Postcode revamp unveiled

All the country's postcodes will change under a multimillion-dollar five-year restructuring programme at New Zealand Post.

NZ Post last week announced that 20 new barcoding and sorting machines would take the place of hundreds of manual mail sorters.

"Every postcode in the country will change," said chief operating officer Peter Fenton. "It will help us to sort mail more accurately."

A two-year public education campaign will familiarise people with their new postcodes, which will still be four digits long.

"The first digit will correspond to one of 10 main sorting centres, the second and third digits will refer to localities within that centre's catchment area, and the fourth will tell you what sort of delivery it is, whether it's rural or metropolitan."