Australia Post has broken ground on its A$500m (US$347m) Parcel Super Hub in Adelaide, marking a milestone in the company’s largest-ever investment in South Australia. The ceremony was attended by South Australia’s acting deputy premier and minister for housing and urban development Nick Champion, and Pelligra Group chairman Ross Pelligra.
The 83,000m2 facility will be built at the former Holden site in Elizabeth, which will be redeveloped for logistics use. Once operational in late 2028, it will be the first fully combined Australia Post and StarTrack facility, with capacity to process up to 400,000 parcels per day – double the current capacity of Australia Post’s Adelaide Airport Parcel Facility. The hub is intended to support deliveries across metropolitan and regional South Australia.
The facility will incorporate autonomous vehicles and robotic pallet movers to reduce manual handling and support team member safety. The robotic systems will move pallets, cages and containers between loading, sorting and storage areas, and assist with inducting parcels into the sortation system.
Shane Plant, Australia post’s executive general manager network operations, said, “This facility will be the blueprint for our most technically advanced facilities, providing greater opportunities for team members to upskill technically, operationally and digitally. We’ll be looking for roles that support automation and controls, mechanical and electrical and those that can work alongside robotic systems as we continue to modernize our network.”
Pelligra Group chairman Pelligra said, “This investment is more than a development project, it is a long-term commitment in South Australia’s future. By revitalizing a site that once stood at the heart of the state’s employment and manufacturing economy, we are helping create the next generation of industrial capability, jobs and opportunity. We are proud to be partnering with Australia Post on a project that reflects confidence in the strength of South Australia’s industrial market and its growth potential.”
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