Johannesburg – The South African Post Office (Sapo) will not be accepting any surface mail to Australia with immediate effect, as the Australian authorities have placed a temporary ban on incoming sea mail until March 1, 2023.
The decision came following Auspost citing capacity problems and a large number of banned items being received by sea mail, among many other reasons.
The air mail will still be available for people to make use of to send mail to Australia.
Customers have also been reminded of the following items which they are not allowed to send via postal services:
∎ Bank notes and coins
∎ Arms and ammunition
∎ Live animals and plants
∎ Liquids
∎ Drugs, medication and health supplements
∎ Jewellery and precious metals
∎ Explosives, including fireworks
∎ Perishables
∎ Dangerous chemicals.
Surface mail to Australia that has already been sent and is in the system will still be delivered.
Australian import controls are said to be wider-ranging than most and full details can be found on their website Auspost.com.au.
IOL