Postcodes in New Zealand consist of four digits, the first two of which specify the area, the third the type of delivery (street,
PO Box,
Private Bag, or
Rural delivery), and the last the specific lobby, RD (rural delivery) number, or suburb. The present
postcode system was introduced in
New Zealand in June 2006, which, unlike the previous system, applies to all items of mail with effect from June 2008. In October 2008,
New Zealand Post launched a 'remember your postcode' campaign, offering a $10,000 prize for remembering a postcode.[1]
This replaced a previous system, introduced in 1977, in which New Zealand Post did not require individual items of mail to include the postcode in the address.
Optical character recognition (OCR) enabled automated sorting machines to scan entire addresses, rather than just postcodes, as was the case with older machines. This was very similar to the case in
Ireland.[2] OCR technology was introduced in 1992; when the first of seven OCR machines were installed in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch Mail Centres, most mail was sorted manually.[3]
Allocation
There are 1,856 postcodes, each of which may serve up to 10,000 individual locations. Postcodes are generally allocated north to south.
00 – unused
01 – Whangarei, Marsden Point, Ngunguru
02 – Kawakawa, Kerikeri, Moerewa, Paihia, Russell
03 – Dargaville
04 – Kaikohe, Kaitaia
05 – Mangawhai, Waipu
06 – North Shore, West Auckland (urban); West Auckland (PO box); south-western Central Auckland
07 – North Shore, West Auckland (rural); North Shore (PO Box)
08 – Helensville, Kumeu
09 – Hibiscus Coast, Warkworth, Wellsford, Snells Beach; Great Barrier Island
10 – Central Auckland, Waiheke Island (urban), Rakino Island
11 – Central Auckland (PO box, central)
12 – Central Auckland (PO box, western bays)
13 – Central Auckland (PO box, inner south-west)
14 – Central Auckland (PO box, outer south-west)
15 – Central Auckland (PO box, inner south-east)
16 – Central Auckland (PO box, outer-south-east)
17 – Central Auckland (PO box, eastern bays)
18 – Waiheke Island (PO box)
19 – Waiheke Island (rural)
20 – South Auckland (urban, north and east)
21 – South Auckland, Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku (urban, south); South Auckland (PO box, north and east)
22 – South Auckland (PO box, south)
23 – Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku (PO box)
24 – Pokeno, Mercer, Mangatawhiri
25 – South Auckland (rural)
26 – Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku (rural)
27 – unused
28 – unused
29 – unused
30 – Rotorua, Murupara
31 – Tauranga, Whakatane, Edgecumbe, Katikati, Kawerau, Opotiki, Te Puke, Matakana Island
96 – Nightcaps, Ohai, Otautau, Tuatapere; Fiordland, Te Anau
97 – Gore, Lumsden, Mataura, Winton
98 – Invercargill, Bluff, Edendale, Riverton, Wyndham; Stewart Island
99 – unused
Examples
In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicate one of the four modes of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in
Palmerston North:
Street address, in which mail is delivered directly to homes by the 'postie';
43 Vogel Street
Roslyn
Palmerston North 4414
PO Box address, in which mail is delivered to a private box, usually at a Post Shop (formerly Post Office), for collection;
PO Box 400
Palmerston North Central
Palmerston North 4440
Private Bag, in which a private mail bag is delivered to an organisation such as a large company or a government department
Private Bag 11222
Manawatu Mail Centre
Palmerston North 4442
Rural Delivery, used in rural areas for home deliveries.
Railway Road
RD 10
Palmerston North 4470
Previous system
Although postcodes were first introduced in New Zealand in 1977,[4] these were used entirely for pre-sorting large volumes of mail in
bulk,[5][6] similar to the
Mailsort system used by
Royal Mail in the
United Kingdom. Consequently, postcodes were not usually seen in addresses:
New Zealand Post
Private Bag 39990
Wellington Mail Centre
Lower Hutt
Under the old system,
Auckland,
Wellington and
Christchurch were divided into postal zones, which were incorporated into the postcode system for use in bulk mailings. For example, for the former Wellington 4:
Flat 2
173 Park Road
Johnsonville
Wellington 6004
In cities and large towns, the last two digits indicated the mode of delivery, as illustrated by addresses in
Palmerston North:
Street address:
43 Vogel Street
Palmerston North 5301
Post Office Box address:
P O Box 4000
Palmerston North 5315
Private Bag address
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North 5320
Rural Delivery address
Railway Road
R D 10
Palmerston North 5321
NB: Prior to the changeover, New Zealand Post also required that a space be inserted between the letters 'P' and 'O' in 'PO Box' or 'R' and 'D' in 'RD'.[citation needed]
Māori names
New Zealand Post recognises
Māori names for cities and towns in New Zealand; for example, the
Māori Language Commission's address is:
In spite of the considerable difference between the two languages, there was no need to add the postcode under the old system, which in this case would have been 6015.
Freepost
Mail to members of the
New Zealand Parliament is delivered free of charge for individuals (organisations must pay regular rates). The cost is deducted from the Member's budget.
Other
Freepost mail includes a unique number as well as the PO Box or Private Bag number:
Freepost 112002
CARM
PO Box 913
Dunedin 9054
Third-party registered postal operators
Until recently NZ Post has had the majority of influence on Private Box rentals. But now
DX Mail and
Private Box provide an alternative solution for people who need a remote box address. Along with the new competitors in the marketplace NZ Post may find it difficult to keep up with the new addressing system, which is why they have set a standard for addressing mail.