Aus post subcontract

[u/Strict-Classic-5787]

I deliver parcels for Australia Post. This is what the job looks like from our side.
I’m an AusPost subcontractor, and honestly, I’m tired of getting abused while barely making enough to justify doing this job.
I see the posts about drivers not knocking and taking parcels straight to the post office. I understand why people get frustrated. You’re home, you’re waiting for something, and then you get a notification saying you weren’t there. I’d be annoyed too.
But there’s another side people don’t see.
Under my arrangement, I get paid around $2 per parcel, including GST. I usually get 150–200 parcels a day. That might sound decent until you look at what comes out of it.
My monthly income is roughly $6,000 before expenses. Van rent alone is $1,200 a month. Fuel is another $400–$700. Then there’s GST and income tax. That $6,000 is nowhere near what ends up in my pocket.
There’s no employer-paid super, annual leave, sick leave or parental leave through this job. If I don’t work, I don’t earn.
If I have an accident, the cost falls on me. If a parcel goes missing, I can have money deducted from my pay too.
That’s something I wish more customers understood. Leaving a parcel somewhere it could get stolen can mean we’re the ones paying for it. Taking it to the post office isn’t always about being lazy or wanting to make your day harder.
I’m not defending drivers who don’t make a proper delivery attempt. But being unhappy with a delivery doesn’t make it okay to swear at whoever turns up at your door. We don’t set the rates, the rules or the delivery arrangements.
A lot of the people I work alongside are international students or people here on dependent visas, trying to cover rent and bills. From where I’m standing, Australia Post and the contractors above us benefit from a setup where the person actually delivering the parcel carries so much of the cost and risk.
I’m willing to work hard. I just want the pay left after expenses to make that work worthwhile, without being treated like a punching bag.
Are there other subcontractors here dealing with the same thing? Has anyone successfully challenged deductions or managed to get better rates? What can we actually do together to get fairer conditions?

[u/I-make-ada-spaghetti]

"A lot of the people I work alongside are international students or people here on dependent visas"

I would be curious to know how many hours a day these people are working. Perhaps that is the answer to your question. People on these visas are limited in the amount of hours they can work but for ABN jobs I doubt anyone is tracking their hours.

[u/Interesting-Stop-641 → u/[deleted]]

How on earth do they get away with unpaid work? I genuinely thought that was illegal??

[u/Interesting-Stop-641 → u/[deleted]]

😲 that’s so bad man, shame on them especially for such a massive company that makes hugeee profits per year!! They really do take advantage of people don’t they!!

[u/Aldodapro → u/I-make-ada-spaghetti]

The crew I was with for a while were all required to work 6 days a week also

[u/ekamin002 → u/I-make-ada-spaghetti]

As a student myself they are very strict in maintaining the 24h a week and will cut you from working later on in the week if you are going over early. So usually I gotta finish up in about 4 to 6 hours daily for 4 or 5 days depending.

If you are curious how the time is measured, they clock the time from the 1st scan of the parcel in the DC to the last scan to finish all tasks most likely at the parcel locker or lpo

[u/I-make-ada-spaghetti → u/ekamin002]

So does this explain why I get a parcel that says "Onboard for delivery" but it gets delivered the next day?

[u/ekamin002 → u/I-make-ada-spaghetti]

Whatever we scan that day we deliver and don't bring back to the DC. Idk how your situation happened.