Airline Passenger Protections (Pay on Delay) Bill 2024 (Cth)
6 June 2024
The ALA has made a submission to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee (Committee) for the Committee’s inquiry into the Airline Passenger Protections (Pay on Delay) Bill 2024 (Cth) (Bill).
In our submission, the ALA expresses our support for:
- the establishment of carriers’ obligations rules that hold airlines accountable to passengers by financially compensating them for delays, cancellations and denied boarding in circumstances that are within the airline’s control; and
- the establishment of broader air passenger consumer protection rules.
Additionally, the ALA has provided the Committee with recommendations for strengthening the Bill’s proposed consumer protections (namely, through a Passenger Bill of Rights instead of a code conduct), as well as recommendations for further reforms of the aviation industry.
Public hearing
Victoria Roy, ALA Travel Law Special Interest Group Chair, provided evidence at a public hearing regarding this Bill on Monday 17 March 2025.
Victoria highlighted to the Committee the multiple factors which undermine air passenger rights in Australia, including the fact that there is no single, specific framework for Australian air passenger rights; that Australian Consumer Law is vague as well as complex to navigate; and that there is no simple, affordable and accessible way for air passengers to enforce the few rights they do have in Australia.
Those issues underscore the ALA’s support for the Bill’s proposed carriers’ obligations rules that hold airlines accountable to passengers by financially compensating them for delays, cancellations and denied boarding.
However, we support strengthening those rules, as well as Parliament working on further reforms to the aviation industry to enhance consumer rights and protections beyond addressing compensation for flight delays and cancellations.
The Committee is due to hand down its final report for this inquiry on Monday 24 March 2025.
ALA submission
Final Report