Australia Post's plea to protect posties from dog attacks

The Nepean, New England and Hunter regions in NSW recorded the highest number of incidents involving dogs and posties.

Alexandria, Wollongong and St Leonards have been called out in NSW, while Darra, Bundamba and Toowoomba in Queensland were also dangerous for posties.

NSW was the worst state overall with 650 incidents in the nine months to March 2023 which is up nearly 28 per cent on the last financial year.

The pandemic puppy boom has been blamed for some of the spike in incidents with more than a million additional dogs brought into Aussie households between 2019-2021.

Australia Post is urging dog owners to help protect their postie by keeping pets safely secured inside or in the backyard.

Australia Post's Susan Davies said dogs chasing posties down busy roads was unsafe for the delivery personnel, the dog and the community.

"We're seeing increased instances of our posties sustaining injuries by either falling off their vehicles while trying to avoid unrestrained dogs, or getting physically attacked by dogs jumping up and biting them," she said.

"We want our team to be able to safely deliver to all Australians, so urge dog owners to please secure their dogs in the backyard or indoors."

IN OTHER NEWS:

The postal service has launched the Cross Industry Dog Safety Taskforce to work with other organisations who deliver to or provide services at homes.

The taskforce will share insights on preventing dog attacks on workers, such as those from supermarkets, telecommunications and logistics organisations.