How stamp designs are created

Stamps bring to life our country’s rich history, culture and identity, as well as a world of pop culture icons. Here we explore the art of creating these designs and the guidelines followed to produce the most sought-after stamps for collectors. 

We issue a limited number of stamps each year and aim to strike a balance of variety that resonates with as many people as possible. Every year we create: 

• Our annual issues for Lunar New Year, the King’s Birthday and Christmas 
• Two to four issues for special events, including the Olympic Games 
• Children’s stamps with popular themes, such as Bluey and other beloved characters, shows and movies  
• Stamps for Australia’s external territories of Norfolk Island, Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands
• A selection of commemorative themes and designs proposed by collectors and the public. 

The selection process begins at least two years before the stamps are issued to allow for detailed research, the development of designs, printing and the stamp production process.

Choosing the perfect stamp design

Stamp designs can feature: 

• Popular national and international themes related to Australia, including Indigenous Australians and artwork
• Subjects that remain visible and engaging at stamp size
• Anniversaries of 50 years or multiples of 50 years
• Special events and occasions of interest to Australians, such as celebrating positive values, milestones or key life events
• Heads of national governments meetings and conferences (this is rare and on commemorative stamps only)
• Living people that are: 
  • The King or members of the Royal Family
  • Australian Olympic gold medal winners
  • Australian Victoria Cross recipients
• Unidentified Australians that represent a specific group. 

Stamp designs can’t feature: 

• Niche interests of small groups, regions or a single state or territory 
• Founding anniversaries of a location or government body 
• Ongoing Australian events, except for Australia Day, King’s Birthday, Christmas and major events relevant to stamp collecting 
• Religious, political or commercial business anniversaries  
• Topics that cause public divisiveness  
• Anniversaries of a death. 

We hold ourselves and any suggestions from the public to the above when deciding on stamp designs. But, as with any criteria, there are always exceptions. On the rare occasion that Australia Post releases a stamp issue in collaboration with other countries to celebrate a shared event or interest, special consideration is given to the stamp design. 

How to create a stamp design

We receive many requests, but we can’t commit to every design. We judge each design against the needs of regular mail users and the appeal of designs to the wider collecting community, as well as our production capacity.  

You can send us suggestions for stamp themes, providing they meet the criteria outlined in our Stamp Issue Policy (PDF 255kB).

Email us at australianstamps@auspost.com.au or post your ideas to:

The Manager 
Philatelic Group 
Australia Post 
GPO Box 1777 
MELBOURNE VIC 3001 

If your design suggestion doesn’t become a stamp, it could feature on one of our postage paid envelopes. These products feature designs from nature and architecture to national symbols. Our aerogramme stamp designs celebrate international events that Australia hosted or took part in, and our pre-stamped envelopes feature a prepaid stamp design that features: 

• Themes related to Australia  
• Anniversaries of 25 years or multiples of 25 years 
• Meetings or conferences held in Australia, are international in participation and at least partly sponsored by the Australian government 
• Founding anniversaries for Australian educational, professional, charitable or sporting organisations. 

You can join our Collecting Community to look at more stamp designs and to connect with other collectors. You can also explore more designs and deepen your knowledge by reading our other articles and our Stamp Issue Policy (PDF 255kB).