> ## 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. # Days to Token Expiry, Australia Post > Days to Token Expiry for Australia Post stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Key Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Shipping & Courier](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Days remaining until the merchant's Australia Post API credentials (Shipping & Tracking API key, eParcel customer-account secret, or MyPost Business OAuth token) expire. When the count hits zero the connector silently stops fetching new shipments and tracking events; KPIs across [On-Time Delivery Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/on-time-delivery-rate), [Late Shipments](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/late-shipments), and [Exception Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/exception-rate) all freeze at last-good values. | | | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **What it counts** | `expiry_at - now` in calendar days for the active credential. For OAuth-based connections, the effective figure is the refresh-token expiry, not the access-token rotation (which auto-renews silently). | | **API endpoint** | Computed locally from the stored credential metadata, not fetched from Australia Post. The credential's `expires_at` is recorded at OAuth handshake or API-key provisioning time and stored in the connector configuration. | | **Service-tier scope** | Single credential covers all services on the merchant's Australia Post account. eParcel and StarTrack accounts have a single API key per merchant code; MyPost Business uses OAuth with a refresh-token typically valid 6 months. | | **Geographic OTD variance** | n/a (credential-level, not consignment-level). | | **Returns / RTO** | n/a. | | **Climate handling** | n/a. | | **Peak-period seasonality** | Common merchant failure mode: the integration was set up in October pre-BFCM, the 6-month token expires mid-April, the merchant misses the alert and Australia Post data goes silent right when post-Easter operations are critical. | | **Time window** | `RT` (real-time). | | **Alert trigger** | `<14 days`. 14 days gives operations time to coordinate a re-auth without panic; 7 days is critical. | | **Roles** | owner, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Australia Post data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example The Brisbane outdoor adventure brand. Reading taken at 09:00 AEDT on 12 Mar 26. The Australia Post connector was set up on 27 Sep 25 with a MyPost Business OAuth token (6 month refresh-token validity). | Field | Value | | --------------- | ----------------------------------- | | Credential type | MyPost Business OAuth refresh-token | | Granted at | 27 Sep 25 | | Expires at | 27 Mar 26 | | Days remaining | 15 | | Alert threshold | \<14 days | The card reads **15 days**, alert is one day from firing. Three observations: 1. **The token will expire mid-financial-year-end-prep.** The merchant is in the run-up to the Australian end-of-financial-year (30 Jun) and runs a major April stocktake-clearance promotion. A silent connector for even 48 hours during that window means missing OTD alerts and missing Late Shipments counts; the operations team would not see degradation until customers complain. 2. **The re-auth is a 5-minute click.** OAuth refresh requires the merchant owner to log into MyPost Business, navigate to Vortex IQ Connections, click "Re-authorise". The card does not auto-renew because Australia Post requires owner-initiated consent on refresh-token expiry. 3. **The connector calendar reminder.** The healthy pattern is to set a recurring 5-month calendar reminder on initial setup; do not rely on the alert at 14 days alone, which can be missed during peak. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Token Expiry | What the combination tells you | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [API Error Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/api-error-rate) | First sign of an expiring credential. | Error rate creeping up on a previously-stable connection often signals approaching token expiry; both should be watched together. | | [Label Generation Success](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/label-generation-success) | Customer-facing impact. | Failed labels block fulfilment workflow; an expired token means zero successful labels. | | [Shipments](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/shipments) | Volume sanity check. | A flatlined shipment count after a normally-active period is the visible symptom of an expired credential. | | [On-Time Delivery Rate](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/australia-post/on-time-delivery-rate) | Downstream signal freeze. | OTD readings stop updating when the connector is dark. | | Cross-connector: any other connector's `*_auth_token_expiry_days` | Same pattern. | Operations team should review all carrier credentials together monthly. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in Australia Post's own portal:** [MyPost Business](https://auspost.com.au/business) → **Account → API Credentials** for OAuth-based connections, or [Australia Post Developer Portal](https://developers.auspost.com.au/) → **My Account → API Keys** for direct-API customers (eParcel, StarTrack). Both surface the credential expiry alongside scopes. **Why our number may legitimately differ from Australia Post's report:** | Reason | Direction | Why | | --------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Timezone (AEDT/AWST)** | Boundary day | Australia Post records expiry in account timezone; card stores UTC. Within 24 hours either way the two should match; a 1-day boundary is normal. | | **Refresh-token vs access-token** | Card shows refresh, portal sometimes shows access | OAuth has two tokens: a short-lived access token (typically 1 hour) and a long-lived refresh token (typically 6 months). The card shows the meaningful one (refresh); the portal sometimes shows the access-token rotation timestamp. | | **Re-auth not yet propagated** | Portal earlier | After the merchant re-auths, the card may show the new expiry within 5 to 30 minutes of the next sync; the portal updates immediately. | **Cross-connector reconciliation:** | Card | Expected relationship | Causes of legitimate divergence | | ------------------------------------------ | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | | Other connector `*_auth_token_expiry_days` | Independent. | Each connector has its own credential lifecycle. | ***
Documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multiple shippers) * [`royal_mail.roy_auth_token_expiry_days`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/royal-mail/days-to-token-expiry) (UK national-postal peer) * [`usps.usp_auth_token_expiry_days`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/usps/days-to-token-expiry) (US national-postal peer)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **The alert just fired at 14 days. What do I do?** Click "Re-authorise" in the Vortex IQ Australia Post connector. For OAuth-based MyPost Business connections this triggers a redirect to MyPost where the owner logs in and approves; the new refresh-token is captured automatically. For direct-API eParcel customers, regenerate the API key in the [Developer Portal](https://developers.auspost.com.au/) and paste it into Vortex IQ. Total time: 2 to 5 minutes. **Can the connector auto-renew?** Access tokens auto-renew silently every hour using the refresh token. The refresh token itself cannot auto-renew; Australia Post (and most OAuth providers) require owner-initiated consent on refresh-token expiry as a security control. The card surfaces this required human action. **Why didn't the connector renew quietly in the background?** Two reasons: (1) Australia Post's MyPost Business OAuth refresh tokens have a hard expiry (typically 6 months) regardless of activity. (2) eParcel and StarTrack API keys are time-bound credentials that the merchant explicitly rotates. Both are intentional security postures, the card's purpose is to give 14 days of warning. **What happens if I miss the renewal window?** Day 0: connector stops fetching. Day 1+: KPIs across all Australia Post cards freeze at last-good values. Customer-facing impact: none directly (Australia Post still ships labels printed before expiry); Vortex IQ-facing impact: no new alerts on OTD drops, late-shipment surges, or claim escalations until re-auth. Re-auth restores normal operation within 1 sync cycle (5 to 60 minutes depending on plan). **My calendar reminder is for 5 months out. Is that enough?** Yes if you set it on initial setup; combined with the 14-day in-app alert that gives two reminders. If you set up multiple connectors, consider monthly "credential health" review including all `*_auth_token_expiry_days` cards. **The card shows 89 days but my Australia Post portal shows 91 days. Why?** Timezone offset. Australia Post records the credential expiry in your account timezone (AEDT/AWST/ACST); the card stores UTC. AEDT is UTC+11; the boundary date can shift by a calendar day. On a 90-day countdown the difference is rounding, not a real gap. **I have multiple Australia Post accounts (eParcel + MyPost). Why do I see one number?** Each Australia Post integration in Vortex IQ has its own card instance. If you have eParcel and a separate MyPost Business connection, you should see two `Days to Token Expiry` cards (one per integration). If you see one, only one is connected; check the Connections page. **Re-auth requires owner login. What if my Australia Post owner is on leave?** Pre-empt by setting up a second admin user on MyPost Business. Australia Post supports multiple users per merchant code; the OAuth handshake can be done by any admin. Best practice: at least two admins with API permissions, and document who owns the credential renewal. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Days to Token Expiry* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Australia Post and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.