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.
Public register of price notifications
Notifications of price increases lodged with the ACCC by Airservices Australia and Sydney Airport are listed on the price notifications register.
The legal basis of our functions
Price notification rules are in Part VIIA of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Price notification projects
This is a list of airport and aviation price notifications provided to the ACCC and other related projects.
On 27 September 2023, Airservices Australia submitted the first iteration of its draft price notification to the ACCC proposing increases to its charges for enroute navigation, terminal navigation, and aviation rescue and fire-fighting services. Airservices provided a formal price notification to the ACCC on 1 October 2024.
Airservices Australia (Airservices) has submitted a draft price notification to the ACCC proposing increases to its charges for terminal navigation (TN) and aviation rescue and fire-fighting (ARFF) services, effective from 1 July 2015.
On 10 June 2014 Airservices submitted a formal price notification to the ACCC proposing new charges for en route, terminal navigation and aviation rescue and fire-fighting services, effective from 1 July 2014.
The ACCC released its decision to not object to Airservices' price notification on 14 June 2013.
The Airport quality of service monitoring guideline was issued in June 2013
On 14 August 2013 the ACCC released its decision, which was not to object to the price notification.
The ACCC released its decision to not object to Airservices' price notification on 27 June 2012.
The ACCC released its decision to not object to this price notification on 22 September 2011.
The ACCC decided to object to the price increases in SACL's price notification for regional air services and released its final decision on 17 September 2010.
The ACCC decision is to not object to Airservices Australia’s proposed price for a terminal navigation service provided to aircraft landing at Avalon aerodrome.
The development process of the Airport quality of service monitoring guideline involved two rounds of consultation before a final guideline was released in October 2008.