Exposure Draft – Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations

‘Sunsetting’ is an automatic repeal of instruments after a fixed period under the Legislation Act 2003 so they remain fit-for-purpose and only in force for as long as required. We have determined that the Regulations are required and must be remade before they sunset on 1 April 2026.

The Regulations set out a regulatory framework that aligns with national environmental standards, guidelines and frameworks for air, water, and soil pollution (including pollution from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)) and offensive noise.  They also determine how environmental values and heritage at leased federal airports are managed and regulated. Under the Regulations, Airport Environment Officers (AEOs) are appointed as regulators with oversight of Airport Lessee Companies’ environmental management at leased federal airports.  The regulations also include offence provisions, supported by an infringement notice scheme.

The Regulations put the onus on Airport Lessee Companies to manage the environment at their airports in a way that complies with national environmental guidelines and standards, including the National Environment Protection Measures, to promote improved environmental management of leased federal airports over time. We are seeking to update the Regulations, so they more closely align with the Airports Act 1996 and meet modern drafting standards, while maintaining the intent and effect of the 1997 Regulations they replace.

We encourage you to review the entire Exposure Draft to understand all the proposed updates.  We’re seeking feedback from stakeholders, industry and anyone with an interest in this matter on the proposed changes, including to: 

• Amend the local standards provisions to allow the Minister to issue a local standard with conditions and to vary or revoke a local standard, including at the request of an Airport Lessee Company.
• Amend the reporting requirement for the general duties not to pollute and to preserve environmental and heritage values, as well as to create new offence provisions for breaches of the general duties.  
• Update monitoring, reporting, investigation and remediation provisions to better align with national standards and to facilitate investigations into air, water and soil pollution as well as offensive noise.
• Change the term “accepted limit” (with reference to pollution limits in the Schedules) to “investigation level”, to reflect the wording in national standards for contaminated site management.
• Insert a new section to allow the Minister to replace Schedules 1 to 4 in the current regulations with a Ministerial Determination. This Determination effectively moves the contents of Schedules 1 to 4 into an instrument that the Minister may approve and update without requiring it to be approved by the Governor-General in Federal Executive Council and tabled in Parliament. This would allow the Minister to promptly update investigation levels for pollutants as national guidelines are updated, including for emerging pollutants of concern, such as various industrial chemicals including PFAS.

The remade Regulations provide for the content of the current Regulations to continue to have effect until 1 April 2027, to ensure sufficient time for stakeholders to adapt to the proposed changes.  We will consult separately on the new Ministerial Determination in 2026, at which time we will be inviting further comments on proposed updates to Schedules 1 to 4 of the Regulations.  We thank everyone who provided submissions between 2022 and 2024 to inform this process and the exposure draft. 

Relevant documentation

• Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations 2026—Exposure Draft
• Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations 2026—Explanatory Statement Summary