Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is mail forwarding?
2. How Does it Work?
3. Why choose Special Delivery?
4. How do I register?
5. How do I get my mail redirected to Special Delivery?
6. When does my registration begin?
7. Can you explain the Silver Service Plan?
8. Can you explain the Gold Service Plan?
9. Can you explain the Platinum Service Plan?
10. Can I upgrade from Silver to Gold/Gold to platinum?
11. Who pays for postage?
12. How much is postage?
13. What happens when my postage deposit runs low?
14. How can I tell what my Postage Deposit Balance is?
15. What happens to my Postage Deposit after my trip finishes?
16. I’m travelling with my partner/spouse/family, can we register together?
17. I’m travelling with my friend, can we register together?
18. Do you accept credit cards?
19. Is there anything I need to do before I start travelling?
20. What are prohibited/illegal goods?
21. How can I contact you?
22. How will I receive my mail?
23. How big are C5, C4 & B4 envelopes?
24. Can I have my mail sent Express Post/Registered Mail?
25. How can I save money?
26. How do I use Post Restante?
27. What is a Mail Drop? Do you offer Mail Drop services?
28. I've got a Hotmail address, can I use this instead? Can I use my own email address?
29. Can you forward faxes to me?

1. What is mail forwarding?
Also called mail redirection, mail forwarding is a service which allows you to have your mail forwarded to anywhere in the world. All of your mail is initially sent to the offices of Special Delivery. Once it arrives, it is held at our secure offices until you request it. Your mail is then immediately forwarded to a destination of your choosing, where you want it, when you want it.

2. How Does it Work?
After registering with Special Delivery, you will receive an information pack with your own unique Suite Number. The Suite Number should be included as part of the address when your mail is forwarded to Special Delivery. The Suite Number helps us identify who the recipient(s) are on our computer database. We store and forward your mail based on your instructions.

3. Why choose Special Delivery?
Special Delivery can offer multiple levels of service depending on your individual needs. With our unique service, you can access your hard copy email by reading it online - where you want, when you want. All you need is access to the Internet.

4. How do I register?
Choose the method that’s easiest for you:
1. Fill out the registration form at the same time you complete the online payment.
2. Print out the registration form (and the credit card consent form) and post to:

3.If you are unable to print out the form, simply call us and we will mail or fax you a hard copy of the registration form and credit card consent form.

5. How do I get my mail redirected to Special Delivery?
There are 2 ways to get your mail redirected:

1. The Easy Way. Call or visit your local Post Office and subscribe to their redirection service. For Australia Post redirections, the current cost is about AU$66 per year or AU$11 per month. Quote your new forwarding address as follows: Your Name C/o Special Delivery Suite #9999 <--- (the Suite Number is important!) Locked Bag 3014 DEE WHY NSW 2099 Australia This is by far the easiest method and you only have to fill out your new address once. After your trip, or if you return early, just cancel the redirection at the Post Office and all your mail will arrive at your permanent address again. On the down side: it will redirect ALL your mail, including any Junk Mail. Special Delivery can offer a unique solution to the problems of junk mail: by using the junk mail shredding feature available as a platinum member. 2.The Not-so-Easy Way. Send a change of address request to every utility company, bank, business, friend, family member or person that you receive post from and ask them to change your mailing address as follows: Your name C/o Special Delivery Suite #9999 <--- (the Suite Number is important!) Locked Bag 3014 DEE WHY NSW 2099 Australia The advantages: you will receive mail only from the businesses/people that you want to, if you don’t want to hear from someone, don’t send them your change of address. Also, you shouldn’t get any or much Junk Mail (depends on who sold your new address to a mailing list). The disadvantages: you need to send out a change of address to EVERYONE that you want to hear from. If you forget someone off your list (eg yearly insurance renewals), you won’t get their mail. After your trip, you’ll need to send out another change of address, to revert back to your permanent address. Say you have 50 change of addresses before your trip, and another 50 after your trip, that’s 100. At 0.50 for an Australian stamp, that’s $50 worth of postage. It only costs $66pa to have your mail redirected for a year by Australia Post. Is it worth it?

6. When does my registration begin?
You will be registered with Special Delivery when your registration form together with the appropriate payment has been received at our offices. However, your membership won’t start until your first item arrives at the offices of Special Delivery. So don’t worry, you can register now, but charging won’t begin until the first item of mail arrives at our offices.

7. Can you explain the Silver Service Plan?
The Silver Service Plan is our most economical plan. For as little as $25.00 per month you can have your mail forwarded to anywhere in the world. You can choose to have it forwarded on a regular basis, either:

• daily
• weekly
• bi-weekly
• fortnightly (once every 2 weeks)
• monthly
• on demand or as needed basis.

Simply contact us to let us know how often to send it, or what your new forwarding address will be. Under the Silver Service Plan, all mail is forwarded and under no circumstance is any mail opened.

8. Can you explain the Gold Service Plan?
The Gold Service Plan offers everything that the Silver Service Plan offers, plus you get the Junk Mail Shredding feature and a free email address in the form: yourname@special-delivery.com.au When we receive new mail on your behalf, we immediately send you an email to advise you of the individual item/s received. Simply login to our website and read your email on-line. Any Internet connected PC with a browser will suffice. The email will look something like this:

9. Can you explain the Platinum Service Plan?
The Platinum Service Plan is our most comprehensive plan and offers complete control of all of your mail. It offers everything that the Gold Service Plan offers plus you get the option of having all or only selected items scanned and sent to you via email at yourname@special-delivery.com.au.

Here’s how it works.
At the time of registration you fill out a Standing Order List. This is a list that contains all the mail items that you would like to have opened and scanned. See an example. When we receive new mail on your behalf, we check to see if any items match your Standing Order List. If any of the new mail matches what is on your Standing Order List, we will also open the letter and scan the contents. We immediately send you an email to advise you of the item/s received together with any scanned items. Simply login to our website and read your email and any scanned items on-line. Any Internet connected PC with a browser will suffice. The email will look something like this:

12. How much is postage?
Postage depends on a number of factors such as size, weight and destination. See our fees/charges table

13. What happens when my postage deposit runs low?
When your postage deposit falls below $15.00, you will be required to top it up. You can do this with your credit card on-line via our website or over the phone. For convenience, you can fill out our credit card consent form and have Special Delivery top up your postage deposit for you. Many of our clients have chosen this method, it gives peace of mind and can be done automatically whenever your postage deposit balance falls below $15.00.

14. How can I tell what my Postage Deposit Balance is?
We will advise you when your Postage Deposit is getting low. Postage Balances can be topped up by purchasing online at our Registration Page

15. What happens to my Postage Deposit after my trip finishes?
Once your membership has expired or you choose to cancel it, Special Delivery will refund any unused portion of the Postage Deposit.

16. I’m travelling with my partner/spouse/family, can we register together?
Yes, just fill out the registration form with your primary member name and include your partner under the secondary member name. Children under 16 can also be registered for free as long they have a surname the same as the primary or secondary member. Include childrens names under additional members.

17. I’m travelling with my friend, can we register together?
Yes you can, you can register up to two people under the same membership. Just fill out the registration form with your primary member name and your friend under the secondary member name. A word of caution: If you register together and then split up and travel separately, who gets the mail? Register together if you know you are going to stay together for the duration of your travels, register individually if you will split up your travels later on.

18. Do you accept credit cards?
Special Delivery accepts VISA, Mastercard, Bankcard and Cheque. We also accept on-line payments with VISA, Mastercard and Bankcard and PAYPAL. Direct Debit or Bank transfer is also accepted to our Australian bank. Cheques are subject to clearance.

19. Is there anything I need to do before I start travelling?
Yes, you’ll need to have your mail redirected to Special Delivery. See the How do I get my mail redirected to Special Delivery section.

20. What are prohibited/illegal goods?
Special Delivery can forward any goods that are not banned by Australia Post and/or Australian Customs. Banned items would include: Drugs, Plants, Food, Liquids, Living Items, Firearms & Ammunition, objects made from Animal Products, some types of Wood, and some Pornographic items. If it's banned, the authorities will confiscate it, and we will be forced to immediately cancel your account. Please note that Customs Authorities may impose charges on high-value items entering Australia and such charges if levied become your responsibility. For further information see the Australia Post Guide on, dangerous and probited goods

21. How can I contact you?
You can contact us via email: admin@special-delivery.com.au or by fax: (02) 8212 8119 or by telephone: 0409 445 132. email is our preferred method of contact for notification of a new forwarding address (It’s much more legible when printed and avoids confusion) but feel free to use fax and telephone as well.

22. How will I receive my mail?
We use Australia Post as our carrier. Depending on the size and number of items, Special Delivery will always attempt to use the most economical means of posting. If your items are small enough, we’ll use a C5 envelope. If not, then we’ll use a B4 envelope. If you have many small items and 1 large item, it may be more economical to send all the small items in a B4 envelope and the large item by itself. Leave it to us, we’ll work out which way is best.

23. How big are C5, C4 & B4 envelopes?
A C5 envelope measures 229 x 162 mm. A C4 envelope measures 324 x 229 mm. A B4 envelope measures 353 x 250 mm.

24. Can I have my mail sent Express Post/Registered Mail?
Yes. If you need your mail in a hurry you can instruct us to send your mail by Express Post, Registered Mail or even Australia Post Courier. Of course, the appropriate postage charges will apply.

25. How can I save money?
Examine your volume of mail and choose the Plan that suits you. If you are receiving relatively few items, our Silver Service Plan may be most economical. If you are forwarding large volumes of mail, the Gold or Platinum Service Plan may better suit you, and you may be able to cut down a lot on postage costs. See the examples and read all about our story. We were able to eliminate almost all of our mail and the only items we had forwarded were those that required a signature.

26. What is Post Restante? How do I use Post Restante?
Poste Restante is a service provided by postal systems where the post office holds mail that has the notation ‘POSTE RESTANTE’ written on it until the recipient calls to collect it. This is very useful for travellers, when you know you will be travelling through a particular location, but don’t have an accomodation address yet. For example, say you are in Darwin now and will be travelling through Alice Springs next week. Simply contact us and instruct us to send your mail Post Restante to Alice Springs, NT 0870. We will address your mail or package as follows:

When you arrive in Alice Springs, your mail will be waiting for you. Simply present yourself to the Post Office with appropriate identification to pick up your mail.

27. What is a Mail Drop? Do you offer Mail Drop services?
Yes, we offer Mail Drop Services. A Mail Drop is the reverse of Mail Forwarding. Simply bundle all your mail together, send it to Special Delivery and we will post it for you where it will receive a Sydney postmark. You can be anywhere in the world and it will appear to the receiver that your mail was originally sent from Sydney. Perfect for people who don’t want to let others know where they are.

28. I've got a Hotmail address, can I use this instead? Can I use my own email address?
Yes you can. Although be aware that some free email addresses like Hotmail have fixed limits on how much mail they can hold. If you want to use your own email address, Special Delivery cannot be held responsible for undelivered e-mail due to full inboxes.

29. Can you forward faxes to me?
Yes, we can also forward faxes to you. This is called fax forwarding. Simply have the fax sent to our fax number, we will convert the fax to a PDF document and send it to you via email or we can send it with your normal mail.

30. What happens if I want to extend my trip/travels?
You can easily extend your membership by purchasing additional months from the Registration Page.

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