Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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AIRPORTS REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1998 NO. 208

STATUTORY RULES 1998 No. 208

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Development

Airports Act 1996

Airports Regulations (Amendment)

Section 252 of the Airports Act 1996 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations prescribing matters that are required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or that are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Section 12 of the Act provides that regulations may specify an airport to which Part 2 of the Act will apply. Part 2 of the Act deals with leasing and management of airports.

Section 68 of the Act provides that regulations may specify an airport to which Part 5 of the Act will apply. Part 5 of the Act deals with land use, planning and building controls on airports.

Section 142(5) of the Act provides that regulations may prescribe the period (after the end of an accounting period) within which the auditor of an airport-operator company must give the company a certificate relating to the company's accounts.

Section 153 of the Act provides that regulations may specify, or specify method of ascertaining, performance indicators to be used in monitoring and evaluating the quality of airport services and facilities.

Section 156(1) of the Act provides that regulations may require an airport-operator company (or a person who provides airport services or facilities under an agreement with that airport-operator company) to keep and retain records, where the records are relevant to. a quality of service matter.

Section 180 of the Act provides that regulations may specify an airport to which Part 12 of the Act will apply. Part 12 of the Act deals with protection of airspace around airports.

The purpose of the Amendment to the Airports Regulations (the Regulations) is to apply various parts of the Act to non core regulated Sydney Basin Airports (Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park) which will be corporatised on 1 July 1998.

The purpose of the Amendment to the Regulations is also to modify the performance indicators (Schedule 2) for Quality of Service monitoring at Melbourne (Tullamarine), Brisbane and Perth Airports and the matters relating to Quality of Service monitoring on which airport-operator companies must keep records (Schedule 3). Schedule 3, setting out matters on which airport-operator companies must keep records, has been amended to better align these recording requirements to the performance indicators set out in Schedule 2 (as amended). For ease of interpretation Schedule 2 and 3 have been replaced in their entirety.

The Amendment also alters the prescribed period (after the end of an accounting period) within which the auditor of an airport-operator company must give the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) a certificate relating to the company's accounts. The purpose of this amendment is to allow airport-operator companies to provide their audit certificates to the ACCC at the same time their accounts and statements are due. Regulation 7.06 currently prescribes 90 days for the provision of accounts and statements to the ACCC after the end of an accounting period.

In summary, the amendments:

*       Apply Parts 2, 5, and 12 of the Act to various specified non-core regulated airports in order to continue Commonwealth regulatory oversight at those airports when they are corporatised on 1 July 1998. Those Parts deal respectively with airport leasing and management, planning and building control, and airspace protection (see items 3, 4 and 6);

*       Amend the prescribed period for provision of audit certificates for accounts and statements given to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission under part 7 to 90 days to match the reporting requirements for accounts and statements (see item 5);

*       Remove or amend quality of service performance indicators (or parts of performance indicators) from Schedule 2 to Part 8 of the Regulations where collection of data is not effective (or would result in the collection of imprecise data) or amendment of the performance indicator would make it more meaningful (see item 7); and

*       Revise Schedule 3 on the matters on which airport-operators are required to keep records in relation to quality of service measures to better align these data recording requirements with the performance indicators in the amended Schedule 2 (see item 8).

Further details of the amendments to the Regulations appear in the Attachment.

The Amendment to the Regulations commenced upon 1 July 1998.

ATTACHMENT

Item 1 - Commencement

Item 1 provides that the Regulations will commence on 1 July 1998.

Item 2 - Amendment

Item 2 provides that the Airports Regulations are amended as set out in these Regulations.

Item 3 - Regulation 2.011A (Airports to which Part 2 of the Act applies)

Item 3 applies Part 2 of the Airports Act 1996 (the Act) to the following non-core regulated airports: Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park in Sydney,

New South Wales.

Part 2 of the Act contains rules about the leasing and management of leased Commonwealth airports. Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park Airports (along with Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport) are about to be leased to a corporatised Commonwealth company. The main purpose of this Part is to ensure that at all times the Commonwealth is able to maintain public interest regulatory control over the leasing and management of the airports.

Item 4 - Regulation 5.011A (Airports to which Part 5 of the Act applies)

Item 4 applies Part 5 of the Act to the following non-core regulated airports'. Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park in Sydney, New South Wales.

Part 5 of the Act sets out a scheme of regulation of land use, planning and on-airport building at leased Commonwealth airports. The scheme promotes the orderly planning and development of these airports by requiring that master plans, major development plans and building activities be approved and be consistent with each other.

Item 5 - Regulation 7.05(1) (Auditor's certificate)

Item 5 changes the prescribed period for provision of an auditor's certificate on the accounts and statements from 60 to 90 days.

Item 6 - Regulation 12.01 (Airports to which Part 12 of the Act applies)

Item 6 applies Part 12 of the Act to the following non-core regulated airports: Bankstown, Camden and Hoxton Park in Sydney, New South Wales.

Part 12 of the Act enables the Commonwealth to make regulations to prevent incursions into airspace where it is in the interests of the safety, efficiency and regularity of air transport operations into or out of an airport to do so.

Item 7 - Schedule 2 to Regulation 8.01 (Performance indicators)

Item 7 replaces the existing Schedule 2. The revised Schedule 2 deletes a number of existing performance indicators due to the difficulty in collecting data required to measure the indicator. Quality of Service monitoring for these services and facilities is covered, however, through other performance indicators.

A number of other performance indicators have been amended to ensure that they more accurately and effectively capture the key elements of airport operations.

Item 8 - Schedule 3 to Regulation 8.02 (Matters about which airport-operator companies must keep records)

Item 8 replaces the existing Schedule 3.

The revised Schedule 3 does not accurately reflect the performance indicators set out in the revised Schedule 2 for which airport-operator companies are required to keep records.

Much of the data required to measure the performance indicators in Schedule 2 is collected by the ACCC from other agencies on airport such as the Australian Customs Service, Airservices Australia (air traffic control), and airlines. The ACCC has identified the airport-operators companies as the organisation that should collect the remaining data. There are significant gaps in the current coverage of Schedule 3 of those matters on which the ACCC requires airport-operator companies to keep records.

The revised Schedule 3 ensures that airport-operator companies are required to keep records on the appropriate data. The revised Schedule 3 also reflects changes to Schedule 2.