[citation needed] The Lange government's Postal Services Act 1987 reduced the monopoly of New Zealand Post to a limit of $1.75 and 500 grams.

Despite the Act, government regulation of the company still requires it to maintain certain minimum service levels, such as frequency of delivery.

New Zealand Post's exclusive right to be the 'sole operator' under the Act for the purposes of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) expired on 1 April 2003.

For practical purposes, this meant another postal operator could theoretically issue stamps identified simply as 'New Zealand' with UPU membership.

At around the same time, New Zealand Post adopted a fern-shaped identifying mark on its postage stamps, to be used on the majority of its future issues.

[10] Prime Minister John Key backed the idea, saying people "genuinely understand that the world is changing".

After acquiring 100% of the company in 2004 (by this stage the other 50% had been owned by WH Smith, owner of Whitcoulls bookshops) the entire operation was eventually sold to Paper Plus in 2005 and by 2006 all had been re-branded as Take Note.

[15][16] In 2002, New Zealand Post, as part of government policy, opened the bank Kiwibank Limited in the majority of its PostShop and Books and More (now Take Note) branches.

The ECN Group focuses on B2B messaging, business process management and systems integration, with a presence in New Zealand, Australia and Asia.

[20] New Zealand Post also ran the Electoral Enrolment Centre as a business unit under contract to the Ministry of Justice.

On 6 July 2010, New Zealand Post registered a 100 percent stake in Localist Limited, a local directory and social media site focusing initially on the Auckland region.

[22][23] One of the ways New Zealand Post is trying to make up for lost revenue due to fewer people sending letters is partnering with other companies.

This rebranding exercise costs NZ$15 million and will take place over a period of three years; focusing on the repainting of courier vans.

[25] In late June 2023, NZ Post chief executive David Walsh announced plans to lay off 750 jobs over the next five years due to declining mail volume.

[26] In late March 2024, NZ post confirmed it would proceed with plans to lay off 750 workers over the next five years due to declining mail volume.

The Postal Worker's Union president John Maynard expressed concerns about NZ Post's proposal to stop delivering to individual mail boxes.

[37] An 20 hp (15 kW) 12 mph (19 km/h)12mph Albion petrol lorry[38] began carrying mail between Wellington post office and the wharf from early in September 1909.

In 2008, New Zealand Post and DHL commenced a similar joint venture in Australia called Parcel Direct Group Pty Limited (PDG).

[47] On 12 October 2022, NZ Post opened a new over 10,000 square metres "Super Depot" in Wellington capable of automatically sorting 11,000 parcels per hour which was previously done by hand.

The new automated sorting system uses optical character recognition (OCR) capable of reading hand writing as well as barcode scanning to determine where the package should go.