Aviation Consumer Protections – subordinate legislation (including the Aviation Consumer Protections Charter)

We are consulting on the legislation that would establish an aviation consumer protection framework. This was one of the consumer reform measures identified in the Aviation White Paper: Towards 2050 which was released in August 2024.

Submissions received through the Aviation White Paper consultation process made it clear that aviation consumers are dissatisfied with how Australian airlines and airports have interpreted their obligations to consumers. This was particularly acute during the reopening period following the COVID-19 pandemic when there were historically high rates of delayed and cancelled flights. Submissions also reported long delays in airlines’ responsiveness to complaints and unsatisfactory outcomes from complaints referred to the industry-led dispute resolution body – the Airline Customer Advocate.

To provide a better experience for aviation consumers, the Australian Government announced aviation consumer reforms in the Aviation White Paper, and consulted on the design of an ombuds scheme and Charter. Submissions to these processes have informed the proposed approach to aviation consumer protections.

The government is proposing to introduce an aviation consumer protection framework consisting of 2 key elements: 

• minimum standards set out in the Aviation Consumer Protections Charter (‘the Charter’) enforceable by a regulator (the Aviation Consumer Protection Authority (ACPA))
• a consumer ombuds scheme to handle eligible individual consumer disputes that can’t be settled directly with the relevant airline or airport.

The government is consulting on both elements of the framework, with separate submission deadlines for matters contained in primary and subordinate legislation to enable proposed legislative timeframes to be met. Primary legislation would establish the framework, allow for the imposition and collection of levies on regulated entities, provide high level details about the levies, and describe the role of the ACPA, Aviation Consumer Ombudsperson and Aircraft Noise Ombudsperson, and their functions and powers. A range of subordinate legislation would support the primary legislation, including the consumer standards in the Charter, rules that (amongst other things) may allow exemptions to the framework, and the details of calculating and applying the levies.

Through this consultation, we want to hear from interested members of the public and industry on the design of subordinate legislation by 26 October 2025. The consultation questions relating to subordinate legislation are 4, 5, 8 and 9:

4. Do the proposed Charter standards cover the core elements of the aviation consumer experience relating to the delivery of airline services, airport services and airport accessibility services? Are there any missing elements?

5. Do the proposed Charter standards reflect reasonable standards? Are there any operational or technical considerations that would affect the ability of airlines or airports to meet the proposed standards?

8. If different cost recovery levies are applied to regulated entities based on the nature or size of their operations, what metrics should be used to differentiate them?

9. For each of the duration/situation timeframes listed in Table 4 of the consultation paper (1 to 3 hours, 3 to 6 hours, 6 to 12 hours and more than 12 hours) what are reasonable values for food and drink vouchers per meal, and how many food and drink vouchers should affected passengers receive?

The government is also consulting on primary legislation, with feedback due earlier. Please direct your feedback on the primary legislation matters (questions 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7) to the following page:

• Aviation Consumer Protections – primary legislation

Relevant documentation

• Aviation Consumer Protection Consultation Paper