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MPA and PrintNZ call for investigation into postal prices
Stuart Dick is general manager at Are Media.
The Magazine Publishers Association of New Zealand and PrintNZ have formally requested that the Commerce Commission conduct a market study into postal services pricing, under Part 3A of the Commerce Act.
The request follows a decade of price increases in NZ Post’s Publication Post service, the bulk mail product used by magazine publishers, charities, membership organisations and other regular mailers to reach subscribers and members nationwide.
The cost of mailing a magazine (depending on weight) has risen from 63 cents in 2014 to $3.68+GST from July 1 2026, an increase of 584% over twelve years.
Over the same period, cumulative consumer price inflation was approximately 33%.
MPA and PrintNZ’s submission requests the Commerce Commission either initiate a market study itself or recommend one to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
It proposes that any study examine the state of competition in postal delivery, the efficiency and justification of NZ Post’s pricing, the impact of zonal pricing on rural communities and competitors, and whether New Zealand should adopt an Australian-style price notification regime.
The Commerce Commission has previously conducted market studies into fuel, groceries, building supplies, and personal banking.
Postal price scrutiny
In the past five years alone, Publication Post rates have more than tripled, with annual increases averaging 28%.
“These aren’t normal price increases. They are multiples of inflation, compounding year after year, imposed by a monopoly provider with no regulatory oversight of its pricing,” says MPA chair Stuart Dick.
“No other essential infrastructure service in New Zealand operates without independent price scrutiny. Gas, electricity, broadband all have some level of oversight or controls. Postal services should too.”
Across the Tasman, Australia Post cannot raise the price of reserved letter services without notifying the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which conducts a public consultation and economic assessment before deciding whether to approve the increase. There is no equivalent mechanism here in New Zealand.
Consolidation inevitable
The MPA also points to a significant gap in the recently amended Postal Deed of Understanding between NZ Post and the Crown, which took effect in September 2025. While the Deed reduced NZ Post’s minimum service obligations – including fewer delivery days and fewer postal outlets – it didn’t contain any pricing provisions.
“The government gave NZ Post flexibility on the cost side to achieve commercial sustainability, but imposed no constraint on the price side,” says Dick. “The result is a service provider that can increase prices by 25–30% a year to customers who have no alternative.”
The impact of unchecked price rises falls hardest on provincial and rural New Zealand, where NZ Post’s zonal pricing structure charges the highest rates for delivery to the areas with the least competition.
The MPA also highlights the role magazines, newsletters and membership publications play for communities, especially rural audiences.
The organisation adds that these publications are being priced out of the market where titles have had to close or reduce their frequency. Further consolidation is inevitable without intervention.
The consequences extend beyond the publishing industry: fewer titles means fewer voices and the erosion of more analytical forms of journalism that magazines provide as a counterweight to the daily news cycle, says the MPA.
