Airservices is a government-owned corporation providing safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible services to the aviation industry. We manage air traffic operations for around 75 million passengers on more than three million flights every year.

Airport Related Development

The Airports Relations branch of Airservices Australia provides you with a central point to facilitate development approvals, and perhaps more importantly be the point of contact to promote key issues of mutual interest to both our organisations, which means both Airports and Airservices can be sure of consistent messages being transmitted from each other.

Regarding airport-related development proposals, the Airport Relations Branch provides you with whole-of-Airservices advice. To undertake necessary assessments and ensure proposed developments related to your:

  • Master Plan (MP);
  • Major Development Plan (MDP);
  • Controlled Activity (CA); or
  • Crane Operation (CO),

do not penetrate airspace surfaces, or hinder the safe operation of any Airservices Australia infrastructure (control tower, aviation rescue and fire fighting service, navigational aids), Airservices Australia requires specific details to be provided with your proposal. We require the following in electronic format, ie. email or disk:

  • Site plans with the exact location of the proposed activity;
  • Drawings of Tower Line of Sight to movement areas with apron boundary clearly defined;
  • Detailed drawings including:
    • exact dimensions;
    • maximum heights in AHD and the above ground height for all structures including
      crane operations;
  • The exact location of your development including coordinates and datum for each structure
    or crane operation:

    • Coordinates in – latitude/longitude or easting/northing
    • Datum – WGS84 or equivalent (not the airport reference point datum);
  • A description of each structure to be built, including details of proposed external cladding
    materials, and the structure’s proposed use;
  • Where possible, MicroStation.dgn files (or AutoCAD) that include 3D wireframes of
    buildings; and
  • Tower line of sight.

To assist in giving you the most timely assessment, your assistance to provide the Airport Relations Branch with the above information as soon as possible would be greatly appreciated.

Contacting us in the process of preparing your MP, and advising us of your MDP or MP going out for public comment gives us the largest block of time (at least 60 business days) to technically assess your development. By giving us as much notice as possible you will ensure Airservices Australia has ample time to assess your proposals.

Endorsement of Australian Noise Exposure Forecasts

In deciding whether to endorse an Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF), Airservices Australia (“the endorser”) must be satisfied with the following elements of the ANEF:

  1. that the appropriate selection of aircraft types for the airport have been used as input data;
  2. that the runway usage and flight path data used as an input to the model are operationally suitable for the airport;
  3. that the forecast numbers of aircraft movements, operating times and the aircraft types carrying out operations are not greater than the physical ultimate capacity of the existing or proposed runway/s using accepted and published methodologies;
  4. that the contours have been modelled correctly;
  5. that the proponent has demonstrated it has paid due regard to all issues raised by State and Local Government authorities in relation to the ANEF; and
  6. any other matter the endorser considers relevant in deciding whether to endorse the ANEF.

Please allow 6-8 weeks for the endorsement process.

Airport Relations is established to be your conduit into Airservices Australia, and a convenient resource for you to discuss, with us, relevant business and policy issues.

For further information on proposed airport related developments and any other airport matters contact Joe Doherty via email at joseph.doherty@airservicesaustralia.com or by post at:

Joe Doherty
Senior Adviser, Airport Relations
GPO Box 367
Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: 02 6268 5101