> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Australia Post audit profile, Vortex IQ

> What the Vortex IQ Australia Post health audit checks: Australia Post: Express Post Next-Business-Day SLA, International Customs Clearance & Tracking Completeness

**[Nerve Centre KPIs](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post) · [Audit Profile](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/audit) · [Sentiment Settings](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/sentiment)**

Australia Post is the dominant AU domestic carrier - Tier-1 for every Australian merchant. The distinctive risk surface is the Express Post next-business-day guarantee (misses trigger an automatic-refund clause), international customs clearance on outbound parcels (B374 customs declaration paperwork, AU export holds, destination-country backlogs), and tracking-event completeness across the AusPost Article lifecycle. Findings either cost a merchant directly (Express Post refund exposure, lost/damaged parcels) or erode CS visibility (tracking gaps that surface as "where is my order" tickets). Cross-references commerce siblings via order\_ref and tracking\_number; Sendle via zone cost comparison.

## What this audit checks

### Authentication & access

* API-KEY header + api\_password Basic auth still issue 200s against /shipping/v1/accounts (no 401)
* Account number resolves to an active contracted rate-card (no 'unknown account' on shipping endpoints)
* Merchant is on production tier, not sandbox - sandbox responses return mock data and must not be charted
* Auth failures in last 24h within tolerance (rotated or expired API key signal)

### On-time delivery & transit

* Express Post next-business-day OTD \< 95% rolling 30D (refund-clause exposure)
* Express Post address-eligibility rate \< 90% (postcode reclassification at annual review)
* Standard / Parcel Post OTD vs published AusPost delivery estimate per zone
* Avg domestic transit days drifting above zone baseline (5 metro + 4 regional zones)

### Exceptions & failed deliveries

* Exception rate > 3% rolling 30D (status = Exception across tracking events)
* AttemptedDelivery / Refused events with no follow-up redelivery within 48h
* ReturnedToSender rate climbing vs prior period (address-quality or refusal signal)
* Out-for-delivery shipments stuck >24h with no Delivered or Exception event

### Damaged / lost parcels

* Lost-parcel rate > 0.2% (status = Lost) rolling 90D
* Damaged-parcel claim rate > 0.5% rolling 90D
* AwaitingCustoms parcels aged > 14d with no clearance event (lost-in-customs candidate)
* Claim value as % of AusPost spend > 1% rolling 90D

### Tracking data completeness

* Shipments with a tracking\_number but zero TrackingEvent records (tracking gap)
* Domestic tracking-event gap > 24h with shipment still InTransit
* International tracking-event gap > 5d (customs grace window) then stale
* Article number not in expected AP\[0-9]{9}AU format (mislabel / mismatch signal)

### Cross-channel fulfilment SLA

* Cross-channel: AU ecom order with no AusPost shipment after 48h -> dispatch SLA breach per channel
* Cross-channel: Express Post shipment delivered later than next business day \* sibling.order.total -> revenue at risk
* Cross-channel: AusPost cost per zone vs Sendle cost per zone (carrier-mix savings candidates)
* Cross-channel: ReturnedToSender / lost shipments joined to commerce orders -> refund-propensity exposure

## Severity thresholds

| Signal                         | Warn | Critical |
| ------------------------------ | ---- | -------- |
| `on_time_delivery_rate`        | 96   | 95       |
| `express_post_otd_pct`         | 96   | 95       |
| `express_post_eligibility_pct` | 92   | 90       |
| `customs_clear_rate_pct`       | 85   | 80       |
| `exception_rate`               | 2    | 3        |
| `avg_transit_days`             | 4    | 6        |
| `damaged_rate`                 | 0.3  | 0.5      |
| `lost_rate_pct`                | 0.1  | 0.2      |
| `tracking_gap_pct`             | 5    | 10       |
| `returned_to_sender_pct`       | 2    | 4        |
| `claim_value_pct_of_spend`     | 0.5  | 1        |
| `auth_token_failures_24h`      | 1    | 5        |

## Data sources

* `GET https://digitalapi.auspost.com.au/shipping/v1/accounts` - Account validation + rate-card / tier check
* `GET https://digitalapi.auspost.com.au/shipping/v1/shipments` - Shipment list (OTD, cost, service mix, eligibility)
* `GET https://digitalapi.auspost.com.au/shipping/v1/track` - Tracking events (transit, exceptions, customs)
* `POST https://digitalapi.auspost.com.au/shipping/v1/returns` - Return labels (reverse-logistics volume, write-side)