From August 1 business credit account holders who pay the national postal organisation by cheque will be hit with the new charge, as well as a new $15 late payment fee and an increased dishonour fee of $10.

The treasurer of two Warrnambool-based groups has called for other disgruntled organisations to unite in sending a protest letter or petition to the company.

“It’s a punitive measure that will hit community groups or clubs,” said Doug Heazlewood, treasurer of Warrnambool Legacy and Warrnambool Family History Group.

“Our members rely on the mail to receive their newsletters and we pay our postal accounts by cheque.

“We operate on minimum overheads and don’t have a credit card or access to direct debit.

“Payment by cheque is a widely-used method by small organisations.”

Mr Heazlewood will raise the issue at Warrnambool Legacy’s board meeting on Thursday with a view to asking its national leaders to approach Australia Post.

He is keen to hear from other south-west organisations who would be interested in supporting a protest letter.

“If a few of us get together on this there will be more hope of getting a good hearing,” he said.

Mr Heazlewood can be contacted at heazlewd1@bigpond.com

South-west scouting leader Peter Newell said the cheque fee could affect at least half the region’s units which hired postal boxes.

“Although $100 is not a huge amount, for a voluntary organisation working on a tight budget it has an impact,” he said.

An Australia Post spokesman said terms and conditions of business credit accounts had not changed since 1990.

“As seen with banks and other utilities, there has been a significant decline in the number of customers paying by cheque,” the spokesman said.

“Applying only to business credit account holders, the annual $100 cheque payment fee will help us recover some of the cost of processing cheques, which is about $2.2 million each year.”

pcollins@standard.fairfax.com.au