Aviation Consumer Protection (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2026; Second Reading

Summary

This legislation creates a new Aviation Consumer Protection Framework to fix gaps in existing protections for airline and airport passengers, establishing a Charter of minimum service standards, a regulator (the Aviation Consumer Protection Authority) to enforce those standards, and an independent Aviation Consumer Ombudsperson scheme to handle individual complaints — similar to how telecommunications and financial complaints are handled. It amends or works alongside the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and the Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 but doesn't create new private court cases or change how airlines' legal liability works. The changes matter because airline performance hasn't met expectations since the COVID-19 pandemic, complaints have surged, and the previous industry-run complaint system (the Airline Customer Advocate) has failed to work effectively, so the government is stepping in to set clear standards, monitor compliance, and give passengers a real pathway to resolve disputes fairly and quickly.

What happens at this stage

The main debate on whether the chamber supports the broad purpose of the bill. Members speak to its overall merits and concerns rather than the fine print. The government outlines its policy intentions; the opposition and crossbench put their case. This is the stage that determines whether the bill proceeds at all.

Next: Consideration in Detail (House) or Committee of the Whole (Senate), where the bill is examined clause by clause