A Hunter suburb has landed an unwanted honour, landing among the state's worst for a risk to postal workers.
More than 1200 dog-related incidents were reported across Australia in the past six months, according to Australia Post, marking a five per cent rise on the same time in 2025.
The delivery service said its data showed Warabrook had recorded one of the highest tallies for a suburb in NSW.
It is the second time in less than a year Warabrook was named among NSW's riskiest areas to deliver mail due to dogs.
General manager safety Russell Munro said dog-related incidents were a serious and persistent safety risk when delivering mail.
The majority of incidents related to unsecured dogs during deliveries, with almost two-thirds on the street with a dog roaming freely.
Over a third involved posties chased down the street, with more than a third on the property of a delivery as they approach or leave the front door.
"What seems like a routine delivery can quickly escalate, and our posties can't predict how a dog may react, regardless of breed or temperament," Mr Munro said.
"It's worrying to see the number of incidents increasing. With 9.8 million Aussies shopping online, deliveries and interactions at the front door are more frequent, creating highly stressful situations for dogs and increasing the risk for our team."
The service dubbed Tamworth, Moree, Penrith and Ingleburn as the state's hotspots for postie attacks, with an average of nine incidents nationally each day.
In the Hunter, Edgeworth (10) and Beresfield (6) trailed behind Warabrook, while there were four recorded incidents at Taylors Beach in Port Stephens and three in Muswellbrook.
Scone, Cessnock and Newcastle each recorded a single attack, while there were two each in Singleton and Morisset.
Office of Local Government data shows there were 24 dog attack incidents reported in Newcastle between October and December last year and 33 in Lake Macquarie.
Both trailed Central Coast Council, which notched up 47 during the same period, and has the most registered dogs in NSW of any council, with more than 174,000.
Singleton had five reported attacks during the same period, with four in Maitland and three at Muswellbrook.
Upper Hunter and Dungog had no reported attacks during that three months,
Citronella spray was introduced for postal workers as a preventative measure a year ago, designed to briefly distract dogs. Australia Post said it had been effective in 95 per cent of cases and given posties an extra tool to protect themselves.
"While citronella gives our team members an extra layer of protection, prevention remains the most effective solution," Mr Munro said.
