The Amazon Flex program has been around for a long time in Australia and has become one of the most popular gig delivery services to make extra money. This program was officially launched in early 2020 and is currently available in 7 cities and 5 states, including Adelaide, the city and capital of the state of South Australia.
Despite being a new delivery gig, Amazon Flex has successfully lured about 2,000 independent contractors across the country to sign up for the program, according to ABC.net.au. The number is likely to increase considering that Amazon is still accepting new driver registrations, although in some cities drivers must be put on a waiting list first.
Flexibility is the main reason for some drivers to make Amazon Flex as an alternative way to earn extra money. Delivery drivers will know the estimated duration and how much they can earn, all before the work shift begins. They can also do it along with their regular jobs, or with other gigs.
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Amazon Flex location in Adelaide
When opening its Flex program in a city, Amazon will also equip it with a delivery station located within that city. The location of the delivery station is usually not too far from the city centre.
In Adelaide, Amazon Flex has only one delivery station located in Cavan, a suburb north of the city. The distance is quite close, about 30 minutes driving from the city centre.
The main reason why Adelaide only has one delivery station is that the city area is not very large and there are not as many Amazon customers as in Sydney and Melbourne which have more than one delivery station for Amazon Flex.
Amazon Flex Requirements Adelaide
If you have previously registered as a delivery driver on other gig delivery platforms such as Uber or Menulog you will have no trouble providing the requirements to deliver with Amazon. Hardly any difference with other delivery gigs operating in Adelaide.
Driver requirements:
- You need to be more than 20 years old
- Full Driver’s Licence
- An Australian Business Number or ABN
- Passing background check provided by Accurate
Vehicle requirements:
- A 4-door passenger vehicle that is large enough to safely carry you and your packages. It can be a sedan, a larger passenger vehicle or a cargo van.
- Compulsory Third-Party Injury (CPT) insurance at a minimum.
The following is a screen capture of the Amazon Flex driver app that shows several steps that a driver must go through when signing up for the program. After all the items on the list have been completed with a green check mark icon, after that you need to wait to be activated.
Required Steps
Amazon Flex Adelaide Pay Rate
Once you have signed up and already activated as a delivery partner, you will have access to reserve delivery shifts or also called blocks inside the Amazon Flex driver app. Each block has its own pay depending on how many hours are allocated to complete the block
Adelaide Block Offers
In Adelaide, if you are registered as a sedan driver or other small vehicle, you will often see 4 hours blocks with a minimum payout of $108. If you are registered on Amazon Flex with a larger passenger vehicle like an SUV you are qualified to reserve a 6.5 hours block for $180, while a cargo van driver is qualified for the longest block, 8 hours block for $225.
So, Amazon Flex delivery drivers in Adelaide will earn at least $27 per hour for sedan or smaller car drivers, whereas $30 per hour for large passenger and cargo van drivers which includes a 30 minutes unpaid break.
You need to know that as an independent contractor, you are generally responsible for your own expenses during delivery. However, specifically for the toll, you can submit a reimbursement in case you incur a toll while delivering.
Amazon Flex sign up process
Just like other gigs to become a delivery driver on Amazon you can get it done only by using the Amazon Flex app. iPhone users can download the application directly from the Apple App Store. For devices with an Android OS, you can download the app directly from their official website.
After downloading the app and installing it, you can immediately start the registration process straight from the app. You can use your current Amazon.com.au account or create a new one. Then you need to complete all the requirements that we explained earlier.
When choosing the preferred time to deliver, many drivers suggest choosing the maximum possible time. For example, checkmark everyday selection from Sunday – Saturday, early morning to late evening and even the “30 hours or more” option. This is to maximize your chances of getting blocks because as we know, we will compete with other drivers when the blocks are released in the app.
Once you have fulfilled all the requirements and everything has been completed which is marked with a green check mark icon, the next step is to wait for activation. In this case, no one knows how long the process will take, some have been activated within a few days but some took more than a month.
Sometimes when you login into the app it will show a message that says, “Thank you for your interest. Amazon Flex is not accepting new delivery partners at this time but you should have been put on a waitlist. We may contact you when opportunities become available, and you can check your status in the app.” According to the details of the message, it means that your account is still on the waitlist which could take longer to activate.
However, sometimes you will get a message like this too “Sorry, that there aren’t any delivery openings in your at the moment. Check back in the next day or two to see, if any openings become available”. According to some drivers, it means you have been activated but there are no blocks released yet in your area.
Amazon Flex vs Food Delivery (Uber Eats)
There are several gig drivers curious about which is better Amazon Flex or food delivery in Adelaide. In our opinion, all the gig platforms that exist today are the same, one of them can be better than the other at some point, but one day it could be the other way around.
However, here we will try to explain the pros and cons of Amazon Flex vs other delivery platforms, in this case, Uber Eats which is the market leader in the country, including Adelaide.
With Amazon Flex, drivers will be offered an allocated block, mostly 4 hours block that pays $108. So you know how much you got that day. In addition, drivers can also reserve a block for the next few days. Drivers only need to come to the station once per block to pick up the order and then deliver it.
The downside of Amazon Flex is that there are limited blocks allocated each day and you will often see a list of empty blocks that have been taken by other drivers. Sometimes drivers get a minimum of parcels one day and a lot of parcels another day. Sometimes Amazon groups stops at nearby locations, but other days they give stops that are very far from each other, requiring more effort to reach the next locations.
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