Australia Post has announced an immediate suspension of its parcel delivery services to the United States and Puerto Rico, citing major changes to American import rules that make it impossible to continue regular operations without significant system upgrades.

The move comes in response to Executive Order 14324, a sweeping overhaul of US customs regulations that removes the longstanding $800 “de minimis” exemption — a rule that allowed goods valued under that threshold to enter the country duty-free. Under the new rules, all incoming packages must have duties and taxes fully paid before they even arrive on US soil.

This sudden policy change has caught many international postal services off guard, with Australia Post joining a growing list of carriers forced to pause deliveries while scrambling to comply. In a notice to customers, the postal service said it had no choice but to temporarily suspend parcels to the US and Puerto Rico “to ensure compliance” with the new requirements.

The changes impose a far stricter customs regime. Senders must now declare the precise country of manufacture, assign accurate monetary values to each item in a shipment (with no item allowed to be valued under AUD$1), and include the correct Harmonised System (HS) tariff codes — international classifications used for calculating import taxes. Failure to include these details will result in packages being rejected and returned to sender.

Crucially, US Customs and Border Protection will no longer accept parcels that haven’t had all applicable duties prepaid. In response, Australia Post is rolling out a new partnership with a company called Zonos, a third-party authorised by US customs to calculate and process prepayments for international shipments.

Once fully implemented, Zonos will act as a bridge between senders and US authorities, allowing Australian businesses and individuals to prepay import taxes and create compliant customs declarations. But to access this service, senders will first need to create a Verified Account with Zonos and connect it to their Australia Post account. Without that setup, no parcels will be accepted.

Until this integration is complete, the suspension will remain in place.

Any goods lodged with Australia Post for delivery to the US after 26 August 2025 will be rejected or returned to sender. Only letters and non-commercial documents are still being accepted, and even these must meet the new customs declaration standards.

The changes have left small exporters and regular senders frustrated and confused. Many had relied on the de minimis exemption to send gifts, online sales, or sample goods without triggering US customs scrutiny. Now, even a single book or t-shirt needs to be declared, coded, and taxed in advance — or it won’t be delivered.

For business customers, the disruption could be even more significant. Australia Post is urging companies to register with Zonos immediately and prepare for the new requirements, including linking their MyPost Business or Contract Account IDs to the Zonos system and providing payment details for ongoing duty invoices.

A timeline for resuming services has not been confirmed. Australia Post says it is “monitoring the situation closely” and will inform customers as soon as its Zonos integration is operational. In the meantime, the advice is clear: if you’re planning to send parcels to the US or Puerto Rico, you’ll need to wait — or start preparing now to meet the new rules.