Australia's involvement in ICAO groups

Australia has maintained a Permanent Mission to ICAO in Montreal since 1945, and is represented on the Council of ICAO and in the Air Navigation Commission.

Our current Permanent Representative to ICAO, and Representative on the Council, Mr Ross Adams, was appointed in September 2021.

Our current Nominee to the Air Navigation Commission, Mr Frizo Vormer, was appointed in 2022.

Officials and experts from a number of Australian Government agencies actively participate in a wide range of ICAO groups, including Panels, Working Groups, Study Groups, and Regional Implementation, Planning and Safety Groups.

ICAO panels Australia is a member of include:

Panels

  • Accident Investigation Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Aerodromes Design Operations Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Air Traffic Management Operations Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Air Traffic Management Requirements and Performance Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission)
  • Air Transport Regulation Panel—Reports to Air Transport Committee of the Council
  • Airworthiness Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Aviation Data and Analysis Panel—Reports to Air Transport Committee of the Council
  • Aviation Security Panel—Reports to Unlawful Interference Committee of the Council
  • Committee on Aviation Environment Protection—Reports to the Air Transport Committee of the Council
  • Communications Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Cybersecurity Panel
  • Dangerous Goods Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Facilitation Panel—Reports to Air Transport Committee of the Council
  • Flight Operations Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Frequency Spectrum Management Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Information Management Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Instrument Flight Procedure Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Meteorology Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Navigation Systems Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Personnel Training and Licensing Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Separation and Airspace Safety Panel—Reports to Air Navigation Commission
  • Safety Management Panel—Reports to the Air Navigation Commission
  • Surveillance Panel—Reports to the Air Navigation Commission

Australia's participation in ICAO activities

Officials and experts from a number of Australian Government agencies make a significant technical and leadership contribution to a wide range of ICAO groups, including Panels, Working Groups, Study Groups, and Regional Implementation, Planning and Safety Groups.

Australia is actively engaged in ICAO activities, including at the Asia and Pacific regional level, as well as in the global and regional aviation response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery planning.

Arrangements for Australia's participation in ICAO are covered under two Memoranda of Understandings (MoU). The first is a Tripartite MOU between the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, Airservices Australia, and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

The second arrangement is a multi-agency MoU on Civil and Defence aviation matters between:

Standards and recommended practices

Article 37 of the Chicago Convention provides for the ICAO Council to make standards and recommended practices related to the safety, regularity and efficiency of air navigation. The current standards and recommended practices are published by ICAO as Annexes to the Chicago Convention. The multi-agency MoU includes an attachment which shows the agency responsible for each Annex.

Copies of the Annexes are available from ICAO.

Notification of differences to standards and recommended practices

Article 38 of the Chicago Convention requires a State to notify ICAO if it is unable to fully comply with a standard, including its relevant regulations and practices.

Such notification is referred to as a 'difference' and is published by ICAO in Supplements to each Annex.

Contracting States to the Chicago Convention are also required by Annex 15 to publish any differences in their Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP). The Australian AIP is published by Airservices Australia.

Facilitation

Annex 9 of the Chicago Convention details the agreed international standards and recommendation practices (SARPs) to support the free flow of passengers and goods, without compromising border integrity or sovereignty.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts is part of ICAO's Facilitation Panel, and attends the domestic National Passenger Facilitation Committee chaired by the Department of Home Affairs. The Committee also includes the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, major international airports and Australian airlines, and works together to develop measures to support Australia's compliance with relevant facilitation-related ICAO SARPs.

Australia regularly reviews its compliance with Annex 9 and lodges differences where necessary.

Aircraft accident investigation

Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention provides the international SARPs as the basis for aviation accident, serious incident and incident investigations, accident prevention and accident and serious incident reporting, with the objective of accident prevention. It is not designed to provide a way of determining liability.

ICAO manages a database known as the Accident/Incident Reporting system, where safety information discovered during an aviation investigation, and considered vital to accident prevention, is shared among contracting States worldwide.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is the responsible agency for carrying out the functions of Annex 13, involving civil registered aircraft in Australia and Australian registered aircraft overseas.

Aviation environment

Annex 16 of the Chicago Convention sets out the SARPs which have been adopted by ICAO signatory countries for aircraft noise, engine and CO2 emissions.

  • Volume I applies to aircraft noise and specifies the SARPs which apply to a wide range of aircraft.
  • Volume II applies to aircraft engine emissions applicable to specified aircraft engines.
  • Volume III applies to aircraft CO2 emissions applicable based on the fuel consumption of specified aircraft.
  • Volume IV describes the SARPS and guidelines for managing and offsetting an aircraft operator's CO2 emissions.

Infrastructure administers the Air Navigation (Aircraft Noise) Regulations 2018 which apply to most aircraft operating within Australian airspace, and for the Air Navigation (Aircraft Engine Emissions) Regulations which apply to specified aircraft engines.

Australia is implementing the Managing the Carbon Footprint of Australian Aviation State Action Plan to support improvements and efficiencies in aviation environment practices in Australia. The department is currently undertaking a periodic review of the State Action Plan, with the intention to submit an updated Plan to ICAO before the end of 2022.

Australia strongly supports the ICAO Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and has joined over 110 other ICAO Member States in voluntarily participating in the scheme throughout its preliminary phases to work as a global industry to cap international aviation emissions at a global baseline.

Aviation security

The Department of Home Affairs is responsible for aviation security. Australia contributes to the development of international aviation security policy and standards through its membership of the ICAO Aviation Security Panel. The Panel, which meets annually, includes aviation security specialists from ICAO Member States. It works to develop and maintain effective aviation security standards and recommended practices that are implemented worldwide, contributing to a more secure global aviation security network. Home Affairs also represents Australia on ICAO's newly established Cyber Security Panel.

Australia, as a member of ICAO, regularly liaises with other aviation security regulators from around the world to discuss common aviation security challenges and share ideas and lessons learned. Australia has been delivering targeted international transport security capacity building activities within the Asia-Pacific region since 2007. Australia supports the work of ICAO to improve risk assessments and to facilitate the sharing of accurate and timely security, safety, intelligence and threat information.

International airports

Article 10 of the Chicago Convention requires States to designate airports for international use. This provision is given effect in Australian law by section 9 of the Air Navigation Act 1920 which enables the Minister to designate an airport as an international airport, should it meet the criteria.

For more information on the criteria and approval process for the designation of international airports see the international airports page.

The categories of airports are:

  • Major International airports of entry and departure where all Customs, Immigration, Biosecurity and similar services are made available, and which are open to scheduled and non-scheduled flights.
  • Restricted Use International airports of entry and departure at which Customs, Immigration, Biosecurity and similar services are made available on a restricted basis, to flights with prior approval only.
  • Alternate International airports specified in the flight plan to which a flight may proceed when it becomes inadvisable to land at the airport of intended landing.
  • International Non-Scheduled Flight airports at which approval may be granted, provided the prescribed prior notice is given, for international non-scheduled flights only; no other form of international operation is permitted.
  • External Territory International airports of entry and departure for international air traffic located upon an Australian External Territory, where all formalities incident to Customs, Immigration, Biosecurity and similar services are made available.

Full details, including any special conditions that may apply to individual airports, are published in the Australian Aeronautical Information Publication.