What the ACCC does

  • We assess proposed price increases from Sydney Airport for regional air services.
  • We assess proposed price increases from Airservices Australia.

What the ACCC can't do

  • We don’t regulate airports or airlines.

On this page

About the price notification process

The price notification process allows the tracking of prices in markets where there isn’t enough competition. These are markets that don’t normally achieve efficient prices for consumers.

Price notification applies to notified goods and services from declared firms. The Minister makes the decision on these firms, and the goods and services that are notified.

These firms need to inform the ACCC of any proposed price increase to notified goods and services.

What we do in assessing price notifications

The ACCC assesses notifications of proposed price increases by declared firms.

There are currently 2 declared firms:

  • Sydney Airport for regional air services
  • Airservices Australia.

Sydney Airport for regional air services

Services that are covered

Aeronautical services and facilities provided by Sydney airport to regional air services are subject to a:

  • price notification process
  • cap on prices.

Services are declared under Competition and Consumer (Price Notifications—Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Declaration 2023. This Direction began on 1 July 2023 and ends on 30 June 2026.

Before increasing prices for these services, Sydney Airport must notify the ACCC and have the price accepted.

In assessing these notifications, we follow a Direction to give special consideration to the Government’s policy. This is under section 95ZH of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Pricing standard

A pricing standard enables operators of regional air services to continue to access Sydney Airport.

Competition and Consumer (Prices Surveillance—Aeronautical Services to NSW Regional Airlines) Direction 2023 includes the pricing standard.

This standard is the total revenue-weighted percentage increase in prices in a given financial year. It should not be more than the percentage change between the sum of the quarterly Consumer Price Index numbers for the reference year and the year preceding the reference year.

The reference year is the 12-month period ending on 31 March immediately before the start of the given financial year.

The Direction started on 1 July 2023 and ends on 30 June 2026.

Airservices Australia

Airservices Australia is a government-owned organisation. It provides:

  • air traffic control services
  • aviation fire-fighting and rescue services to airports and airlines.

These services are declared under Competition and Consumer (Airservices Australia Prices Surveillance) Declaration 2018.

Airservices Australia must notify the ACCC of proposed increases to prices charged for these services.

Possible outcomes of a price notification

After assessing the proposed price increases, we either:

  • do not object to the increases
  • do not object to increases lower than those proposed
  • object to the proposed increases.

We let the applicant know of the outcome.

The legal basis of our functions

Price notification rules are in Part VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

Airport and aviation price notification projects

This is a list of airport and aviation price notifications provided to the ACCC and other related projects.

See a complete list of airport projects.

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