Address Presentation Standards - Australia Post

1 AddressPresentation StandardsMr MacDonald AOManagerOrbit Travel CoTravel World HouseLevel 7 17 Jones StNORTH SYDNEY NSW 2060 Orbit Travel coManagerMr CR MacDonaldLevel 7 Travel World House 17 Jones St Nth SydneyNSW 2060it s just as easy to Address it properlyIntroduction22 General Guidelines for Machine Printing Addresses33 Address Presentation Standards1. Addressee Reference Number/Type62. Person Title73. Given Name84. Family Name95. Orders, Decorations and Distinctions106. Job Function Title117. Organisation Name128. Building/Property Name139. Building/Complex Sub Unit1410. Floor/Level1611. House/Property Number1812. Lot/Section Number1913. Street Name and Type2014. Postal Delivery Type2215. Placename/Suburb/Locality2316. State/Territory2417. Postcode2618. Country of Destination28 Typical Sample Addresses29 Table of Contents11 Currently OCR s used by Australia Post read the placename, State, postcode and other keywords frommachine-addressed letters, and only the postcode from hand-addressed letters that has the postcodeprinted in the Postcode Squares.

2 So until now Australia Post has essentially concentrated on encouragingthe correct formatting of the last line of the Post is now introducing advanced letter sorting equipment which incorporates new multi-lineOCRs (MLOCR). These new machines are able to read full Address information, which will allow letters to be sorted to a finer level. To enable the MLOCRs to perform at high levels of efficiency, all lines of theaddress should be formatted correctly and in a consistant following standard outlines the correct format for addresses to be presented on letters, or the wayin which Address information is placed on envelopes. The standard has been based on two Address datastorage Standards :"Australian Standard AS4212-1994- Geographic Information Systems - Data dictionary for transfer of street addressing information ; and,"Australian Standard AS4590-1999 Interchange of Client Information .All abbreviations used in this document are based on Australian Standard AS4590-1999.

3 The AddressPresentation Standards do not contain a complete list of abbreviations, only those commonly used. Fora more extensive list of abbreviations please refer to the Australian Standards Presentation Standards should be read in conjunction with Australia Post s Correct AddressingGuidelines and Australia Post s Customer Barcoding specification (Specification Number 203-4-State Barcodes).Whilst these Standards have been specifically developed for the machine addressing of small letters it is recommended that they apply to all categories of mail, including hand addressing mail s just as easy to Address it properlyGenerally, the MLOCR can read most typed and printed upper and lower case letters and numerals,provided that the type is clear and sharp and the characters do not touch or Post prefers upper case printing to be print is preferred, however dark colours are acceptable. All lines of the Address must be left characters should have a minimum height of and a maximum height of ,however ideally the print characters should be between and The width of each charactershould be no less than and no more than of Character line of the Address should contain characters of the same size and between should be a clear gap of at least between characters.

4 Character density or pitch of10,11,12or 14characters per inch is preferred. Bolding of characters can sometimes cause characters totouch and therefore this procedure is not recommended when between between lines should be uniform between all Address block lines, with a minimum betweensuccessive lines of and a maximum of of maximum of 40characters in any line in the Address , including spaces between words, is acceptable, lines must not contain more than for machine printing addresses33 Print Post prefers addresses to be printed in a fixed pitch font, for example Courier (12point, 10pitch) or OCR (B). However, if proportional fonts are used, for example, Helvetica, the print charactersmust not touch or in in the Address proper should be avoided. Punctuation in the name line and the use of - and / to separate defined Address elements is specific information on correct addressing, including colours, envelope requirements, window panelrequirements, hand-addressing requirements etc.

5 , please refer to Australia Post Correct AddressingGuidelines and the appropriate section of the Letter Post and Electronic Mail Post specific requirements on printing customer barcodes on letters please refer to Australia PostSpecification 203, titled 4-State ""The following Address Presentation Standards areprovided in the order that such Address elementsshould appear on letters.""The sub-heading Usage after each standard depictsa sample Address increasing, with each particularaddress element being added. The particular addresselement has been highlighted in Presentation standards55 Definition:An organisation or company may allocate a reference number to identify a particular addressee or subject matter. This information is usually depicted in alpha or numeric format, or a mixture of :As this information is not considered part of an Address its use is within Address :This data does not form part of Address information, however, if a reference number is required to appear with Address data it should be located as the first item on the top line, and must be left :Can be printed in either upper or lower case, or a mixture of :1234567890DS46789A1.

6 Addressee reference number/type66it s just as easy to Address it properlyDefinition:A descriptor used before a persons name or title , usually depicted in abbreviated :Considered a preferred element of an within Address :The Person title is the first item, positioned before the Given Name, located on the top line or Attention line in an Address . The Attention line of an Address is normally located above the last twolines of the Address . See example on Page :Ideally printed in upper case, however upper case for the first character and lower case for subsequentcharacters, is is recommended that this element be :Person TitleAbbreviationDoctorDRHonourableHONM isterMrReverendRevUsage:1234567890 MacDonald2. Person title77 Definition:A name given to the addressee also referred to as Christian name or first name. This information is usually depicted by initials, however this is not a :Considered an essential element of an within Address :The Given Name is positioned after the Person title , located on the top line or Attention line in an :If initial/s are used they should be printed in upper case.

7 Full stops can be used to separate initials, if required. If the full name is used it should ideally be printed in upper case, however upper case forthe first character, and lower case for subsequent characters in the name is acceptable. It is alsoacceptable to mix a given name in full with initials, Robert :CHRISTOPHER ROBERTC hrisMary-AnneRobert :1234567890 1234567890MR Mr Given name88 Definition:The family name of the addressee also referred to as last name and surname. This information shouldnot be abbreviated, unless the abbreviation is based on common :Considered an essential element of an within Address :The Family Name is positioned after the Given Name, located on the top line or Attention line in an :Ideally printed in upper case, however upper case for the first character and lower case for subsequentcharacters in each name, is acceptable. Dual family names should be separated by a hyphen ( - ).

8 Examples:MacDonaldSmithO CALLAGHANde LucyWatson-JonesUsage:1234567890 1234567890MR MACDONALDMr MacDonald4. Family name99it s just as easy to Address it properlyDefinition:Honours, awards, qualifications and other identifiers conferred on the :Considered an optional element in an within Address :Orders, Decorations and Distinctions are positioned after the Family Name, located on the top line or Attention line of an :Printed in upper case, however upper case for the first character, and lower case for subsequentcharacters of each word, based on common usage, is is recommended that this element be :Order, Decoration or DistinctionAbbrevBachelor of ArtsBAMember of ParliamentMPMember of the Institution of Engineers, AustraliaMIEAustOfficer of the Order of AustraliaAOUsage:1234567890 1234567890MR MACDONALD AOMr MacDonald AO5. Orders, decorations and s just as easy to Address it properlyDefinition:A direction to a nominated person, position or section in an organisation.

9 It can also be used to indicate the addressee s job or function. Usually expressed in full, however can be depicted in an abbreviated :Considered an optional element of an Address , when used with addressees name. If no name is used in Address , this element would be deemed as within Address :The Job Function title is positioned on a separate line, generally located on the top line or Attention line in an Address . However, on occasions where the addressee s name is used, it should be located on the line below the addressees :Ideally printed in upper case, however upper case for the first character and lower case for subsequentcharacters of each word, is :MANAGING DIRECTORS ales ManagerCEOM anagerFINANCE DEPARTMENTU sage:1234567890 1234567890MR MACDONALD AO Mr MacDonald AOMANAGER Manager6. Job/function title1111 Definition:Full name of the organisation/firm/company/trading name as normally recognised or traded can be used but should be based on common :Considered an essential element of an Address , in circumstances where mail is addressed to a within Address :The Organisation Name is positioned on a separate line, located on the top line of an Address .

10 It alsocan be positioned under the addressees name or Job Function :Ideally printed in upper case, however upper case for the first character and lower case for subsequentcharacters of each word, is is recommended that the Organisation Name type be abbreviated as per the table set out :Organisation NameAbbrevOrganisation NameAbbrevCompanyCONo LiabilityNLIncorporatedIncProprietaryPty LimitedLTDP roprietary LimitedPty LtdExamples:ORBIT TRAVEL COShe Boutique IncBHP Rail Products Pty LtdUsage:1234567890 1234567890MR MACDONALD AO Mr MacDonald AOMANAGER ManagerORBIT TRAVEL CO Orbit Travel Co7. Organisation name1122 Definition: The full name used to identify the physical building or property. Usually this information is notabbreviated. Should include any reference to a wing or other components of a building complex, if :Considered an optional element of an Address , however in certain circumstances may be considered anessential requirement, if other elements are missing a thoroughfare number, or thoroughfare name, within Address :The Building/Property Name is positioned on a separate line, usually located below the Organisation :Ideally this information is printed in upper case, however, upper case for the first character and lowercase for subsequently characters in the Property Name, is acceptable.