Details about ShipStation's Australia Post eParcel integration: Requirements, connection process, features, integration notes, and troubleshooting.
Australia Post is the leader in business and e-commerce shipping in Australia. Australia Post eParcel account holders can use ShipStation to track, ship, and manage all their Australia Post shipments.
Our Australia Post integration now lets you create return labels, ship internationally, and ship wine as well!
Connection Requirements:
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A Business Credit Account and a Parcel Contract. If you are not yet an account or contract customer, fill in the form on Australia Post's Get Started with eParcel page or call their National Customer Contact Centre.
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An Australia Post developer account. Once Australia Post has approved your account, visit their registration page to register and create a developer account.
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Your Australia Post eParcel Account Number, API Key, and API Secret.
Manifest Requirements:
Australia Post requires a manifest for each day's shipments.
To manifest your Australia Post eParcel shipments, use ShipStation's End of Day process. Instructions are included in the Find and Close Unmanifested Shipments section below.
Failure to manifest will result in additional fees!
Australia Post will add a surcharge to your monthly invoice for non-manifested shipments.
To connect your Australia Post eParcel account to ShipStation, you must first register for a Shipping and Tracking API with Australia Post. You can then connect your account to ShipStation.
Important
These steps require an Australia Post developer account. If already registered, or have a MyPost account, please log in with those details.
Register for Australia Post API Access
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Log in to your developer account and go to the Australia Post Register for a Shipping & Tracking API Key page. Click the Register for a Key button.
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Fill in the form with the appropriate information.
Separate multiple account numbers with commas to add more than one account at a time.
Click Next.
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Select Yes to see the drop-down of Platform Partners. Find ShipStation in the drop-down menu. Check the box to confirm consent and click Next.
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Select your state/territory from the drop-down menu.
You may add more account numbers in the Comment box if they did not all fit on the first step.
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Click Send to finish the form.
You will receive an email at the address specified on the first page of the form. Follow the instructions in the email to complete the setup.
If you have any issues with the form or setup email, please contact the Customer Connectivity team at customer_connectivity@auspost.com.au.
Connect your account to ShipStation
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Log in to ShipStation in a new tab or browser window.
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Select the Australia Post eParcel tile and click Connect.
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Enter your Australia Post Account Number, API Key and API Secret into the corresponding fields.
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Click Connect.
If your Australia Post eParcel account includes sub-accounts that are linked to the main account, you can also connect those accounts to ShipStation. The sub-accounts can use the same API key as the main account as long as each sub-account has a unique account number.
To locate the sub-account number in your Australia Post eParcel account:
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Log into your Australia Post eParcel account.
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Go to Parcel Send > Top Tight Corner > Next to name with account Location ID > Select Account > New Shipment > Sender Account Number.
Note
If you do not have a sub-account number yet, you must add the sub-account to the Australia Post Developer Portal.
Review the How to add an account to an existing API key section of Australia Post's Getting Started guide for details on how to do this. For assistance, contact the Australia Post technical team at 180 028 361.
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Follow the steps in the Connect section above to connect your sub-accounts to ShipStation.
Once connected, you can then choose services from each account for your shipments and the labels will be billed to the sub-accounts.
ShipStation's integration with Australia Post eParcel supports the following standard features:
ShipStation's integration with Australia Post eParcel allows for the following additional features:
|
Feature |
Description |
|---|---|
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Wine Delivery Services |
Australia Post eParcel allows you to ship wine using the following services:
If you are shipping Wine or Alcohol, you must use the No Authority to Leave confirmation type on the shipment. Or, if you are creating an Automation Rule, use the Delivery confirmation type (which equals the AU Post No Authority to Leave option). See Australia Post’s Guide to Wine Deliveries or the PDF Wine Delivery guide. |
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Pre-Sign International Shipments |
You can now pre-sign your international shipments by adding a name into the Sign Customs As field in ShipStation’s international settings. |
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Rates include GST and surchages |
Australia Post eParcel rates include Goods and Services Tax (GST), fuel surcharges, and security surcharges. |
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Include Australia Post branding on labels |
In the carrier settings for Australia Post eParcel in ShipStation, choose whether the Australia Post logo and branding appear on the label. This is useful when you are using stationery not already branded for Australia Post. This is not related to ShipStation's Label Branding feature, where your store logo is printed on the label. Store logos are not currently supported on Australia Post eParcel shipping labels. |
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Manifest (End of Day) forms Required |
Australia Post requires you to manifest your shipments (both outgoing and return shipments). To avoid fees, submit a manifest (End of Day) form by the 4th Sunday of every month. For more information about Manifests and Order Summary Reports, visit the Australia Post User Guide PDF page. |
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Label Messages |
Label Messages 1 and 2 will print to sender reference fields on an Australia Post eParcel label. Label Message 3 will print to the Delivery Instruction field. |
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Multi-Package available for Domestic Shipments |
Multi-Package shipping is available for all Outbound Domestic Shipments. It is not available for international services or eParcel returns. |
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Identify unmanifested eParcel shipments with Email Notifications |
Ask your Australia Post Account Manager or eParcel Consultant to set your account up so you receive notification emails for errors and for successful manifest transfers. This will help you to identify any problems as they occur. Contact eParcel consultants here: eparcelsupport@auspost.com.au |
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Set confirmation type with Automation Rule |
You can use Automation Rules to set the delivery confirmation for Australia Post shipments to Authority to Leave and No Authority to Leave. |
The customs form generated and printed through ShipStation will depend on which international service you have selected along with a combination of dimensions, weight, and value.
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CN22 form = A4 size
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CN23 form = A5 size
Review the table below to see which services result in which customs forms. For Standard and Express services, review the additional details below the table to see which conditions the CN22 form requires, as this can affect which printing layout you will need.
If the requirements are not met for International Express and Standard (without Signature), the labels will print as CN23 forms.
|
International Service |
Customs Form Generated |
|---|---|
|
International Economy |
CN22 |
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International Standard (w/o Signature) * |
CN22, CN23 |
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International Economy with Signature |
CN22 |
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International Express - Merchandise * |
CN22, CN23 |
The following criteria must be met for Standard and Express shipments to generate a CN22 form:
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Parcel dimensions are ≤90cm (L + W + D combined)
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The greatest dimension is ≤60cm
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Total consignment value is ≤$500 AUD
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Parcel weight is ≤2kg
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Destination country eligibility must be met, as outlined here.
International Standard shipments must also meet the following criteria to generate CN22 forms:.
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No Signature on Delivery
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Destination country eligibility must be met, as outlined here..
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By default, Australia Post eParcel shipments do not have a confirmation type selected.
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Australia Post eParcel does not support test labels.
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ShipStation does not natively print the 4 label sheets. You can use our workaround using PDFs in Adobe Acrobat.
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For international shipments with Australia Post eParcel, you must select Service Confirmation as the confirmation type.
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You cannot create international labels over $2,000 in declared customs value.
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ShipStation does not return estimated delivery dates for Australia Post. Refer to Australia Post's delivery guidelines for estimated delivery times.
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You cannot edit the available services that appear for Australia Post eParcel in ShipStation. Instead, use the Update Shipping Services button in the Australia Post eParcel Settings screen (access by going to
Settings > Shipping > Carriers & Fulfillmentin ShipStation).We will request your approved services from Australia Post and update them automatically in ShipStation.
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Unmanifested shipments will only appear in your account five days after the first scan event.
Here are some common issues, potential causes, and troubleshooting tips.
|
Issue |
How to Troubleshoot or Resolve |
|---|---|
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Price difference between the rate and the carrier fee |
What it means: If you see a price difference between the rate and the carrier fee, it could be a fuel surcharge. |
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Error: Selected service is not compatible with other settings (package type, weight, size). |
What it means: This error message may occur if you're trying to use an Australia Post service that was not approved for your parcel contract. What to do: To resolve this issue, go to |
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Error: Your combination of suburb, state & postcode doesn't match. Please review and try again. |
What it means: This error means the customer's address is not valid per Australia Post. What to do: Compare the address with Australia Post's Find a postcode results and correct the address as needed. |
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Errors when creating an Australia Post manifest |
What it means: Sometimes, these errors indicate a slow response from Australia Post that ShipStation was not able to process successfully, but the manifests are generated as expected on Australia Post's side. What to do: If you have an eParcel account, log in and check your manifest history to see if the Australia Post manifest is available. If you're not able to access the manifest there, contact ShipStation Support with the full text of the error and the date of the shipments you are trying to close. If you are trying to close a specific selection of shipments (instead of the full day), include the full list of the shipments. |
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Error: An unexpected error occurred.Show Admin Details{"Message":"An error has occurred.","ExceptionMessage":" Active carrier account for AustraliaPost not found with sellerProviderId=xxxxx.","ExceptionType"..." |
What it means: This error appears if you created Australia Post eParcel shipments in ShipStation, then removed that instance of the AU Post eParcel account and reconnected another instance of the account. This causes the original AU Post connection to be no longer active on ShipStation's side so we can't close those shipments any longer. What it means: Contact ShipStation Support for assistance. |
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Error: The shipment {shipment_id} cannot be modified or included in a new order, as the shipment is contained in an order currently being finalized. Australia internal system error has occurred when processing your request. Please attempt the request again at a later time, or email us at customer_connectivity@auspost.com.au if the problem persists. |
What it means: This message indicates that the shipment has already been manifested or is in the process of being manifested. |
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Error: The action cannot be performed using the account number {ACCOUNT NUMBER} because the account has exceeded the credit limit and has been blocked. Please contact your Account Manager or email us at customer_connectivity@auspost.com.au. |
What to do: You will need to contact Australia Post and have the block lifted against your account using the steps outlined in the error. This block generally takes 1-hour post-conversation to be lifted. Once this has been done, refresh your carrier services and clear your browser cache. |
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Error: Phone entered is invalid 'shipments[0].from.phone' |
What it means: The Ship From Location and the eParcel account phone number do not match. What to do: Adjust your Ship From location phone number to match the eParcel account phone number. |
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Error: The transit cover amount cannot be greater than the total item contents value. |
What it means: The Carrier Insurance amount is higher than the customs amount. What to do: Change the insurance total to be equal to or less than the total customs declaration amount. |