EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by authority of the Assistant Minister for Productivity, Competition, Charities and Treasury and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer

Competition and Consumer Act 2010

Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2026

The object of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act) is to enhance the welfare of Australians through the promotion of competition and fair trading and provision for consumer protection.

Section 95Z of the Act sets out offences in relation to the supply of notified goods or services by a declared person. In general terms, offences apply where a declared person supplies notified goods or services at a higher price than the highest price they charged for the goods or services in the same locality, or elsewhere in Australia if they did not supply the goods in that locality, in the previous 12 months. Section 95Z also provides defences for these offences. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has administrative responsibility for these provisions.

Section 95X of the Act provides that the Minister may declare goods or services of a specified description to be notified goods or services and may also declare a person to be, in relation to goods or services of a specified description, a declared person.

The purpose of the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2026 (the Declaration) is to declare services consisting of the provision of aeronautical services and facilities to regular public transport air services, operating wholly within the State of New South Wales, to be notified services. The Declaration declares Sydney Airport Corporation Limited to be a declared person in relation to such services, to the extent that they are provided at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport.

The Declaration extends the price notification arrangements contained in Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2023 for another three years, to continue to address the market power of Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport and ensure the continued viability of regional routes.

The Act does not specify any conditions that need to be satisfied before the power to make the Declaration may be exercised.

Public consultation on this Declaration was not undertaken as it extends the existing price notification arrangements contained in the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2023, which applied from 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2026. However, consultation was undertaken with Sydney Airport Corporation and affected regional airlines on the proposal to extend the current arrangements by another three years prior to the making of this Declaration

The Declaration is subject to sunsetting and disallowance, however the Declaration includes a provision for its own repeal, sunsetting on 1 July 2029.

The Declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.

The Declaration commenced on 1 July 2026.

The Declaration applies from 1 July 2026 and ceases to have effect on 30 June 2029.

The Declaration is repealed on 1 July 2029.

Details of the Regulations are set out in Attachment A.

A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment B.

ATTACHMENT A

Details of the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications—Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2026

This attachment sets out further details of the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2026 (the Declaration). All references are to the Declaration unless otherwise stated.

The Declaration continues the effect of the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2023 (the previous declaration) for a further three years. Other than the extended duration, the Declaration has substantially the same effect as the previous declaration.

Part 1—Preliminary

Section 1 – Name

This section provides that the name of the instrument is the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications—Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2026.

Section 2 – Commencement

The Declaration commenced on 1 July 2026.

Section 3 – Authority

The Declaration is made under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act).

Section 4 – Schedules

This section provides that the instruments specified in the Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedules, and any other item in the Schedules to this instrument has effect according to its terms.

Section 5 – Definitions

This section contains the defined expressions that are used in the Declaration.

The Declaration specifies that the term ‘ABN’ has the meaning given by the A New Tax System (Australian Business Number) Act 1999.

The Declaration also specifies that the term ‘the Act’ means the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Other expressions have the same meaning in the Declaration as they have in the Act.

Part 2—Price Notifications

Section 6 – Notified services

This section declares services consisting of the provision of aeronautical services and facilities (within the meaning of the Airports Regulations 2024) to regular public transport air services, operating wholly within the State of New South Wales, to be notified services for the purpose of Part VIIA of the Act, under subsection 95X(1) of the Act.

The effect of this section is to restrict price increases in relation to those services during the period from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2029, by making certain declared persons subject to possible offences under section 95Z of the Act (about price restrictions).

Section 7 – Declared persons

This section declares Sydney Airport Corporation Limited to be a declared person in relation to notified services under section 6 that are provided at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport.

The effect of this section is to subject Sydney Airport Corporation Limited to possible offences under section 95Z of the Act, in relation to those services declared under section 6.

Part 3—Application

Section 8 – Cessation and repeal

This section provides that the Declaration ceases to have effect on 30 June 2029 and is repealed on 1 July 2029.

This section satisfies the requirement in subsection 95X(4) of the Act, which requires that the Minister specify the time when a declaration that a person is a declared person ceases to have effect.

Schedule 1 – Repeals

Schedule 1 to the Declaration repeals the previous declaration. The previous declaration ceased to have effect on 30 June 2026.

ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2026

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

The legislative instrument declares services consisting of the provision of aeronautical services and facilities to regular public transport air services, operating wholly within the State of New South Wales, to be notified services. The legislative instrument also declares Sydney Airport Corporation Limited to be a declared person in relation to such services, to the extent that they are provided at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport.

The effect of these declarations is that Sydney Airport Corporation Limited will commit an offence under section 95Z of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 if the price of the notified services specified in the legislative instrument is increased beyond a price that was charged for those services in the previous 12 months.

The legislative instrument extends the existing price notification arrangements contained in the Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications–Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2023 for a further three years.

Human rights implications

This Legislative Instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

Conclusion

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.