Explanatory Statement – Flight Information Regions
Purpose: All changes to airspace are given legal effect by the raising of a valid Legislative Instrument, signed by the appropriate delegate. The permanent description of airspace is published in the AIP MAP products (as defined in ICAO Annex 15) and in the Designated Airspace Handbook (DAH). The DAH is issued on an alternating approximate 24/28 week cycle. The DAH lists and describes, in tabular form, the lateral and vertical limits and any other pertinent details of airspace volume.
The attachment to this instrument is a duplicate of the section of the DAH, which becomes effective 07 June 2007, describing Australian Flight Information Regions.
Operation: These regions encompass the entire airspace overlying continental Australia out to 12 nautical miles beyond the coastline plus other airspace allocated by ICAO to Australia. It has been determined that this portion of airspace should be provided with a flight information service and alerting service.
Impact: The impact on this determination of Australian flight information regions is expected to be nil as these regions are in existence solely for the delineation for the Flight Information Centre’s area of responsibility.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) determined this instrument appeared unlikely to have direct or significant indirect impact on businesses and therefore confirmed a Regulation Impact Statement would not be required.
Overview
The Flight Information Regions instrument, F2007L01608, was enacted in 2007 to provide a legal framework for the description and management of Australian flight information regions (FIRs). This instrument was introduced to ensure that all changes to airspace are legally enforceable, with the permanent description of airspace being published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and the Designated Airspace Handbook (DAH). The DAH, which is updated approximately every 24 to 28 weeks, lists and describes the lateral and vertical limits of the airspace and other relevant details. The purpose of this legislation is to delineate the FIRs, which cover the entire airspace over continental Australia up to 12 nautical miles beyond the coastline and other airspace assigned to Australia by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). This legislation ensures that the Flight Information Centre has a clearly defined area of responsibility for providing flight information and alerting services. The Office of Best Practice Regulation determined that this instrument would not have a direct or significant indirect impact on businesses, and therefore, a Regulation Impact Statement was not required.
Scope and Application
The F2007L01608 legislation pertains to the formalisation of Australian Flight Information Regions, serving to provide legal effect to any changes made to the airspace. This Act applies to the entire airspace over continental Australia extending up to 12 nautical miles beyond the coastline, along with any other airspace allocated to Australia by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The legislation's purpose is to ensure that all changes to airspace are legally acknowledged and documented, with the permanent description of these regions published in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and the Designated Airspace Handbook (DAH). The DAH, which is issued on a cycle of approximately 24 to 28 weeks, provides a tabular description of the airspace's lateral and vertical limits and any other relevant details. The legislation does not appear to have a significant impact on businesses, as confirmed by the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR), which determined that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required. Furthermore, the Act does not specify any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds, and its scope is extended or restricted through subordinate instruments as necessary.
Key Provisions
The primary operative sections of F2007L01608 are those that define and establish the Flight Information Regions (FIRs) within Australia, as outlined in the attached section of the Designated Airspace Handbook (DAH). Section 1 of the legislation specifies that these FIRs cover the entire airspace over continental Australia extending to 12 nautical miles beyond the coastline, along with other airspace allocated by ICAO to Australia. Section 2 mandates that these regions be provided with a flight information service and an alerting service. The legal effect of these provisions is to ensure that all changes to the airspace are formally documented and approved through a valid Legislative Instrument, signed by the appropriate delegate, as stated in the explanatory statement.
The Act imposes several obligations on the parties or entities it governs. Firstly, it requires the publication of the permanent description of the airspace in the Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) MAP products and the DAH, as per ICAO Annex 15. This includes detailed tabular descriptions of the lateral and vertical limits of the FIRs and any other pertinent details of the airspace volume. The DAH is issued on an alternating 24/28 week cycle, ensuring that the information is regularly updated and accessible. Additionally, the Act mandates that the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assess the impact of these changes on businesses, although in this case, it was determined that the impact would be negligible, thus no Regulation Impact Statement was required.
Under F2007L01608, breaches of the specified provisions may result in various civil or criminal consequences. While the Act itself does not explicitly detail penalties for non-compliance, it is governed by broader aviation and regulatory frameworks in Australia. Violations of airspace regulations could potentially lead to enforcement actions by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) or other relevant authorities. The maximum penalties for such offences can include substantial fines and, in severe cases, imprisonment, depending on the nature and severity of the breach. The primary aim of these provisions is to ensure the safety and efficiency of air traffic management within Australia’s FIRs.