When we receive your submission a Complaint Specialist will review it and determine the appropriate response. We endeavour to respond to all complaints and enquiries as quickly as possible if you have:

• asked a relevant question, or
• raised a noise issue to which we can reasonably respond.

If you have contacted us previously and received a response, we may not respond further if there is not additional information that we can reasonably provide.

We will respond to you in writing wherever possible. This is because aviation can be complex. In our experience, the information we need to provide to you is best explained in writing. If you contact us by phone generally we will not try to answer your questions on the spot. We will investigate and research your concerns and then write to you with our findings. If you have further questions after reading our response, you can contact us again.

For each issue you raise with us, we create a case with a case number. If you contact us again about the same issue, we add that contact onto the relevant case. We would not create a new case for the same issue.

If the submission lacks detail, (for example, it does not state the location or nature of the operation being questioned), the response may be restricted to general information or the complainant may be contacted to request additional information to enable a more detailed response.

Submissions consisting of comments or feedback on an open engagement activity will not be responded to by the NCIS. Instead, an acknowledgement email will be sent advising that the comment or feedback has been provided to Airservices Community Engagement for consideration and response, as appropriate.

You only need to contact us once to have your complaint seriously considered. If your contact raises an issue currently open for response, and where the further contacts don’t raise a new issue, you may be informed that a response is being prepared and that further contact on this matter is not required to progress the response. You may also be advised that while you may wish to continue to raise the issue as a complaint, that it will be responded to in a single response.

Once a response has been provided, if you continue to raise the same issue, and there is no new issue or question raised, a response will be sent to you advising that no further information is available and a response to future contacts about the same issue may not be provided.

We investigate issues that are raised with us. Where possible, we provide you with a detailed response explaining how aircraft operations are operated over your area.

If a potential opportunity for a noise improvement is found during the investigation, we will progress it for a further detailed investigation.

Where an opportunity for an improvement requires investigation of changes to operations inside existing controlled airspace, we will refer the opportunity to Airservices’ Community Engagement for investigation.

Where an opportunity for an improvement is identified outside of controlled airspace, for example a rural location helicopter operation, we may contact the operator to discuss the opportunity for a noise improvement. However, any potential changes to operations outside of controlled airspace that the operator undertakes to reduce noise is voluntary and cannot be enforced.

When investigating potential noise improvement opportunities, consideration will be given to:
• safety
• air traffic management efficiency
• whether a better noise outcome can be achieved overall.

Proposals that compromise safety will not be progressed.

Moving noise from one part of the community to another generally will not be considered a better noise outcome overall. It is also very difficult to identify flight path changes in metropolitan areas that can be made without moving the noise or compromising safety or efficiency.

Regular reports will be run on:
• the number of complainants and contacts per associated airport
• the number of complainants per suburb
• the issues raised by complainants.

Regular analysis of reports will be undertaken to monitor trends and identify emerging complaint hotspots.

Complaint reports are available through our Aircraft In Your Neighbourhood page. We also produce quarterly complaint reports to Community Aviation Consultation Groups (CACGs). 

The Aircraft Noise Ombudsman conducts independent administrative reviews of Airservices management of aircraft noise-related activities, including the handling of complaints or enquiries made to Airservices about aircraft noise, community consultation processes related to aircraft noise and the presentation and distribution of aircraft noise-related information.

If you are dissatisfied with the way your complaint has been handled you may request a review by the Aircraft Noise Ombudsman.