Survey distribution, mail-outs and returns
We distribute paper surveys, questionnaires, forms and assessment materials to individuals or in bulk to your organisation and participating sites. Completed forms can return directly to CDS, or be collected by your team and forwarded to us in bulk.
The outward and return arrangements do not need to be the same. We can mail forms individually and receive the completed forms from your organisation in batches, or deliver materials in bulk and receive returns from participating sites. We agree the combination that suits your project.
What you send. For individual mail-outs, your mailing list. You can send your respondent list through our secure Australian-hosted file transfer service or your organisation’s nominated secure service. For bulk delivery, the delivery locations, contacts and quantities required. Tell us where completed forms should return and who will arrange any onward delivery to CDS.
Getting forms to the people taking part
Individual mail-outs. We prepare personalised packs for Australia Post lodgement using your supplied mailing list. Packs can include the form, covering letter, participant information, instructions and a return envelope, as required. Return instructions can direct completed forms to CDS or to your organisation. We merge, fold where needed to fit, insert and lodge using the appropriate Australia Post service and barcoding for the job.
Bulk delivery. We send forms and supporting materials in agreed quantities to your organisation or nominated schools, campuses, clinics and other participating sites. Deliveries can be made through Australia Post or other couriers, ready for your staff or local coordinators to distribute.
A combination of both. Some projects need individual mail-outs for one group and bulk delivery for another. We can accommodate different distribution arrangements within the same project.
Paper alongside online. Forms, letters or instructions can carry a QR code and short link to your online survey, or a login unique to each respondent, so people can choose paper or screen. This works with individual mail-outs and materials distributed through sites.
Getting completed forms back to us
Direct postal returns. Completed forms can return directly to CDS by post. Reply Paid can be arranged so the respondent does not pay return postage.
Returns collected by your organisation. Participants can return their forms to your organisation or research team, which then forwards them to us in bulk. This can apply even when CDS originally mailed the forms individually.
Bulk returns from participating sites. Schools and other sites can collect completed forms and return them to us in batches. Assessment providers can also arrange for their staff to deliver completed answer sheets in bulk.
We agree the return destination, responsibilities and timing before distribution, so the instructions supplied with the forms match the actual process.
Example arrangements
These are examples, not fixed packages. Distribution and return arrangements can be combined to suit your project.
| Project arrangement | Distribution | Returns to CDS |
|---|---|---|
| Postal survey | Individual packs mailed to participants | Participants return forms directly to CDS |
| School-based research | Forms delivered in bulk to schools | Schools return completed forms in bulk |
| University research | Individual packs mailed to participants | Participants return forms to the university, which forwards them to CDS in bulk |
| Assessments | Materials delivered in bulk to the assessment provider | The provider's staff return completed forms in bulk |
Coordinated forms and supporting materials
We can prepare the artwork for invitations, covering letters, participant information sheets, instructions, handouts, reminder postcards and envelopes using your supplied content and brand guidelines. Materials can have a consistent presentation whether they are mailed individually or supplied with bulk deliveries. Include the materials you need in your brief; our form design and supporting artwork service can cover them as required.
Australia Post mail-outs and postage
Our survey mailhouse services include personalised packs, Australia Post lodgement, Reply Paid returns and reminders where required. Since 2007 we've lodged more than 690,000 items with Australia Post.
We prepare mail to use the most appropriate Australia Post bulk-mail service and rates available for the job, including PreSort, Promo Post and, where eligible, Charity Mail.
Australia Post postage can be handled in three ways:
- Charged directly to your Australia Post account. If you have a suitable Australia Post business account, outbound postage can usually be charged directly to it.
- Included as a fixed amount in our quote. We estimate the Australia Post charge and include an agreed fixed postage amount, giving you certainty over the project cost. Because Australia Post's final charge depends on the actual address mix and sorting of the mailing, the fixed amount may differ from the eventual Australia Post charge.
- Estimated in the quote and charged at the actual lodgement amount. We show an estimated postage amount for budgeting and invoice the actual Australia Post lodgement charge once it is known.
Australia Post bulk-mail charges depend on the size and weight of the mail piece and how the final mailing sorts, including same-state and interstate direct trays, barcode residue and unbarcoded items. For this reason, the precise Australia Post charge may not be known until the mailing has been prepared and lodged.
Promo Post. For mailings of 4,000 or more items, most survey-related mail can qualify for Australia Post's lower Promo Post rates, subject to Australia Post's eligibility requirements. Where an organisation qualifies for Charity Mail, we can also use those rates.
These postage options relate to Australia Post charges. For bulk delivery, tell us the destinations and quantities so we can confirm the delivery arrangements in the quote.
Return reporting and reminders
We agree reporting and any reminder activity around your distribution and return arrangements. Receipt counts are logged when forms reach CDS, whether individually or in bulk. During fieldwork, daily or weekly reporting can cover completed forms, undeliverable mail and outstanding responses where the available records support those counts. Reporting reflects forms received by CDS and any return information supplied by your team; it does not automatically include responses still held elsewhere.
Respondent-level reporting and reminder exclusions depend on the identifiers and response information available at the agreed processing stage. On request, as an extra, we can supply respondent IDs behind the counts. IDs are captured at scanning, so an ID list can run some weeks behind the receipt count.
Reminders. We can prepare a letter, postcard or fresh copy of the survey with the agreed return instructions. Before preparing a targeted reminder wave, we use the available respondent-level paper return records, online completion updates and undeliverable records to exclude known responders and undeliverable addresses. Where returns first go to your organisation or participating sites, we agree how and when their updates will be supplied.
What you get. The agreed distribution and return arrangements, confirmation of CDS dispatch or lodgement, receipt reporting and reminders where included, and completed forms ready for scanning and processing.
Start with a few project details
Tell us about your survey.
Tell us the quantity, approximate pages per form, how forms will be distributed and returned, and when you need the data.
Let us know about any supporting artwork or specific branding and accessibility requirements.