Legislative Framework and Procedures

Overview | IASC Act | IASC Regulations | Minister's Policy Statement | Commission Procedures

Overview

During 2003, the Government made changes to the International Air Services Commission Act 1992, and issued new regulations. The Minister for Transport and Regional Services also issued a new policy statement to the Commission.

The main aims of the changed and new regulatory instruments were to:

• make the object of the Act focus more strongly on competition benefits; and
• to speed up decision making by providing for the delegation of Commission powers and functions to an officer of the Department of Transport and Regional Services, under circumstances set out in the regulations.

On 27 November 2003, the Commission delegated powers and functions to its Executive Director or Senior Adviser (officers of the Department), as intended by the Government. On 16 December 2003, the Commission and its Executive Director signed a protocol setting out how applications would be handled under the delegated arrangements.

In essence, the new arrangements enable the delegate to make a range of determinations and decisions previously made by the Commission. Generally, these relate to cases that are straightforward. More complex matters will continue to be dealt with by the Commission. There is a range of scenarios under which a matter would be dealt with by the Commission or by the delegate. It is cumbersome to describe this in prose. For this reason, the Commission has developed a flow chart showing how decisions are reached about whether a case will be handled by the Commission or by its delegate.

Summary information about the Act, regulations and Minister's policy statement follows, with links to each document. Copies may be requested from the secretariat if preferred (see contact details).

Note: The linked documents above may need to be viewed using Version 5 of Acrobat Reader.

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IASC Act

The Commission was established under the International Air Services Commission Act 1992. The object of the Act is to enhance the welfare of Australians by promoting economic efficiency through competition in the provision of international air services, resulting in:

• increased responsiveness by airlines to the needs of consumers, including an increased range of choices and benefits; and
• growth in Australian tourism and trade; and
• the maintenance of Australian carriers capable of competing effectively with airlines of foreign countries

Download a copy of the Act as amended which can be viewed using Acrobat Reader.

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IASC Regulations

International Air Services Commission Amendment Regulations 2003 (No.1) were issued on 21 October 2003 in conjunction with changes to the International Air Services Commission Act 1992. The latest Regulations amend Statutory Rules 1992 No. 233 , as amended by 1995 No.6 and 1997 No. 412.

Click on the links above to download a copy of each of the Regulations which can be viewed using Acrobat Reader.

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Minister's Policy Statement

In allocating capacity, the Commission assesses the merits of claims by applicants under specified public benefit criteria. These criteria are detailed in Policy Statements issued, from time to time, by the Minister for Transport.

The Ministers Policy Statement (No.5) of 19 May 2004 came into effect on 26 May 2004, the date of gazettal.

The policy statement is a disallowable instrument for purposes of section 46A of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901. It has been lodged for tabling in both Houses of Parliament and will be subject to disallowance for 15 sitting days in each House. The instrument has effect from its date of gazettal, unless and until it is disallowed.

The Explanatory Memorandum is also available for downloading. Acrobat Reader.

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Commission Procedures

The Commission has published procedures for making determinations allocating available capacity and for reviewing existing determinations. The procedures are designed to be consistent with the requirements of the legislation and with the principles of natural justice. They are intended to give applicants and other interested parties procedural fairness, ensure that the Commission's processes are as open as possible, and provide guidance to anyone wishing to apply for, or make submissions about, an allocation of air route capacity.

The procedures can be viewed using Acrobat Reader.

• Applications for an allocation of capacity in the start-up phase (updated December 2005)
• Applications for an allocation of capacity after the start-up phase (updated December 2005)
• Review of a determination initiated by the carrier or by the Commission (updated November 2002)
• Renewal of a determination (updated November 2002)
• Guidelines for making a submission to the Commission

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Guidelines for considering Subject To Finance Applications

On 21 July 2005, the Commission issued final guidelines for considering applications from prospective new airlines on a subject to finance basis. Guidelines

This followed the Commission issuing draft guidelines on 8 June 2005 for comment - Draft Guidelines and Comment.

Last Updated: 19 October, 2007