Aviation Consumer Protection Bill 2026, Aviation Consumer Protection (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026, Aviation Consumer Protection Levy Bill 2026, Aviation Consumer Protection Levy (Collection) Bill 2026
Ms CLUTTERHAM (Sturt) (12:27): I rise today to speak on the Aviation Consumer Protection Bill 2026, the Aviation Consumer Protection Levy Bill 2026, the Aviation Consumer Protection Levy (Collection) Bill 2026 and the Aviation Consumer Protection (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026. I am a lover of aviation. My interest started in 1992, when I was 10, while travelling from Adelaide to Hobart for a swimming carnival.
It was my first time on a plane. I'll never forget, and I can sometimes still feel, the raw power of the 737 aircraft as it taxied and took off into the sky. It was an incredible feeling, and from that moment I was completely hooked.
Of course, at that time, I didn't realise how critical aviation and aerospace are to this country, to jobs, to productivity, to connectivity, to national security and to health care. All I cared about when I was 10 were the little headphones and tiny packets of nuts that you received as a snack, but decades on I still get a kick every time I go to an airport, board a plane and take off into the sky.
For a short stint, I worked for Boeing Defence Australia, which is a great company that is doing incredible things in the defence industry. In working there, I became familiar, in particular, with the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail; the P-8A Poseidon, which is maintained at Edinburgh Parks in my home state of South Australia; and, of course, the MQ-28 Ghost Bat—an uncrewed, collaborative combat aircraft and the first military aircraft to be designed, manufactured and flown in Australia in more than 50 years—which was manufactured by Boeing using manufacturing innovations in robotic drill and fill and which has helped them create efficiencies by significantly reducing assembly costs.
Prior to being elected to federal parliament, I was also very privileged to be a volunteer director on the board of the wonderful organisation that is the Royal Flying Doctor Service in South Australia and the Northern Territory, where I was chair of the board's aviation safety committee. Through this role I developed an understanding of not only the Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24, beautiful planes, but also the incredible value and contribution pilots and LAMEs make to that organisation, which is actually very complex.
When people see an RFDS red-bellied plane in the sky, it is inspiring and reassuring, but it takes an awful lot to get the plane up there. The RFDS is a regional and metropolitan airline combined with the primary preventive and aeromedical health service, combined with a business development organisation, combined with a commercial enterprise, combined with an education and training provider, combined with being a fundraising organisation, because it is in fact a not-for-profit and conducting its business over a geographical reach that covers the entire country, including its most remote corners, contributing to the aviation industry in a very unique and important way.
All of that led me to Parliamentary Friends of Aviation, of which I'm co-chair. This is formed by the Australian Airports Association, Airlines for Australia and New Zealand, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia and the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia. This group supports and promotes aviation policy and priorities.
Together, these organisations represent more than 340 airports, 13 domestic airlines and over 40 international airlines, moving more than 100 million passengers each year in Australian airspace. Last financial year, these millions of domestic passengers travelled on aircraft ranging from jetliners to turboprops, landing at major airports and regional airstrips alike.
Australia's airports are a vital part of Australia's economic and social fabric, providing connection across Australia and beyond. Given our geography, airports provide the starting point and sometimes the only practical means of travel for many journeys. In financial year 2025, our global gateways recorded an all-time high of just over 43 million international passengers.
This was a 9.6 per cent increase on the previous year, and these numbers underscore the role of the aviation sector as the backbone of global connectivity, enabling movement, opportunity and growth across Australia and out into the world. In December last year in my home state of South Australia, I was really thrilled to be at Adelaide Airport to witness and celebrate the landing of the first United Airlines flight direct to Adelaide from San Francisco, a beautiful Boeing 787 Dreamliner which will operate on a seasonal basis.
Even better, the first officer on that inaugural flight was an Adelaide born and bred lady. I also had the opportunity earlier this year to have a tour of the Qantas Integrated Operations Centre at Mascot in Sydney, which is pretty much the team of people who keep that airline running smoothly. At the IOC, the team, which includes engineers, meteorologists and customer service personnel, monitors hundreds of live flights and collaborates with pilots to find the safest, most efficient routes.
The team uses AI to map countless flight paths, rerouting planes and altering schedules to account for severe weather events, the closure of airspace and other unexpected challenges. It also uses AI to optimise fuel usage and minimise delays. Adelaide is home to the Qantas Product Innovation Centre, which is designed to accelerate the delivery of intuitive, world-leading digital experiences for the millions of customers who travel on that particular airline each year.
It's currently staffed by a small team, but the centre is projected to be home to more than 420 highly skilled technological roles over the next three years, bringing investment and critical innovation capability to South Australia. We also see innovation in the aviation industry with Virgin Australia's investment in open AI capabilities, which are changing the way their customers plan and book travel, and, of course, a different type of innovation with their pets-in-cabin initiative.
Aviation is one of Australia's most powerful economic engines, contributing around five per cent of national GDP each year, and, as is demonstrated by the IOC and Product Innovation Centre, it's a major employer for Australian workers. Last financial year, 1.2 million tonnes of air cargo moved through Australian airports, much of it high-value goods requiring safe, reliable transport networks to keep supply chains flowing.
While air freight represents less than one per cent of total trade volume, it represents over 20 per cent of Australia's total trade value. By 2030, Australian air passenger movements are expected to grow another 30 per cent from current levels. With the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, now is the time for us to prepare for this, because that total is expected to climb even higher.
There's a role for government in this industry. The role for government in aviation is to facilitate an open, market based aviation sector where Australians enjoy access to more services on a fair footing at better prices and with an impeccable air safety and security record—in Australia, ours remains world leading. Facilitating competition and sustainable growth in the commercial market while regulating the sector to ensure appropriate safety, security, workforce, consumer and environmental outcomes is the name of the game for the government in supporting this critical industry.
The government's vision for aviation, as expressed in the 2024 aviation white paper, is for an aviation sector that is safe, secure, competitive, productive, sustainable and fair, employing Australian workers on fair pay and secure conditions and providing Australian consumers with affordable, reliable and accessible services now and beyond. In establishing the aviation consumer protection framework, this suite of bills is a part of realising that vision.
The aviation consumer protection framework will comprise a number of important elements: an impartial aviation consumer ombudsperson that will provide a fair, accessible and independent external dispute resolution service, which can assist with resolving individual customer complaints in relation to the supply of airline and airport services, and the aviation consumer protections charter, which will set out the minimum standards that aviation consumers can expect from airlines and airports.
This will be enforced by the Aviation Consumer Protection Authority. The charter will create obligations for airlines and airports towards their consumers in the event of a flight disruption, delay or cancellation and create minimum standards with respect to booking information and assistance, communicating with consumers and complaint handling. Importantly, the Aviation Consumer Protection Bill (2026) will also facilitate the reporting and publication of reasons for flight delays, of reasons for cancellations and reasons for disruption to consumers.
This will help to educate consumers and help them understand the factors that lead to delays, disruptions or cancellations, including whether they were within or outside the relevant airline's control. This reporting will also provide learnings for industry, hopefully identifying steps that industry can take to minimise delay, disruption and cancellation factors.
It will also be important in understanding whether an entity's response to a delay, disruption or cancellation event was satisfactory, which in turn will help to manage consumer expectations going forward. When the aviation consumer marketplace is fair and transparent, with clear and easily understood obligations for industry and clear expectations for consumers, including clear methods for resolving complaints, the industry can become more productive because less time will be spent repeatedly working out what these minimum performance requirements might be.
Industry time can then be devoted to more productive and sustainable work, such as strategies for decarbonisation, which is challenging for the aviation industry just by virtue of the industry's nature. It can also be devoted to strategies for developing models for sustainable aviation fuel, which is being supported by the federal government through the Cleaner Fuels Program, which commits $1.1 billion over the next decade to help bridge the price gap between regular jet fuel and sustainable alternatives, with onshore production hopefully expected to start around 2029.
Sustainable aviation fuel is a priority sector under the federal government's Future Made in Australia agenda—rightly so, because, compared to regular jet fuel, it can significantly reduce carbon emissions. The current cost of sustainable aviation fuel presents challenges, but, if these can be overcome with targeted investment and strategic supply-side and demand-side models, it will mean secure homegrown fuel, which is vital to the aviation industry and to the people of Australia.
I give a particular shout-out to the innovative Australian company HAMR Energy, which, under the leadership of CEO David Stribley, is making a significant investment in a low-carbon liquid-fuel refinery at Gillman, in my home state of South Australia. This investment means more jobs, more opportunity for decarbonisation and more fuel security for the people of Australia.
Investment and action to build a domestic low-carbon liquid-fuels industry, which HAMR Energy is pursuing, both reduce reliance on imported fuels and strengthen Australia's fuel security. It will also elevate our role in the global low-carbon liquid-fuel supply chain—across the whole life cycle, from the sourcing of feedstock, which so readily available here in Australia, through to refining, production and end-user distribution—as well as helping to meet global decarbonisation goals in the aviation sector, which is so critical to our country's economy.
It is an exciting time for the aviation industry and for those who work within it, who use it and who benefit from it. I commend the bills to the House.