International postal issues

The efficient operation of international postal services is based on treaty arrangements between postal administrations and countries. Australia is a member of three of the most important—the Universal Postal Union, the Asian-Pacific Postal Union and the World Trade Organization.

Universal Postal Union (UPU)

The UPU is a specialised agency of the United Nations based in Berne, Switzerland. It is the primary forum for international cooperation between the postal services of different countries. It develops common rules that apply to mail services between its 191 member countries and helps to ensure a universal network of up-to-date products and services.

The Universal Postal Congress is the supreme authority of the UPU and brings together plenipotentiaries of all member countries. It meets every four years, with the last Congress held at Bucharest in Romania in October 2004. Its main function is legislative, but it is increasingly focusing on strategic and broad policy issues.

See further information on the UPU at www.upu.int

Asian-Pacific Postal Union (APPU)

The APPU was established in 1961 with the aim of promoting cooperation between postal services of the region and improving postal relations between member countries. It is one of eight regional postal unions under the general framework of the UPU.

Currently, the APPU comprises 30 postal administrations in the Asia-Pacific region. The Acts of the APPU are given treaty status and govern the policy and operations of the Union. The Executive Council of the APPU meets annually and Congress meets every five years. Congress is responsible for the structural issues surrounding the Union including revising the APPU Acts (the Constitution and General Regulations) and determining a budget and work program for the APPU over the following five years. The last meeting of Congress was held in Seoul in South Korea in June 2005.

See further information on the APPU at www.appu-bureau.org

World Trade Organization (WTO)

WTO members have made submissions on the postal and courier services sub-sectors of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) under the current Doha Development Round.

Further information is available from the WTO website or from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at www.dfat.gov.au

• Document ID: 48493 |
• Last modified: 14 July 2008, 11:25am