Mailbox theft can expose residents to identity theft, fraud and misuse of personal information. Small changes to mailbox design, access, lighting and resident awareness can help reduce these risks in your body corporate.
How can a body corporate improve mailbox security in strata?
Mailboxes can be attractive targets because one accessible location may contain mail for several residents. Mail may also contain banking, identity or other sensitive personal information.
The body corporate is not responsible for residents’ private mail, parcels or identity theft. It can, however, consider practical improvements to common property and shared processes.
Start by reviewing:
- where the mailboxes are located and who can reach them
- whether the area is visible from the street or nearby homes
- whether lighting is adequate at night
- whether vegetation creates hiding places
- whether mail or rubbish is allowed to accumulate
- who holds keys, fobs or other access devices for the area.
Keeping common areas tidy can improve visibility around mailboxes. Residents who know their neighbours may also be more likely to notice and report suspicious activity.
The body corporate should check who is responsible for maintaining the mailbox structure and surrounding common property. A body corporate must maintain common property in a good and structurally sound condition, while owners are responsible for maintaining their lots. The registered survey plan and community management statement can help identify the relevant boundaries and responsibilities.
For a broader discussion of building access and deliveries, see managing deliveries at apartment buildings.
What mailbox design and location features reduce theft risk?
Australia Post’s delivery requirements recognise cluster and nest letterboxes as options for apartments and other multi-occupancy properties. Each mailbox should be clearly labelled with the relevant dwelling number, and the street number should be displayed near nest letterboxes.
The location should give delivery workers safe and reasonably unobstructed access. Australia Post also says individual letterboxes should be clearly labelled, free from obstructions, upright, undamaged and emptied regularly.
For a single or cluster letterbox, the minimum internal size is 330mm deep by 230mm wide by 160mm high. Australia Post also specifies minimum aperture sizes and installation heights. Nest letterboxes have separate minimum internal sizes and height requirements.
A secure parcel box may be useful where residents regularly receive parcels. It is a larger, lockable private mailbox designed for parcels, although delivery depends on access, safety and operational considerations. Australia Post delivery workers do not hold keys or access codes for these boxes.
Practical improvements may include:
- positioning mailboxes in a visible, well-lit area
- removing vegetation that creates concealed spaces
- keeping the area free from rubbish and accumulated mail
- checking that doors, hinges and mailbox fittings are in good condition
- avoiding a layout that allows passers-by to reach mail easily.
Mail sticking out of a mailbox is easier to remove without opening the lock. Residents should collect mail regularly and report damaged or insecure boxes to the body corporate or committee.
Should a body corporate install CCTV near mailboxes?
CCTV may deter theft or help investigate it, but cameras on common property create privacy, placement, recording and record-keeping issues. The Queensland Government’s guidance explains that a body corporate setting up CCTV on common property must act reasonably and comply with legislative requirements.
Cameras should be positioned for a legitimate security purpose, such as covering entrances, exits and target areas. They should help identify an offender without being easy to damage. Cameras should not be positioned to spy on residents or guests.
The body corporate should consider whether the system records audio. In Queensland, a person must not record a private conversation they are not involved in. Where CCTV may capture private conversations, the audio should be disabled and the equipment positioned so conversations cannot be lip-readable.
Footage may also be a body corporate record, depending on why it is kept. Before installing the system, the body corporate should consider how footage will be stored, accessed and managed.
CCTV should form part of a considered security plan rather than being installed as the only response. For more information, read installing CCTV in a strata property.
What delivery and access processes can residents use?
Residents can reduce delivery risk by choosing an option that does not leave parcels unattended at the building. Depending on the item and service, options may include:
- using a workplace address
- selecting a collection point or parcel locker
- arranging delivery to a staffed reception or nominated location
- requesting signature-required delivery
- following the delivery provider’s instructions for safe collection.
Australia Post lists out-of-home options including Parcel Lockers, Post Office Boxes, Community Mailboxes and Parcel Collect locations.
Residents should not assume that a signature-required parcel will always be redirected to a post office. Check the delivery provider’s terms and make arrangements that suit the property.
Access should be limited to people who need it. A body corporate can maintain a process for returning keys, fobs and other access devices when they are no longer needed. This is particularly relevant when a resident, contractor, caretaker or service provider no longer requires access.
The body corporate should also consider how delivery drivers enter shared areas. Food-delivery drivers or other visitors admitted to a building may be able to access mail or parcels, depending on the building’s layout. Residents can meet drivers at the entrance instead of allowing unnecessary access to internal areas.
If an access device is lost or a suspicious person is seen near the mailboxes, residents should report it promptly to the relevant building contact and, where appropriate, the police.
You can also read about keys, fobs, swipe cards and security access.
Can body corporate by-laws regulate mailbox and common-property security?
A body corporate can consider by-laws dealing with common-property security, access and nuisance behaviour. In Queensland, by-laws control and manage common property, body corporate assets, services and facilities, and the use of lots.
Possible topics include access to secured mail areas, conduct around common property, obstruction of entrances and processes for dealing with nuisance behaviour. Residents remain responsible for their own behaviour and their guests’ behaviour on a lot or common property.
By-laws should not be treated as a way to impose unlimited obligations on individual owners. They cannot be inconsistent with legislation, discriminatory or unreasonable, and they generally cannot impose a monetary liability on an owner or occupier. An invalid by-law may not be enforceable.
A body corporate usually changes by-laws by passing a special resolution at a general meeting and registering the new community management statement with Titles Queensland. The registration process does not automatically make an invalid by-law valid.
Before proposing a new by-law, the committee should identify the actual security issue. It should also consider whether maintenance, communication or a change to access arrangements would solve it more effectively.
What should residents do when they are away?
Residents should collect mail regularly and arrange collection or redirection while they are away. Options may include asking a trusted person to collect it, arranging a suitable delivery service or using an alternative collection point.
Residents should also consider:
- asking a neighbour to report unusual activity
- avoiding mail building up in the box
- arranging for parcels not to be left unattended
- using paperless statements where available
- checking bank and other accounts for unfamiliar charges
- watching for unexpected bills, new credit cards or unexplained credit refusals.
Going paperless can reduce the amount of sensitive information delivered physically, although it does not remove every delivery or identity-theft risk.
A secure mailbox area, sensible access processes and informed residents can help reduce mailbox and parcel risks across a body corporate. If your committee needs practical help reviewing common-property security, contact StrataCare at reception@stratacare.com.au.
