Resources
Contacts
Aircraft noise complaints
Freedom of Information requests
Commonwealth Parliament
Who does what
Airservices Australia is a Commonwealth government business that manages aircraft operations; it is a commercially driven organisation but it must have regard to the safety of air navigation as its most important consideration.
AA manages and controls the flight paths used by aircraft approaching and departing from major airports. Aircraft are meant to fly approved flight paths that have been developed over time in consultation with government, councils and residents.
AA manages controlled airspace, where all aircraft must have continual radio contact with air traffic control and submit a flight plan detailing the route and height they will fly. Some emergency operations do not have to submit a flight plan, due to the urgency of their flights.
AA must ensure the environment is protected from the effects associated with the operation and use of aircraft (subject to safety of air navigation). This is sometimes done by the issue of ‘special procedures’ for a certain area. The ‘environment’ includes communities on the ground.
AA manages the movement of aircraft so that, as far as possible, noise impacts on communities are minimised. AA accepts noise complaints on their website.
The AA Board is accountable to the Minister for Transport.
Airservices Australia
The Aircraft Noise Ombudsman (ANO) conducts reviews of AA’s and Defence's management of aircraft noise-related activities, including:
the handling of complaints or enquiries about aircraft noise
community consultation processes related to aircraft noise, and the presentation and distribution of aircraft noise-related information.
The ANO is funded by and reports to the Board of Airservices Australia and the Department of Defence.
Aircraft Noise Ombudsman
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development oversees government legislation and policy relating to airports and aviation, including curfews and noise insulation programs.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development
Airports are mostly operated by private corporations, some of which lease the airport land and infrastructure from the Commonwealth government. Airport leaseholders derive profits from landing fees charged to airlines, plus rental of airport land and buildings to airline operators and retailers.
Operations at federally-leased airports, which include all capital city airports, are regulated by the Airports Act 1996. This Act gives the Minister for Transport control over major developments (e.g. new runways), master-planning and airport capacity expansion.
The Act also requires each airport to establish a ‘Community Aviation Consultation Group’ (CACG), intended to “enable airport operators, residents affected by airport operations, local authorities, airport users, and other interested parties to exchange information on issues relating to airport operations and their impacts”.
Airports
Airline operators are responsible for complying with safety regulations made by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and flight procedures and directions from Airservices Australia. There is a commercial relationship between airlines and airports in terms of landing fees and rental of premises.
Airlines
Flight training is conducted privately both by airlines and independent schools accredited by CASA. Schools tend to lease or purchase space at smaller ‘general aviation’ airports, drawing on both domestic and overseas student markets.
The capacity of training flight ‘circuits’ is regulated by CASA from a safety perspective, but consideration is not given to community or environmental impact.
Flight training schools
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) is an independent statutory authority that regulates Australian aviation safety.
CASA licenses pilots, registers aircraft, and oversees and promotes safety.
It also has responsibility for airspace regulation.
The CASA Board reports to the Deputy Prime Minister, Michael McCormack.
While CASA is required to consult with communities on some decisions, such as airspace changes, most of its actions are generally not subject to consideration of environmental or community impact.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is Australia’s national transport safety investigator. The ATSB undertakes investigations into aviation safety incidents and accidents and publishes monthly statistics for each airport.