AusPost parcel tracking tool outage enters day two

Issues with Australia Post’s parcel tracking systems following an update have extended into a second day, leaving customers frustrated in the lead up to the weekend.

Problems with online parcel tracking began late on Thursday morning, with the first customers reporting issues to the postal service at around 11:00am AEST.

Screenshots of the portal on social media showed the error message: "We're updating this right now. Won't take too long. Please try again later."

AusPost responses to social media complaints and enquiries provided the explanation that “online tracking was playing up, so it is down for maintenance”.

It also ruled out that the outage was “malicious in nature”, suggesting that it was related to “an update made to our tracking tool”.

Other, more bizarre responses from the government-owned corporation, suggested that the “computer broke … forgot to feed the hamster that runs on the wheel to power it”.

On Friday morning, AusPost formally acknowledged the “technical issues” in a post on social media.

“We’re currently experiencing technical issues which are impacting parcel tracking,” AusPost said.

“We are working hard to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. We will provide updates as details are confirmed and apologise for the inconvenience.”

The outage is the second major disruption to parcel tracking since the coronavirus began, with the last one-day outage occuring in May.

AusPost has been contacted for comment.