Joining the Great ‘Grey Nomad’ Trail Around Australia – Don’t Forget to Use Mail Forwarding Services

What to do with your post while you are on the road is often a difficult dilemma for wannabe nomads. The good news is that Australia Post offers a free Post Restante service and with a bit of luck and planning things can work out.

If you don’t know anyone to forward your post to, you can re-direct your mail from your old address to c/o a professional mail forwarding service. The mail forwarding service generally charge a registration fee and a surcharge over and above normal postage costs. The agency will receive your letters and can then send them on to you to c/o any post office in Australia as per your instructions. You can collect the items at the post office by showing them identification such as a driver’s licence or passport. Note that the Post Restante will keep your post for you for up to one month and, if it has not been collected, they will return it to the sender. You can also have your post forwarded to Caravan Parks or any other specified address say if you are with a friend or family member on your travels.

Another alternative is to have your post forwarded to a friend or relative and to periodically advise them which post office to send your mail to. The challenge comes in correctly estimating which post office you will be nearest to at any given time. If you fail to pick up your mail from a post office before you’ve moved on, you will have to fill in a re-direction form to get it sent on which will also incur additional costs.

So, with a bit of planning and organisation you can minimise the time you have to spend on boring tasks like bill paying and maximise the time you spend on important things like socialising, reading, sightseeing or strolling on the beach.