Australia Post apologises for losing Aboriginal artist’s painting worth $4,000 | Australia Post

Just before Christmas, Aboriginal artist Bobbi Lockyer packaged and shipped a valuable painting she spent more than a hundred hours on to her client.

An empty package arrived at the other end.

“It’s heartbreaking,” says Lockyer, a woman from Ngarluma, Kariyarra, Nyulnyul and Yawuru. The award-winning artist is also angry with Australia Post’s “cut-and-paste” response, as she calls it.

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He said an employee instructed him on how to package the $4,000 canvas, and he sent it via express mail with tracking.

Australia Post said the search for the painting was continuing and they had apologized to Lockyer.

“I went to the Australia Post Office to send it in. They told me to wear this sleeve, [that] Stopping tubes from rolling in transit is new, Lockyer says.

“I was a little unsure about this. [They] He said ‘Everything is fine’ and showed it[ed] sticky nails that bind it to me. So I paid and thought it was safe.

“It was a special order from a collector who had wanted this painting for a long time, and it was a Christmas gift. It was finished and shipped before Christmas, arriving on Christmas Eve as just a cardboard tube, no painting.”

“As soon as it happened, the customer sent me a photo. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is so scary.'”

“Heartbreaking. He was there so his whole family would receive an empty, open cardboard sleeve for Christmas.”

Lockyer said he and the customer filed a complaint. The customer’s case was closed after Australia Post said it was not packaged properly.

Lockyer continued to fight on his side, sending invoices to prove the value of the painting and asking if they were lost items. Australia Post was told it would follow the route but received “cut-and-paste” responses, he said.

“They said they can’t offer compensation right now, it’s the sender’s fault. They’re closing the case, and I keep opening it saying it’s not resolved,” he says.

“It’s not just devastating [my customer] but also myself. They were told they would follow the route. There is no evidence that they did. I asked if there were any lost items. No answer.

An Australia Post spokesperson said in a statement that they “apologized to the customer and are continuing to search for the product across our network”.

“Australia Post’s processing and delivery teams work hard to handle each item with care and deliver them safely, but in a network of this size, things sometimes go wrong,” the statement said.

Under Australia Post’s policies, general services are eligible to ship items valued up to $100, and most of their services cover up to $100 in compensation for loss or damage; but recommends purchasing extra coverage for more expensive items.