We are seeking feedback on revised principles for the aeronautical pricing negotiation process between airlines and airports.
Why we want your input
The Australian Government is seeking views on the revised Aeronautical Pricing Principles, which outline the government's expectation for how negotiations between airports and airlines should be conducted and aeronautical charges agreed.How you can voice your opinion
Please provide a submission using the “Have your Say” button below or email your response to AVPOL@infrastructure.gov.au.What will be the outcome of this consultation?
Your submission will help inform the final Aeronautical Pricing Principles (APPs). The APPs will be published on the department's website in 2026.The issue
The Aeronautical Pricing Principles (APPs) provide a voluntary framework to guide pricing negotiations between airports and airlines and are part of the government's light-touch regulatory regime for airports.
The APPs outline the government's expectations for how commercial negotiations between airports and airlines should be conducted and aeronautical charges agreed. Aeronautical charges are fees paid by aircraft operators to airports for using infrastructure like runways and terminals, covering costs for services like maintenance and investment in runways and provision of gates and security processing. These charges are often based on passenger numbers or aircraft weight; and are a core part of airline expenses.
The Australian Government wants a safe, sustainable and efficient aviation sector. A competitive aviation industry helps put downward pressure on prices and delivers more choices for Australians, while being an important enabler of a strong and productive Australian economy.
The Government supports commercial negotiations as the best means of setting efficient aeronautical charges and helping to achieve these goals. However, these negotiations can be complex, protracted and lengthy, to the detriment of consumers and businesses.
Through consultations in 2023 and 2024 for the Aviation White Paper, 2 additional principles to the existing APPs were identified:
- Pricing agreements between airports and airlines should not contain anti-competitive clauses, including clauses that limit airports from offering more favourable terms to another airline.
- Airports should provide such information and data to airlines as necessary to ensure transparent pricing negotiations, including:
- detailed disaggregated data about airport revenues, costs and assets
- methodology for how costs and revenues are allocated to different line items.
We are seeking feedback from the aviation industry and anyone else with an interest in this matter. Your submission will help us finalise the APPs.
Relevant documentation
A summary of the government's light-touch regulatory regime is provided on page 77 of the Aviation White Paper - Towards 2050, 2019.
Participate
16 Sep 2026 09:00 AEST
14 Oct 2026 23:59 AEDT
Open
days
remaining 28 of 29
We invite you to tell us your views on this topic.
Please include:
- contact name
- organisation name, if applicable
- contact details, including telephone number, postal and email addresses
- confirmation whether or not your submission can be made public—published—or kept confidential.
All submissions to be made public need to meet the Digital Service Standard for accessibility. Any submission that does not meet this standard may be modified before being made public.
If your submission is to be made public, please ensure you do not include any personal information that you don't want to be published.
If your submission is confidential, please ensure each page of the submission is marked as confidential.
Please click on the 'Have your say now' button below to upload your submission.
Alternatively please email your submission to AVPOL@infrastructure.gov.au.
Privacy Collection Notice
Revising the Aeronautical Pricing Principles
Your submission, including any personal information supplied, is being collected by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts ('the department') in accordance with the Privacy Act 1988.
Use
The department may use your submission to identify, for example, any unintended consequences, impacts or disproportionate burdens associated with implementing the revised APPs; and the best time to bring revisions into effect.
Disclosure
The department may disclose your submission to other Commonwealth agencies for the purpose of ensuring the APPs are appropriate and effective. The department may also publish your submission as explained below. Otherwise, your submission will not be disclosed unless authorised or required by law.
Contacting you
The department may use your contact information to make further contact with you about your submission and the consultation process.
Publication
Unless marked confidential (see below) submissions (including the author's name) may be published in part or full on the department's website or in any public response by the department. When publishing, the department will redact any personal contact details of the author.
Confidentiality
Confidential submissions will not be published and will only be disclosed in the following circumstances:
- in response to a request by a Commonwealth Minister.
- where required by a House or a Committee of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia.
- where necessary in the public interest, or
- where authorised or required by law.
Submissions will only be treated as confidential if they are expressly stated to be confidential. Automatically generated confidentiality statements or disclaimers appended to an email do not suffice for this purpose. If you wish to make a confidential submission, you must indicate this by ensuring your submission is clearly marked confidential. Even if a submission is not marked confidential, the department may choose not to publish it, or any part of it, in the department's discretion (for example where it includes personal information or opinions about a third party).
Access
The department will securely store your personal information and the department's privacy policy contains information regarding complaint handling processes and how to access and/or seek correction of personal information held by the department. Further information is available on our Privacy page.