Australia Post Digital Identity Service Rescued by Chinese Shoppers After Failure 20 Years Ago?

Australia Post Digital Identity
announcement from 1998

Stuart Robert, Minister for Government Services, announced 24 July 2019 that Australia Post’s Digital iD service had been accredited as a trusted identity service provider under the Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF). What the Minister did not mention, was Australia Post's previous digital identity service failed 20 years ago. But Daigou might provide the use case for the new service.

In 1998 I applied for an Australia Post "KeyPOST" digital certificate, at a cost of $20. Here is the text from the Australia Post web page of the time:

"Australia Post plays a role in introducing security and trust into transactions performed over the internet. It does this by providing the public (individuals and organisations) with a convenient access point to acquire a digital certificates. KeyPOST is an identity check performed on behalf Certification Authorities.

Digital certificates are now available via the KeyPOST Registration Service, from SecureNet Certificates (SNC). Information and application details for Certification Services provided by SNC are available on the SecureNet Certificates website: www.securenetca.com.au" From "KeyPost",  Australia Post, in the Internet Archive, 20 May 2000

There were a few glitches with the process, but eventually the certificate was issued. However, Australia Post ceased the service the following year. There appeared to have been very few certificates issued and the manual processing required to issue them was unlikely to have covered the cost.

"Australia Post has decided to cease its KeyPOST(tm) operations concerning the generation of private keys and certificates from 1 August 1999. Unfortunately, the service has not met expectations and its growth and take up rate have been less than what we expected.  I would like to thank you for your support and interest in the service, but >it has become increasingly clear that the service is not commercially  viable."

From Keypost 1/04/99

Chinese Daigou Use Case

The daigou channel, by Bang Xiao  &
Sean Mantesso, ABC News, 31 Jul 2019

Hopefully, those at Australia Post planning the new digital identity service have learned from the previous failed service. A use case which might make the new service a success is the multi-billion dollar personal shopper business. Chinese consumers contract 150,000 personal shoppers in Australia (daigou), who are mostly Chinese students, to buy products for them. The Australia Post Digital iD could be used to authenticate the personal shoppers, perhaps in combination with a blockchain. The consumers could be assured who is doing the buying, and they were getting the correct product. The governments could be assured all taxes and duty were being paid.

My Parcel Box Drops Fees From Home Locker

Had an email from Cillian Stockdale to say that his "My Parcel Box" no longer charges monthly fees. This is a large mailbox with an electronic combination lock, allowing secure delivery of parcels. The unit is similar to the Pakman Parcel Delivery Box (which has a mechanical combination lock). With these units you provide the combination when ordering goods on-line, so the delivery person can put the item in the box (they then scan a code on the unit to record delivery).

My Parcel Box's unit is known as "The Vault" and is 550 x 400 x 600 mm, compared to 525 x 420 x 905 mm for the Pakman Parcel Delivery Box. The Vault is $270, with free delivery, which is considerably cheaper than the Packman, but does not include an ordinary letterbox in the unit (the units are so large you might not want to site them where your letterbox is anyway). The Vault has an electronic combination lock which allows for multiple combinations, whereas the Pakman has a mechanical lock with one code. The Vault appears to only come in one colour (Hammertone grey), whereas the Pakman comes in white, beige and grey. The Pakman has a slot for inserting courier envelopes, without the need to use the combination lock, it is not clear from the description if the The Vault has this feature.

Both the Vault and Pakman are said to be large enough to hold cases of wine. However, they do not appear to be insulated and so placing a case of wine in them on a hot day may not be a good idea.It would be unfortunate if, like the former NSW Premier, you were to have a vintage bottle of wine delivered to your home and then forget about it. ;-)

Back in 2000 I speculated we were likely to see such delivery boxes for goods, on homes and at shopping centres:

... I have seen boxes built into the outside of apartments which were said to be used for milk. The milkman put the milk in and closed the door to keep it fresh. A still current example of this is large mailboxes at farm gates.

The high technology version of this would have an electronic lock on the box and an Internet connection. When ordering goods the client would supply an entry code for delivery. The delivery person would use this code to open the box and put the goods in. The entry code would only work once and the lock would record time of delivery (to deter pilfering). The box could advise the client (and suppler) of delivery via the Internet. Optional solid state temperature control would keep perishable items cool, or warm the box in cold climates to prevent freezing.

For those who have "made it" the box would be built into their house or the foyer of their apartment building. For the upwardly mobile, or just mobile, the boxes could be rented at a local shopping center. Different size boxes could be allocated as required, with a limited number for perishable items.

This might sound a bit far fetched, but I would be surprised if someone isn't already offering it.

Australia Post already uses special purpose premises with dynamically allocated post office boxes for large packages. My post office box used to be at a post office, with staff member on duty to hand over large items. The post office has moved away and there are just the boxes and no regular staff. When there is a large item to collect I find a numbered key in my normal box. That key opens one of a bank of bigger boxes. After collection I drop the key in a slot for reuse. The same system could be used for goods deliveries, using physical keys, or electronic codes. ...

From "re: Can UPS deliver the tickets?", Tom Worthington,  Link Mailing List, Fri, 28 Jan 2000 09:18:42 +1100

Australia Post Lockers

Australia Post has installed postal lockers next to the Annandale Post Office, Booth Street, Annandale, NSW. Customers can retrieve parcels 24 hours a day with a PIN. The same style lockers are installed inside the Canberra GPO.

The lockers have a central screen and keypad for the customer to enter the code to retrieve their parcel. The doors to the individual lockers are flush, with no exposed handles or hinges and no numbers.

On the outdoor unit at Annandale, there is an awning over the central screen. However, there is no protection over the locker doors. As a result the customer (and their parcel) could get wet, when they are retrieving it. I suggest these units should be equipped with a shelter over the entire unit, protecting the front, sides and back. As well as rain, the units (and the customers) should be protected from the harsh Australian summer sun.

Home Locker for Secure Parcel Delivery

With the popularity of Internet shopping, collecting parcels has become a problem. For years I have had a private mailbox at Australia Post. In the past if there was a parcel which was too large to fit in the mailbox, I would go to a counter and collect it. But the Belconnen Westfield Post-office then moved away from where the postboxes are located and only staffed this area early in the morning. To make parcel collection convenient, they place a key in my mailbox which opens a locker with the parcel in it. I then drop the key in a return box. Australia Post has now introduced a system of 24/7 Parcel Lockers at some Post-Offices, for those without postboxes. With these the customer uses a code sent by Australia Post to open the locker.

For home use, there are some designs of locker which can be installed at the front fence or door. These are registered online and provide a way for couriers to access the customer's locker and indicate the item has been delivered. The My Parcel Box Vault requires the payment of a weekly service fee, whereas the Pakman Parcel Delivery Box is a one-off purchase. The Packman has a chute, which allows packets to be delivered, but not removed. There is also a combination locked door for large boxes (wine case size). Also there is a barcode on the box for the courier to verify delivery.

The Packman looks well thought out: it comes in colours which will blend in with most homes (white, sand and grey) and while larger than a normal mailbox (525 x 905 x 420 mm), it would not look out of place next to a gate or beside the front door (it can be free-standing or built in). There is an optional ordinary mailbox to go on top of the unit. At $428 with the optional mailbox, this is more expensive than the average pillar letterbox, but you are getting a much bigger box for your money,

But there are some limitations with the Packman: The unit appears to be built from steel, with no insulation, so it could get very hot in the sun (particularly the grey coloured unit). So while it is large enough to fit a case of wine, you may not want this, or other drinks or food, delivered. This may be less of a problem if you have the unit built into a brick fence or the front of the house.

The next problem is that the parcel door seems to be unsecured. This would allow trouble makers to insert rubbish, liquids, or firecrackers in the slot. But it would not be difficult to disable the chute, so the combination code is required for all deliveries. However, this exposes another problem: there is only one combination. The delivery person requires the combination to open the door to place a large item in the locker. They can then remove what is already in there. It is possible to resent the lock to a new combination, but this is a mechanical lock, requiring a fiddly process, involving a paper-clip. You then have to register the new combination on-line for subsequent deliveries. An electronic combination lock, with a different code for each delivery would be more secure, but much more expensive and complex to install.

This raises an interesting issue for apartments, where the mailboxes are clustered at the front door. There may not be enough space to install a large parcel-box for each unit. Perhaps smaller units could be provided, or a system like the Belconnen Westfield mailboxes. A set of non-dedicated parcel-boxes would be provided. The courier would place the delivery in a box and then inform the customer it is read for collection. After the customer clears the box it would be available for other deliveries. This could use physical keys, or electronic codes.

Australia Post Parcel Lockers

Australia Post is trialling electronic Parcel Lockers at the Brisbane GPO, Melbourne Bourke Street, St Kilda Delivery Center and St Leonards Delivery Facility (Sydney). These look like the luggage lockers commonly used at bus stations. Australia Post places the parcel in the locker and the customizer is issued with a PIN to open the locker at any time. Presumably in the future this could be integrated with Australia Post's Post Office Box service, with boxes being allocated as required, rather than one fixed size box having to be reserved for each box holder.

Coles have "Click & Collect" refrigerated lockers at locations around Australia. The customer identifies themselves to staff and are then given a metal key to open the padlock on a refrigerated cabinet with their groceries in them. This low-tech makes sense where the lockers a collocated with a supermarket or service station, which is always staffed.

E-commerce Changing the Design of Cities

Australia Post is reported to be investigating new services for the delivery of parcels. As the volume of paper letters diminishes, due to the Internet, the number of parcels is increasing, because of e-commerce. Australia Post is looking to keep its post offices open longer hours and provide an after hours collections service. The customer would be sent a code to open a locker to collect their parcel. This could change the look of cities.

Current PO Box System for Packages

A 24 hour parcel collection service already operates at some Australia Post outlets, such the Belconnen Mall post boxes in Canberra. Some years ago the Post Office was moved from the outside of the building to inside the shopping centre, to provide easier access for retail customers. But, after consultation with the customers, the post boxes were retained outside, along with a parcel collection desk.

The parcel collection facility is only staffed for a few hours in the morning, on week days. But the facility is accessible 24 hours a day, by the post box key each customer is issued with. To collect a parcel, the customer first opens the street door with their key, then opens their own PO box with the same key. If a package is too large to fit in the rented box, it is placed in a bigger locked box (there is a back of boxes in two sizes at Belconnen). The key to that box is placed in the customer's PO box (they then place the key in a slot after retrieved their package). This system sounds complex, but works well and is very convenient.

New System Would Use Codes

With the new system, the PO box keys would be replaced with PIN codes. The customer would unlock the box with their package in it using the code.

Implications for Transport and Land Use Planning

While parcel delivery might seem unimportant, it could have major implications for transport and land use planning. If on-line ordering becomes the predominate form of retailing, then much less space will be needed for retail stores. However, much more space will be needed for storing items awaiting delivery.

Also there will be a need for changes to the current delivery system. There could be savings in customer trips to shops, but more small mixed loads to be transported between distribution centers and delivery points. An unplanned expansion in the new system could see trucks having to make deliveries to several different collection centres with parcels for the same customer. That customer would then have to make several trips to collect their parcels. As well as being inconvenient to the customer, there would be extra costs and pollution from the transport needed. A planned system would see collection points integrated with the distribution system and conveniently located for customers.