How to Receive Mail While Travelling, Moving or Living Overseas (Brisbane Guide)

Heading overseas, moving house, staying in an Airbnb, or splitting your time between cities? One boring but important question always comes up:

“What happens to my mail while I’m gone?”

Bank letters, government notices, legal documents, replacement cards and parcels don’t stop arriving just because you’re on a plane or between addresses. If you live in Brisbane, you have a few different options – but they’re not all equal in terms of privacy, reliability and stress levels.

This guide walks through the main ways to handle mail while you’re away and explains why many people now use a personal mailing address in New Farm as a simple, long-term solution. If you’re still deciding whether to use a PO Box or a private mailing address, you might also like our comparison: Private Mailing Address vs PO Box — What’s Better in Brisbane?

What Can Go Wrong If You Use Your Home (or a Friend’s) Address?

When people go travelling or move house, they usually do one of three things:

• Leave their mail going to their old home.
• Ask a friend or family member to receive it.
• Hope that “nothing important arrives” while they’re gone.

Common problems that pop up:

• Missed deadlines – fines, renewals and notices can arrive and expire before you see them.
• Lost or binned mail – new occupants or short-term hosts may not keep track of your letters.
• Awkward favours – friends or family end up with a growing pile of mail they have to manage.
• Privacy issues – sensitive documents (legal, medical, banking) might be opened or seen by others.
• Parcel nightmares – courier parcels are left on doorsteps, in lobbies, or sent back to the depot.

If you’re only away for a week or two, this might not matter. But if you’re away for months, moving houses, or living overseas long-term, it’s worth putting something more reliable in place. For a deeper dive into PO Box limitations in Brisbane, see Why Couriers Can’t Deliver to PO Boxes (And What You Can Do Instead in Brisbane) .

Your Main Options for Handling Mail From Brisbane

Here are the main ways people try to manage mail when they’re away from Brisbane:

1. Keep using your home address

Simple, but risky. Mail continues to arrive at a place you’re not living:

• Relies on current occupants or hosts to care about your letters.
• Not ideal if you’re in a sharehouse or apartment block.
• Terrible for privacy if you’re receiving legal or personal documents.

2. Use a friend or family member’s address

This works in theory, but in practice:

• They have to text you whenever something arrives.
• They often become your “unofficial post office” for months.
• It’s awkward if sensitive or high-stress mail turns up (legal, banking, court, medical, etc.).

3. Get a PO Box

A PO Box helps with some things:

• Your mail is held at a post office, not a house.
• You can collect when you’re back.

But there are important limitations:

• Private couriers usually can’t deliver to PO Boxes. If you rely on DHL, FedEx, Amazon or CouriersPlease, a PO Box won’t solve parcel issues. For parcel-specific help, see Best Place to Receive Parcels From DHL, FedEx, Amazon & Couriers in Brisbane .
• It’s not a real street address, so some organisations won’t accept it.
• You still need to physically check the box or arrange specific redirects.

4. Use a personal mailing address (street address service)

This is a modern alternative for people who:

• Want a real street address in Brisbane.
• Need to accept letters AND courier parcels.
• Want email notifications and the option to have mail scanned or forwarded.

At Salt Space in New Farm, the personal mailing address service is set up to be exactly that: a simple, stable address you can keep using whether you’re in Brisbane, moving, or living overseas.

Why a Personal Mailing Address in New Farm Works Better

A personal mailing address is designed for exactly these “in-between” periods of life where your physical address is changing, or you don’t want to use your home address at all. It’s also one of the best PO Box alternatives in Brisbane if you want something more flexible.

With Salt Space’s personal mailing address, you get:

• A real street address in New Farm (not a PO Box number).
• Mail and parcels accepted from Australia Post and standard couriers. For more detail on how this works with couriers like DHL, FedEx and Amazon, see where to receive courier parcels in Brisbane .
• Email notifications when something arrives (often with a photo).
• Secure storage for up to one month.
• Optional scanning of letters and documents so you can read them from anywhere.
• Optional mail forwarding within Australia or overseas (fees apply per item plus postage).

Instead of juggling favours and worrying about what might be arriving at the wrong address, you have one consistent mailing home base.

How the Salt Space Personal Mailing Address Works (Step by Step)

Setting up your address is straightforward:

1. Complete the online form – it takes around a minute to submit your details.
2. Receive your invoice by email – pay securely online.
3. Get your “permission to use address” confirmation once payment is processed.
4. Update your details with banks, government departments, service providers and online stores.
5. We receive your mail and parcels at Salt Space during staffed hours (8am–5pm, Monday–Friday).
6. You get notified by email when something arrives (often with a photo of the unopened item).
7. You choose what happens:
   • Leave it here until you’re back in Brisbane.
   • Ask us to scan and email letters.
   • Request mail forwarding to your current location (fees apply).

It’s flexible enough for short trips, long-term travel or permanent relocation, and you can keep the same address while your living situation changes.

Real-Life Situations Where This Helps

Here are some of the most common reasons people in Brisbane use a personal mailing address:

1. Long-term travel or digital nomad lifestyle

You’re spending months overseas, working remotely, or travelling regularly. You still have an Australian bank account, Medicare, ATO correspondence, and personal mail to deal with.

A personal mailing address gives you a stable, safe address you can keep using for years, even if you’re rarely physically in Brisbane.

2. Moving between homes or staying in temporary accommodation

You’re between leases, renovating, or staying in short-term rentals or Airbnbs. Updating your address every few weeks isn’t realistic.

Instead, you can direct important mail to your New Farm address and only forward what you actually need. If you’re considering whether to use a PO Box during this time, compare it with a private mailing address here: Private Mailing Address vs PO Box — What’s Better in Brisbane?

3. Helping family members manage their mail

Sometimes family members can’t easily manage their own mail – for example:

• People undergoing medical treatment.
• Older relatives who are moving into care.
• Family living between two states.

A personal mailing address lets one trusted person act as the central point of contact, with scanning and forwarding as needed.

4. Living overseas but keeping ties in Australia

If you’re an expat, you may still need:

• Australian bank accounts and credit cards.
• ATO, Medicare or superannuation correspondence.
• Occasional replacement cards or official documents.

Rather than sending everything to a relative’s house, a personal mailing address gives you a dedicated place for important mail, with forwarding available when needed.

Quick Tips Before You Travel or Move

• Update key organisations first: banks, ATO, super funds, Medicare, insurers, licences.
• Redirect or cancel anything you no longer need (catalogues, old memberships, etc.).
• Use your personal mailing address consistently so you don’t have mail going to multiple places.
• Decide how you want us to handle mail: hold, scan, or forward on request.

A little planning upfront means you can relax and focus on your move or trip, instead of worrying about what’s turning up in your old letterbox.

FAQs – Receiving Mail While Travelling, Moving or Living Overseas