and the minimum description requirements are provided in the following table. Sort category List the number of articles and trays Direct Trays for each Sort Plan Number for each state and territory the total for Direct Trays Residue Trays for each state and territory the total for Residue Trays Unbarcoded Trays for each state and territory the total for Unbarcoded Trays
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles Lodging Pre. Sort letters Other considerations – Use of pallets Where pallets are used to transport articles to the lodgement point, the dimensions of these pallets should conform with the Australian standards (1, 165 mm x 1, 165 mm) and total load must weigh less than 600 kg. Pallets can only be used to transport articles to mail centres. Australia Post does not accept responsibility for the pallets and will not accept any transfer of hiring charges.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles Summary Lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles involves: Completing required documentation: • Pre. Sort Lodgement Document, or Metered Lodgement Document, if a postage meter is used for payment • Address Matching Process Summary Report • Manifest, if lodgement volume exceeds 2, 000 • Lodging the articles at an approved lodgement facility For more information about lodging Pre. Sort Letters articles, refer to the Pre. Sort Letters service guide and the Australia Post website (auspost. com. au).
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Pre. Sort Letters requirements What will it cost? Prices for Pre. Sort Letters articles vary by size and weight category, the sort category, the destination state and the delivery standard. Prices are available in the Pre. Sort Letters service guide, the Post Charges Guide (MS 11) and the Australia Post website (auspost. com. au). Articles attract Same State prices when lodged within the same state as the delivery address (as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan). For charging purposes, the ACT is considered to be part of NSW, and South Australia does not include Northern Territory. Australia Post provides a variety of payment options. For details, please discuss with your lodgement point or Account Manager, or the Pre. Sort Letters Coordination Team on 13 11 18. Note: If you want to pay using an Australia Post charge account you will need to lodge at the office at which you hold the account. Otherwise you will need to arrange with your account manager or Australia Post credit management for your account to be made available at the selected lodgement office.
Pre. Sort Letters lodgement Summary The key points covered were: • You have the choice to presort articles into three categories: Residue, Unbarcoded Trays, and Direct Trays • Small volume lodgements do not normally need to consider Direct Trays as it is unlikely that there will be at least 300 barcoded letters addressed to a single sort plan number. • Unbarcoded letters must be presented in separate trays from Residue or Direct. • A Direct Tray requires a minimum of 300 barcoded letters or 4 kg of letter weight (excluding tray weight) where all addresses belong to a single sort plan (postcode range) as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP). • There are 54 individual sort regions that comprise the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP). Sorting of Pre. Sort Letters must be based on the BSP number assigned to each postcode. • Tray labels containing a barcode of Code 128 type C symbology are required for the Pre. Sort Letters Service. Prior to lodgement a completed tray label must be placed in the label pocket with the printed side visible. • You are requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements over 50, 000 Pre. Sort Letters, no later than the Friday of the week prior to lodgement. • A manifest is required to support each Pre. Sort Letters lodgement in excess of 2, 000 articles that has not been metered.
Assessment You now need to complete a short assessment to check your understanding of the information covered in this module. This assessment consists of 10 multiple-choice questions and should take you approximately 10 minutes to complete. To pass the assessment, you need to answer at least eight of these questions correctly. Attempt this assessment as many times as you need to. If you do not pass, it is recommended that you review this module again.
Assessment 1 You have the choice to sort Pre. Sort Letters to three categories. These are: a. Residue, Small Postcode Direct, Large Postcode Direct b. Residue, Unbarcoded Tray, Direct Tray c. Residue, Office of Delivery, CBD Sort Correct answer = B Correct. Residue, Unbarcoded Tray, Direct Tray are three Pre. Sort sort categories.
Assessment 2 What is the minimum number of barcoded letters required to make up a Barcode Direct Tray. a. 200 b. 300 c. 2000 Correct answer =B Correct. 300 Barcoded letters is the minimum volume for a Barcode Direct Tray.
Assessment 3 True or False? Where the volumes of Residue or Unbarcoded are 2, 000 or more letters then separate the letters into State based trays. a. True b. False Correct answer = A Correct. Where the volumes of Residue or Unbarcoded are 2, 000 or more letters then separate the letters into State based trays
Assessment 4 The maximum acceptable weight of a letter tray including the tray weight is? a. 6 kgs b. 12 kgs c. 16 kgs d. 22 kgs Correct answer = C Correct. The maximum weight including the tray weight is 16 kgs
Assessment 5 The minimum acceptable weight of a Direct Tray is? a. 2 kg b. 4 kg c. 16 kg d. 20 kg Correct answer = B Correct. A Direct Tray requires a minimum of 300 barcoded letters or 4 kg of letter weight (excluding tray weight) where all addresses belong to a single sort plan (postcode range) as defined in the Barcode Sort Plan (BSP).
Assessment 6 How many individual sort regions are there in the Barcode Sort Plan? a. 25 b. 54 c. 75 d. 38 Correct answer = B Correct. There are 54 individual sort regions that comprise the BSP.
Assessment 7 When is the BSP updated each year? a. January and June b. March and September c. May and December d. April and November Correct answer = B Correct. Updates to the BSP are made in March and September each year
Assessment 8 True or False? When preparing Direct trays, it is preferable to sequence letters in postcode ascending order. a. True b. False Correct answer = A Correct. When preparing Direct trays, sequencing of letters in postcode ascending order is preferred but not mandatory. .
Assessment 9 When are customers requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In. Charge of the facility for lodgements of Pre. Sort Letters? a. With every lodgement b. For lodgements over 2, 000 c. For lodgements over 50, 000 d. Customers are not required to provide advance notice Correct answer = C Correct. Limited spare capacity at some lodgement points means customers are requested to provide advance notice to the Officer-In-Charge of the facility for lodgements over 50, 000 Pre. Sort Letters.
Assessment 10 When is a manifest required with a lodgement of Pre. Sort Letters? a. When the lodgement exceeds 2, 000 articles that have not been metered b. Manifests are not required with Pre. Sort Letters c. You should include a manifest with every lodgement of Pre. Sort Letters. Correct answer = A Correct. A manifest is required to support each Pre. Sort Letters lodgement in excess of 2, 000 articles that has not been metered
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