Mail Scanning and Forwarding: Complete Guide to an Australian Business Address (2026)

Mail scanning and forwarding is the part of a virtual office plan that decides how quickly you actually see your post. The address is the easy bit. What separates a usable Australian business address from an expensive letterbox is what happens in the hours after an item lands at reception: whether it is opened and scanned to you the same day, held for collection, or put back in the post to wherever you are.

That question has a specifically Australian edge. ASIC sends official notices and letters to your registered office, and a registered office has to be a physical street address in Australia, not a PO box. So the address on your company record is the address where regulatory deadlines start running, whether or not anybody has told you. This guide covers what a plan includes, what it costs, and ten Wezoo addresses across seven states and territories. For the wider product, see our guide to virtual offices in Australia.

What is mail scanning and forwarding?

Mail scanning and forwarding is a handling arrangement attached to a business address. Staff at a real building take delivery of post and parcels addressed to your company, record what arrived, and then act on a standing instruction or a per item one. Scanning means the envelope, and usually the contents, are photographed and emailed to you. Forwarding means the physical item is re posted to an address you nominate. Holding means it waits at reception until you collect it.

Two things make this different from a PO box. The first is that it is a street address, so couriers who will not deliver to a box will deliver here, and someone is present to sign. The second is that a person handles each item, which is what makes a per item decision possible at all. A box has no opinion about what is inside it.

On Wezoo the handling sits inside the virtual office listing rather than being sold separately. Of the 87 Australian virtual office addresses, 70 publish a plan detail, and all 70 of those list mail handling and package handling. The remaining 17 do not publish their plan detail, so you ask the operator what the handling covers before you commit. In both cases the exact scanning and forwarding terms, including how fast and how often, sit with the operator and belong in writing before you sign up.

What does mail scanning and forwarding cost in Australia?

Monthly starting prices across the Australian listings run from AUD 59 to AUD 585. That is a floor, not a full quote: it is the published entry point for the address, and it is what you compare before you ask about inclusions. Every detailed Australian listing shows a minimum term of one month, so this is a monthly commitment rather than a lease.

Three things move the number. Postcode is the obvious one, and the spread in our own listings shows it: the Perth and suburban Sydney addresses below start under AUD 100, while a Canberra airport address or a Docklands tower starts well above it. Inclusions are the second. A plan that covers the address and basic mail handling sits at the lower end; add per item scanning, forwarding to an interstate or overseas director, call answering or days of desk use and it climbs.

The third is the one people forget to ask about, and it is not in the headline price at all: postage. Forwarding a physical item costs what it costs to post it, and that is charged on top. If your director is in Auckland or London, that line can quietly outgrow the monthly fee. It is also the main reason scanning is worth asking for specifically rather than treating it as a nice extra.

When does a virtual office address make sense instead of a PO box?

ASIC draws the line for you, and it is sharper than most people expect. Your registered office must be a physical street address in Australia and cannot be a PO box, and it is where ASIC sends official notices and letters. Your contact address, by contrast, can be a PO box. So a box is fine for correspondence and useless for the one address with legal consequences attached.

If you use an address you do not occupy, which is exactly what a virtual office is, ASIC requires you to keep a record of the owner’s written consent, and to state when you lodge the address that the owner has consented. That consent is not a formality to arrange afterwards. Ask the operator for it in writing as part of the sign up, and keep it with your company records.

The case for a home address is weaker than it looks. The registered office is visible to anyone who buys information from the companies register, so it is a published address, not a private one. A virtual office puts a staffed building in that field instead, and the mail handling is what stops the arrangement from becoming a pile of unopened envelopes at a reception you never visit.

The 10 best Australian addresses for mail scanning and forwarding in 2026

These ten are drawn from the 87 Australian virtual office addresses on Wezoo. Each one publishes the same five items on its plan detail, which is why the entries below do not repeat them: mail handling, package handling, company registration use, call answering and coworking access. All ten show a minimum term of one month, and between them they cover seven states and territories. The price shown is the published monthly starting point for the address, and the scanning and forwarding terms themselves come from the operator on the plan.

1. 680 George Street, Sydney

What to expect: World Square sits in the middle of Sydney’s central business district, a ten minute walk from Central Station, with direct connections to Circular Quay and the airport. The centre is on the 45th floor, so post comes up through a managed building rather than a shared residential lobby. For a company whose directors are not in Sydney, this is the address that reads as a head office on an ASIC extract.

Operator: Regus · Address: Level 45, 680 George Street, Sydney NSW 2000 · From: AUD 115 per month, one month minimum · Request 680 George Street on Wezoo

2. 166 Epping Road, Sydney

What to expect: Lane Cove West is a suburban business park off the M2, about twenty kilometres from the Sydney central business district and well short of the CBD price. It suits a company that wants a New South Wales address for its records without paying for a tower view it will never use. The building is staffed during business hours, which is the part that matters when the post arrives.

Operator: Regus · Address: 166 Epping Road, Lane Cove West, Sydney NSW 2066 · From: AUD 85 per month, one month minimum · Request 166 Epping Road on Wezoo

3. 85 Spring Street, Melbourne

What to expect: This is the Parliament end of the Melbourne grid, with Parliament Station a minute away and tram stops on the doorstep. The reception shown above is the practical centre of any mail plan: someone physically takes delivery, logs the item and acts on your instruction. Signature runs two of the 87 Australian virtual office addresses on Wezoo, so this is a comparatively rare listing in a city with 19 of them.

Operator: Signature · Address: Level 3, 85 Spring Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 · From: AUD 219 per month, one month minimum · Request 85 Spring Street on Wezoo

4. 14 Mason Street, Dandenong

What to expect: Dandenong is the industrial and logistics hub of greater Melbourne, reachable by train or straight off the M1. If your customers, suppliers and couriers are in the south east, an address here is closer to them than a Collins Street postcode and cheaper to hold. It is also the kind of address a trade or wholesale business can put on an invoice without raising an eyebrow.

Operator: Regus · Address: Level 10, 14 Mason Street, Dandenong VIC 3175 · From: AUD 109 per month, one month minimum · Request 14 Mason Street on Wezoo

5. 80 Ann Street, Brisbane

What to expect: 80 Ann Street is a recent development in the Brisbane central business district with Central station and the busway within a couple of minutes on foot. Queensland companies that trade across the state often want one fixed Brisbane address for their records while the people move around, and this is a straightforward one. The building runs on site dining and shopping, so a day visit to collect something held for you is not a wasted trip.

Operator: Spaces · Address: 80 Ann Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 · From: AUD 155 per month, one month minimum · Request 80 Ann Street on Wezoo

6. 316 Adelaide Street, Brisbane

What to expect: This address sits in Brisbane’s banking and legal quarter, between King George Square and the Queen Street Mall, with the Brisbane GPO a short walk away. Central railway station, King George Square busway and Roma Street are all within reach, which is the practical definition of a well served delivery address. It is the less expensive of the two Brisbane addresses on this list, and its plan detail lists the same five items.

Operator: HQ · Address: 316 Adelaide Street, Brisbane QLD 4000 · From: AUD 125 per month, one month minimum · Request 316 Adelaide Street on Wezoo

7. Forrest Centre, Perth

What to expect: The Forrest Centre is a long standing Perth business address overlooking the Swan River, in the city’s commercial core and close to both heavy rail and the free transit zone. At this floor price it is one of the least expensive ways to hold a Western Australian address, which is useful if you trade nationally but want a local presence in the state. Perth sits two or three hours behind the eastern states, so a scan beats a phone call for anything time sensitive.

Operator: Regus · Address: Level 29, Forrest Centre, Perth WA 6000 · From: AUD 69 per month, one month minimum · Request Forrest Centre on Wezoo

8. 28 Leigh Street, Adelaide

What to expect: Leigh Street is a laneway in the Adelaide central business district, with the Currie Street bus stop, Adelaide railway station and the Rundle Mall tram stop all within a few hundred metres. The entrance shown above is at street level on the laneway rather than inside a tower, which keeps the walk from the kerb to the front desk short. South Australia has eight Wezoo virtual office addresses in total, and this is one of the most central.

Operator: Spaces · Address: 28 Leigh Street, Adelaide SA 5000 · From: AUD 129 per month, one month minimum · Request 28 Leigh Street on Wezoo

9. Gateway Business Centre, Canberra

What to expect: The Gateway Business Centre sits beside the Canberra airport terminal, which is a genuine advantage if your work brings you to the capital for a day at a time. For companies that deal with Commonwealth departments, an ACT address on the register is a signal in itself. Canberra has three Wezoo virtual office addresses, so the choice here is narrow and this one is the easiest to reach without a car.

Operator: Regus · Address: Level 4, Plaza Offices East, Gateway Business Centre, Canberra ACT 2609 · From: AUD 229 per month, one month minimum · Request Gateway Business Centre on Wezoo

10. 66 Smith Street, Darwin

What to expect: Smith Street is the main retail and business strip of the Darwin central business district, a short walk from the waterfront. The Northern Territory has three Wezoo virtual office addresses and all three are in Darwin, so if you need an NT address this is effectively the short list. Distance is the whole argument for scanning here: physical forwarding from Darwin to a southern capital is a multi day trip, and a scan is not.

Operator: Regus · Address: Level 4 and 5, 66 Smith Street, Darwin NT 0800 · From: AUD 115 per month, one month minimum · Request 66 Smith Street on Wezoo

Who is mail scanning and forwarding best for?

Non resident directors. If nobody in the company is physically in Australia, scanning is not a convenience, it is the only way the registered office works at all. An ASIC notice posted to Sydney and then forwarded to Singapore can take a fortnight. Scanned, it is the same day.

Companies registered in one state and operating in another. Australia is large enough that interstate forwarding is measured in days. A Darwin or Perth address held by a Melbourne based team is perfectly sensible, but only if the default handling is a scan and forwarding is the exception.

Sole traders and consultants who do not want their home address published. The register is public. A staffed building in the address field solves that, and the mail plan is what keeps it from becoming a black hole.

Businesses with a record keeping obligation they take seriously. The ATO requires most business records to be kept for five years, stored so the information cannot be changed, and produced on request. Its ruling on electronic records, TR 2018/2, accepts true and clear electronic reproductions of original paper records, which means a properly scanned letter can be the record. The ATO also notes that ASIC requires companies to keep records for seven years. A mail plan that scans by default builds that archive as a side effect.

How to set up mail scanning and forwarding on Wezoo

A virtual office is an enquiry, not a booking. There is no checkout and no instant confirmation, because the operator has to verify who you are before an address can carry your company name. Allow a few business days and have your identity documents ready.

1. Pick the address. Start from the state your obligations sit in rather than the prestige of the postcode, then compare the published monthly floors.
2. Send the enquiry through the listing. The operator comes back with the plan, the inclusions and the handling terms, normally within a business day.
3. Get three things in writing before you sign: whether scanning is same day or batched, what a forwarded item costs on top of the monthly fee, and the written consent you will need if the address becomes your registered office.

4. Go live. Lodge the address with ASIC, stating that the owner has consented, and put it on your website, invoices and company records.

If you want to compare cities first, our city guides cover business addresses in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. You can also browse the full list of virtual offices in Australia. If the address you need is not Australian, we have separate guides to a United States mail forwarding service and a UK business mail forwarding address.

Mail scanning and forwarding FAQ

Is mail scanning and forwarding legal in Australia?

Yes. There is no restriction on having a third party receive and handle your business post. What is regulated is the address itself: if you use it as your company’s registered office, ASIC requires a physical street address in Australia and a record of the owner’s written consent to use it.

Can I use a PO box instead?

Not for your registered office. ASIC requires a physical street address and says it cannot be a PO box. A PO box is acceptable for a company contact address, which is a different field on the register.

How quickly will I see my mail?

That depends on the operator and the plan, not on the address. Ask whether items are scanned the same working day or batched, and get the answer before you sign up. Scanning removes the distance problem entirely; forwarding does not.

Does a scanned letter count as a record for the ATO?

The ATO’s ruling on electronic records, TR 2018/2, accepts true and clear electronic reproductions of original paper records, and says you do not have to keep the paper once you have an accurate image unless another law requires it. The scan has to be a complete and accurate copy, and stored so it cannot be altered.

What does mail scanning and forwarding cost?

Monthly starting prices across the 87 Australian virtual office addresses on Wezoo run from AUD 59 to AUD 585. Per item scanning and forwarding charges, and the postage on anything physically re posted, are quoted separately by the operator.

Can I change where my mail is forwarded?

That is one of the practical differences between a forwarding arrangement and a postal redirection. A redirection sends everything to one address set in advance; a handling plan is decided item by item, so ask the operator how a change of destination is handled and whether it is instant.

Sources

• ASIC, Company addresses

• ATO, Overview of record-keeping rules for business