What is authority to leave?

What does ATL mean in delivery?

Also known as Safe Drop, ‘Authority To Leave’ means that a Postie or driver can leave a parcel at a recipient’s home if nobody is home. The driver will only leave the parcel if there’s a safe place on the property.

eCommerce businesses can offer their customers the option to select 'authority to leave' if not home at their online store’s checkout when placing an order.  This could save customers the trip to the Post Office to collect the item if nobody is home, if that's their preference. 

Who can use ‘authority to leave’?

The ATL delivery option must be set up by the sender. It’s then presented as an option at checkout. You can either choose automatic “authority to leave” or let your customer choose whether they are happy to authorise ATL while the parcel is en route through their My Post account.

What if there’s no safe place to leave the parcel?

Locations that are generally not suitable for ATL delivery include: 

• Addresses where there is high foot traffic 
• Addresses where the property is close to the street 
• Apartments that are not accessible for delivery 
• Apartment mail rooms where no one is in attendance 
• Locations where there is no protection from weather or pets 

If there is no safe place to leave the parcel, a notification card will be left at the delivery address advising that the parcel can be collected from a nearby Post Office.

What do Australia Post drivers and Posties do with ATL parcels?

When a customer grants authority to leave a parcel, we follow these steps:

1. Go to the front door, knock or buzz, and call out 
2. See if there’s a safe place to leave the parcel (not visible from the street, out of the weather
3. Scan the parcel and take a photo of where it was left
4. Complete a notification card advising where the parcel was left