The boss of Australia Post denies the government-owned enterprise is poaching business from post office outlets.
Australia Post managing director and chief executive officer Ahmed Fahour told a Senate hearing on Friday the outlets run by licensees and agents are vital assets for the community and it is essential they survive.
The hearing comes at a time when Australia Post and post office outlets are struggling, and forecast to make losses from 2015/16.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon and Nationals senator Ron Boswell questioned Mr Fahour over a number of instances they had heard of Australia Post trying to poach business from licensed post offices and post office agents.
"Let me be categoric about one point, Australia Post does not have a national policy in any shape or form of transferring business customers from outlets," Mr Fahour said.
But he says as these businesses grow and outgrow being an outlet, they do demand greater support, such as through pick-up services, and Australia Post needs to find ways to look after post offices if they lose clients.
He acknowledged that, given the level of angst from these outlets, Australia Post had failed in its communication.
"If the customer wishes to stay using the local post office, wonderful, because we need to do what the customer wants," Mr Fahour said.
Senator Xenophon asked whether doubling the price of parcel post, and the millions of dollars it would raise, would be sufficient to support post office outlets as a short-term measure.
"We have every intention of trying to find a way to give some immediate relief to support them," Mr Fahour said.
"We care about their success and prosperity. They are a vital community asset and we have a shared aspiration, and a shared need for both of us to survive."
Australia Post has been seen as a potential entity for privatisation under the coalition government.
Department of Finance assistant secretary for government business advice Stacie Hall told the hearing that under the terms of reference of the government's national commission of audit it is able to look at privatisation.
It also required to look at the medium to long-term pressures on the fiscal position.
"So I imagine that Australia Post will be being examined in both of those contexts," she said.
