Australia Post’s first set of the year was “Special Occasions”. Released on January 3, there are ten designs available in gummed and self-adhesive varieties in sheets or booklets plus a miniature sheet that contains one copy of each design. There was also a “Wedding Collection” with a prestige booklet and stickers as well as maximum cards of each design. Australia produces a similar range for most of its stamp releases which causes this country’s New Issue completists to shell out a great deal of cash each year. This post will contain just a few of what is available.

According to the Australia Post Collectibles issue page

“This stamp issue refreshes our ongoing series marking some of life’s key milestones – birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and the arrival of a newborn, to name just a few. These are events for which a heartfelt missive sent through the post is often most fitting, a handwritten message, in our digital times, having the power to convey the personal significance of lived events and representing a tangible connection between sender and recipient.

“Nine of the stamps in this issue have been designed specifically for social mail between individuals; the design featuring the Southern Cross and Australia is pitched towards general and business mail users. The floral and the Let’s Celebrate designs are appropriate for use across a number of life events.”

$1.20 Teddy Bear

$1.20 Floral Heart

$1.20 Paper Bouquet

$1.20 Happy Birthday

$1.20 Let’s Celebrate

$1.20 White Tulips

$1.20 Champagne Flutes

$1.20 Waratah

$1.20 Australia

$2.40 Wedding Bands

First Day Cover

Maximum Cards

Technical specifications

Issue date: 3 January 2023
Issue withdrawal date: tba
Denomination: $1.20 x 9. $2.40 x 1
Stamp design: Teddy bear – Jo Muré, Australia Post Design Studio
Stamp design: Champagne Flutes – Jason Watts, Australia Post Design Studio
Stamp design: Happy Birthday, Let’s Celebrate – Simone Sakinofsky, Australia Post Design Studio
Stamp design: Floral Heart, Paper Bouquet, White Tulips, Waratah, Australia, Wedding Bands – Sonia Young, Australia Post Design Studio
Product design: Sonia Young, Australia Post Design Studio
Paper: gummed Tullis Russell 104gsm Red Phos.
Paper: self-adhesive Securpost C Print 100 P8P
Printer: EGO
Printing process: Offset lithography
Stamp size (mm): 26 x 37.5
Sheetlet size (mm): 151 x 125
Perforations: 14.6 x 13.86
Sheet layout: Module of 50 (no design)
FDI Postmark: Brisbane QLD 4000
FDI withdrawal date: 1 February 2023