Announcement date
23 September 2024
Link to announcement
Sydney Airport Demand Management Amendment Bill 2024 – Parliament of Australia
Problem being addressed
The Sydney Airport Demand Management Act 1997 (the Act) regulates the allocation and use of slots for aircraft to take off and land at Sydney Airport. The Act established the Sydney Airport Demand Management Framework, which provides a planning mechanism for runway movements at the airport to manage congestion, reduce delays and support efficient use of the airport.
The operational context for Sydney Airport has changed significantly since privatisation in 2002 and continues to evolve. While the Sydney Airport Demand Management Framework was updated in 2012-2013, rigidities in the Framework have resulted in inefficiencies that stifle opportunities for new services and competition that would help meet growing demand while balancing industry and community interests. The inability of Sydney Airport to operate to its full and permitted potential is holding the wider aviation industry back, to the Australian community’s detriment with fewer choices in destinations, flight times and prices.
The Productivity Commission’s 2019 Economic Regulation of Airports inquiry (PC inquiry) recommended enhanced transparency over airport performance and to more readily detect any future exercise of market power by airport operators. Following the PC inquiry, Peter Harris AO was commissioned to undertake an independent review to consider the fitness for purpose of the Sydney Airport Demand Management Framework. The Review of the Sydney Airport Demand Management Scheme (Harris Review) was released by the Australian Government on 18 June 2021.
Proposal
As recommended in the Review of the Sydney Airport Demand Management Scheme (Harris Review), key reforms to the Sydney Airport Demand Management Framework include:
- improving access for new entrants by broadening relevant definitions and principles;
- mandating airline reporting of slot management data and publishing that data;
- implementing the recovery period, particularly the temporary increase to the movement cap; and
- reducing the peak period and providing procedures for re-timing slots.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Impact Analysis Equivalent
Assessment comments
The Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) does not assess the quality of reviews and documents used in lieu of an Impact Analysis (IA). Impact Analysis Equivalents (IAE) are assessed by OIA for relevance to the recommended option(s) and for the coverage of the 7 Impact Analysis questions conducted.
The OIA assessed that the options analysed in the certified reviews — 2021 Review of the Sydney Airport Demand Management Scheme (Harris Review) and the Productivity Commission’s 2019 Economic Regulation of Airports inquiry — and the additional analysis prepared by DITRDCA are sufficiently relevant to the proposal to meet the requirements in the Australian Government Guide to Policy Impact Analysis.
Regulatory burden
DITRDCA estimates these measures will result in an increase in average regulatory costs of $12,800 per year, over ten years.