Source : THE AGE NEWS
Australia’s airlines have criticised the complexity of the government’s aviation consumer protections to be turned into law this year, and say the reforms are “unworkable” and could increase prices for passengers.
The airlines also said the framework for reform, which will establish the minimum service standards for the industry as well as remedies passengers can expect for late and cancelled flights, is confusing because it overlaps with existing consumer law that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) enforces.
“What we’ve got is an unworkable, complex and prescriptive set of regulations, with this entirely new agency to be created, effectively duplicating the role of the ACCC,” Graeme Samuel, the chairman of airline industry group A4ANZ, told this masthead.
Under the proposed framework, which the government intends to legislate in the first half of 2026, minimum standards for consumer remedies for late and cancelled flights will be set out in an aviation consumer protections charter.
The remedies discussed include requirements for food vouchers and accommodation for passengers if a flight is delayed or cancelled by the airline for matters it can control.
The standards will be enforceable by a planned aviation consumer protection authority. A separate, independent, consumer ombudsman system will take up individual consumer complaints that can’t be settled with the airline or airport.
As the introduction of the legislation nears, airlines and other stakeholders have voiced concern over the structure of the plan, which would create a new regulator that would be funded by a levy on the aviation industry.
“Don’t think that you’re imposing costs on the airlines,” Samuel said of the proposal. “These are costs on the passengers because that’s how it happens.”
The proposed framework, for example, would not monitor the Australian Border Force or Airservices Australia, which can both have a direct impact on passenger delays through airports.
A4ANZ’s submission to the Department of Infrastructure said: “Almost the entirety of the proposed framework has been designed without visibility of current industry processes or the size and nature of the problem trying to be solved.”
Imposing direct financial penalties on carriers for delays has been effectively ruled out by Transport Minister Catherine King.
King said that throughout the consultation “we have heard from Australians about what is and what is not working for them when travelling”.
“Airlines policing themselves is also not working,” she said, stressing that it’s why the government is committed to delivering consumer protections that guarantee passengers “minimum levels of service they are entitled to when things go wrong”.
The ombudsman role is designed to deliver outcomes customers have not received from an industry-run Airline Customer Advocate, King said.
Following a meeting with the Department of Infrastructure and the interim aviation industry ombudsman in early December, A4ANZ’s Samuel contacted the ACCC, which confirmed it intends to continue to enforce consumer law for aviation consumers.
The government released its Aviation White Paper in 2024 amid white-hot consumer anger over post-COVID lockdown airline service levels, when carriers frequently cancelled flights and diverted passengers.
King has previously said the government reviewed aviation consumer law in Europe and Canada before deciding on the appropriate form for Australia, and suggested the aviation consumer ombudsman would be modelled on the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman scheme.
Andy Kelly, the campaigns and communications director of consumer advocacy group CHOICE, said the reforms would “complement” existing Australian Consumer Law, “in particular by providing clearer rights to re-book or receive a refund”.
Samuel said the prospect of creating another regulator, the Aviation Consumer Protection Authority, “is totally contradictory” to productivity reforms sought by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
“We do not need yet another regulator,” Samuel said.
In the December meeting, Samuel told the Department of Infrastructure staff that he “absolutely guaranteed … that within about two years, your minister is going to be embarrassed by all this”.
The ACCC refused to comment on its specific interactions with Samuel, but said it “meets with a variety of stakeholders as required”. Samuel is the former chairman of the ACCC.
A lawyer who advises in the airline regulation space, including in Australia, and who asked not to be named, said the proposed reforms “don’t properly interact with Australian Consumer Law and pose a risk of creating an overly complicated landscape where people are not clear on their rights”.
Despite concerns from the airline industry, other stakeholders fear consumers’ interests will not be adequately defended in a domestic market served by two airline companies (the Qantas Group, which includes Jetstar, and Virgin Australia).
Adam Glezer of Consumer Champion, who has advocated for airline passengers, said the government was not planning on offering “consumers anything of substance” in terms of cash penalties that would actually drive behaviour change at domestic airlines.
Consumers might “get a slightly higher valued voucher to purchase more food” from the reforms, he said.
“I’ve got no confidence whatsoever in noticeably better outcomes for consumers,” Glezer said. “I’m confused about what the airlines are complaining about. If I was them, I would just take this [reform] and run.”
Labor senator Tony Sheldon backed the proposed aviation reform for setting “clear, enforceable standards airlines and airports must meet” even though improving conditions among airline workforces had an effect on outcomes for consumers.
“If airline companies want fewer cancellations and delays, they need to get their act together and properly invest in their workforce – that includes training, fair pay, decent conditions to retain and attract staff,” said Sheldon, a former Transport Workers’ Union national secretary.
CHOICE’s Kelly said consumers currently faced a “complex” task of understanding their rights while flying.
“Having a clear set of consumer protections will help make it easier for consumers to know what they’re entitled to,” he said. “Of course, there are still confusing elements to the proposals which we’re calling on the government to consider.”
The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning.
Chris Zappone is a senior reporter covering aviation and business. He is former digital foreign editor.Connect via X, Facebook or email.
