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

Mr GEORGANAS (Adelaide) (13:14): I welcome this bill, and I welcome it because it's a long time coming. I am a member of parliament who's always represented the western suburbs in Adelaide, where the airport has its home six kilometres from the CBD of Adelaide. Previously, it was in my electorate.

Since the boundaries changed, it's right on the boundary. My office is constantly inundated by anything to do with aviation complaints, airport noise, aircraft noise or the Adelaide Airport curfew—and rightly so. There are not many airports around the world that have the luxury of being six kilometres from the CBD, and that gives Adelaide Airport a uniqueness, which is a benefit.

At the same time, they need to—and they do—work very closely with the community in and around the suburbs near the Adelaide Airport where people have aircraft flying over their houses continuously. I'm not saying that it's the only place in Australia where that happens. There are other places as well; I know that people in the Prime Minister's electorate and in other electorates around the country face the same issues.

As someone who has fought very hard for consumer protections, aircraft noise abatement and a curfew, this bill is very pleasing to me. When you look at the history of the privatisation of government agencies and services in Australia—whether it be the Commonwealth Bank, the taxation department, telecommunications or a whole range of others—there was an independent body to take complaints and make sure that consumers had a fair hearing and a fair go; previously, those complaints had been investigated by the department, which was government run.

All these airports have now been privatised, especially the major airports in capital cities, so it's important to have an independent body to look into complaints and ensure that people's concerns are heard independently, with no bias, and that outcomes assist consumers, people affected by airports and airports to get a hearing. Australia's history with aircraft is long.

We were one of the first nations to take up aircraft flying. That's because of our vast geography; when you look at Australia, flying from one end to the other—from one shoreline to another—can take up to five hours. We're reliant on aircraft.

We're reliant on aeroplane travel. It's very important that we have a robust industry, an industry that thrives, and that, at the same time, people using the industry are protected. It is part of our essential services.

No longer are we in the days when you'd get on an aeroplane every so often just to go for a holiday. We're reliant on it for our work, meetings and a whole range of things. You don't have to look far; just look at this place here.

Prior to the sixties, the majority of members that travelled to parliament for the sessions would come here and stay for three months. They'd travel by train, stay in Canberra for three months and then go back to their electorates, sometimes after three to six months of being here in Canberra. Aircraft, airports and the aviation industry have changed the way that we commute, how we communicate, how we work and how we do business in Australia.

Therefore, it is an essential service, a service that touches all of us. Many times, and for too long, passengers have been left navigating delays, cancellations and disruptions without clear answers, proper support or legislation in place so that they have a real understanding of their rights. When things go wrong—and occasionally they do go wrong; we see this in the airline industry regularly—it is ordinary Australians who are left carrying the burden.

You can imagine going to a relative's wedding—a brother's wedding, a sister's wedding, a child's wedding—and being told at the gates that your flight has been cancelled without any reason and without prior knowledge of it being cancelled. Certainly, there are times when safety is of the utmost importance, and we all understand that. But, far too often, we get cancellations and we never find out why those cancellations and delays have taken place.

In any other industry, when you're paying upfront for a particular product, you expect to receive that product the way it was advertised and packaged for you and to be provided with the services that you've paid for. I think the airline industries are one of the last bastions where this doesn't take place. You can book your airfares.

You can book your travel months before. You can turn up at a particular airport and be told that the flight's been cancelled or that there is a long delay, which then brings on a chain reaction for your other commitments. That could be business, or it could be a family reunion, a wedding or other important moments.

Therefore, this bill will go a long way in consumer protection and towards ensuring that there are responsibilities on the aviation industry and airports to act in a particular way. Apart from being a huge geographic country, we are also a very multicultural country. Regardless of what others say occasionally from time to time, we know that Australia is very multicultural.

Therefore, we have people who have come from all over the world and are reliant on aircraft to take them overseas every so often not for a holiday or for pleasure but to reconnect with family, for funerals and for a whole range of other things. That makes it even more important. We've got this massive geographic space that we have to cover.

As well, we have a lot of international travel that is done—and not just for the sake of going on vacation but for many other things that are very important to people. Therefore, ensuring that we have a good, reliable industry is very important. As I said, it's about families trying to get home, it's about workers travelling for their livelihoods, and it's about people attending weddings, funerals and life-defining moments.

When that journey is disrupted, that impact is not just logistical; it is emotional and financial, and it can be deeply distressing. Too often we see Australians are left in the dark, unsure of what they're entitled to, unsure of where to turn and unsure whether the system is working for them at all. That's why this bill before the House is so important.

It represents the most significant reform to aviation consumer protection in Australia's history. It moves us beyond a system that has too often relied on industry-managed complaints processes—I spoke a bit about those earlier—which have not always delivered the outcomes Australians expect or deserve. Instead, this bill introduces a stronger and more transparent framework, one that holds airlines and airports to account and puts consumers at the centre of the system.

At the heart of this reform is the creation of the Aviation Consumer Protections Charter, a charter that will set clear, enforceable minimum standards for how passengers are to be treated by airlines, by airports and across accessibility services. This is about establishing a baseline of fairness. It is a baseline that will ensure Australians know what they are entitled to and what they can expect when they travel.

But standards alone are not enough. They must be backed by enforcement. That's why the establishment of the Aviation Consumer Protection Authority is so critical.

It will be an authority that will not simply observe but monitor, enforce and ensure compliance across the system, because, without accountability, standards mean very, very little. Just as important, the bill recognises that, when disputes arise, Australians deserve an independent voice. That's why it is establishing the external dispute resolution scheme, an aviation consumer ombudsman.

It's certainly something that will give people confidence that they'll be heard independently by someone who is not on a particular side and will come up with the best outcome possible. It's a body that is independent, accessible and focused on providing fair, aviation-specific complaint handling. You will not be left to navigate systems on your own, nor will you be left to negotiate with the industry on a very, very unequal footing, but you will be given a clear pathway to have your concerns heard and resolved.

These reforms also acknowledge the broader impact aviation has on communities. Through the establishment of an aircraft noise ombudsman, there will be clearer, more independent oversight of noise complaints, ensuring communities affected by aviation operations are no longer left without a voice. Aviation does not exist in isolation.

It impacts communities, neighbourhoods and everyday life. When you look at some of the suburbs in my electorate—Mile End, Richmond, Cowandilla, Thebarton—it's just incredible. You could jump on the roof of your house and tickle the belly of the aeroplane as it's flying over!

That's how low they fly. And that's fine for me—having lived there all my life, I'm used to it—but we need some measures in place to protect those residents. There are not many airports that are smack bang in the middle of the metropolitan area, six kilometres from the CBD, like Adelaide, and that offers a lot of positives for business, for transport, for exports and for imports.

It's a great thing, but at the same time Adelaide Airport Limited in South Australia, who do a great job, balance it up really well with the residents and community groups in the neighbourhood. It's wonderful for the community around Adelaide Airport that it was one of the first airports in Australia that introduced the Adelaide Airport Consultative Group, which meets every quarter with interest from airlines, transport departments, and anyone and anything to do with the airport—the local government, community groups and neighbourhood groups.

We meet every quarter, we nut the issues out and nine out of 10 times we have a great outcome. In fact, the system works so well at Adelaide Airport that it has been rolled around Australia wherever there are airports close to metropolitan areas. I am sad to say, though, that our Adelaide curfew dispensation report, which comes in regularly every quarter from the department, with members of the transport department being present at these meetings and giving us a report, have taken a decision to no longer attend.

We're hoping that we can get them to send us the reports, because it's very important for all of us in that area to know exactly why dispensations are being given for the Adelaide Airport curfew and why decisions are being made. There are the mechanisms in place to give a dispensation for an aircraft coming in after 11pm in Adelaide on emergency matters, rightly so, and no-one argues that.

No-one argues that one little bit, but what we do argue as a community is if one of the airlines just decides for whatever reason to bring in a aircraft after 11 o'clock because it just makes their life simple. That's something that we will not agree to and nor will the residents in and around Adelaide Airport. We have a great relationship with our Adelaide Airport.

In fact, they are a beacon around the country where they work with the community to have issues solved. This bill will go even further to ensuring that that relationship is strengthened around the country, just as it is in Adelaide. These reforms don't stand alone.

They build on a clear, consistent record of action to reshape Australia's aviation sector to ensure that there's confidence for passengers, and to ensure that we as consumers know exactly what we're paying for and what we're entitled to. The government has already delivered the most significant reforms to aviation in more than a decade. These are reforms that are designed and delivered with one clear purpose, and that one clear purpose is to ensure that the system works for the people who rely on it.

For too long, the balance hasn't quite been right. You see it regularly—all of us in this place travel, and we go to airports to come to this place from our electorates. Far too often, there is a delay.

I understand the emergency stuff, I get the aircrafts perhaps not being fit—that that's 100 per cent fine. But when they've just been changed for whatever reason, I think that should be investigated, because you're paying for a product, and you're paying to get to a certain place at a particular time. We understand that there could be delays, but sometimes it's just unacceptable.

We know all this has been through the first term of this government. The important steps for the foundation of this bill were taken through the white paper, which I followed very carefully. That set out a long-term vision for stronger, more competitive and more accountable aviation sector.

We also passed new laws to boost the competition at Sydney Airport, for example. We recognise that competition drives better outcomes for consumers. We released a draft passenger charter of rights, making it clear what Australians should expect— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43.

The debate may be resumed at a later hour. The member will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed if he requires.