Australia Post is testing the use of drones and 3D printers

The times they are a-changing, and Australian postal service Australia Post is the next in line for a major shakeup thanks to new technology.

Announcing a trial of delivery drones to start next year, Ahmed Fahour, the CEO of Australia Post, said the service is in talks with a major online retailer that wants to focus on delivering to regional communities, according to the Australian Financial Review.

On top of that, they're also looking at setting up 3D printers and have set up a A$20 million (US$14 million) fund to help grow ecommerce startups. Who knew the post office could be so forward-thinking?

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The drones, similar to the ones used in Amazon's Prime Air program, will be able to carry packages that weigh two kilograms, and will be equipped with all the fittings — like GPS and backup motors — to land it "right on someone's patio," according to Fahour.

Australia Post also hopes to install 3D printers at offices, and Fahour said they are looking into how it could be made feasible in the future.

"Some things you want, like household items, could be printed right there and then rather than waiting for it," he told the AFR. "This is the new world, the technological revolution as opposed to the industrial revolution."

As for funding startups, Fahour said Australia Post will team up with the University of Melbourne's "Melbourne Accelerator Program," a business initiative for budding entrepreneurs. It's the first of what Australia Post hopes will be many partnerships across the country to foster innovation in online commerce.

He added the initiative is a way to take advantage of the "digital disruption," rather than fall victim to it.

"If we only do what we have been doing recently, then as the letter [business] goes down, the usage, then so do we," he said. "As Australians migrate and become more digitally aware, we want to change with them."