Brisbane Flight Path Community Alliance – people before planes

Senate Estimates: 2025

2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021

Estimates of government expenditure are referred to Senate committees as part of the annual budget cycle. This opportunity to examine the operations of government plays a key role in the parliamentary scrutiny of the executive. One of the most significant features of the procedure for examining estimates is the opportunity that senators have to question officers of the public service directly. BFPCA has engaged the Australian Parliament’s Senate Estimates process to hold the government to account for Brisbane Airport’s excessive noise pollution experienced by Brisbane residents.

BFPCA is grateful to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport for asking the following questions. BFPCA also thanks the offices of various Senators named below for their support in tabling these questions.

On this page we publish video recordings and document answers provided to Questions on Notice (QoN). These written answers can also be retrieved from the Senate’s website.

On this page:

Supplementary Budget Estimates 2025 / 2026

📺 Video recordings: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts // Senator Penny Allman-Payne re Senate Inquiry response and Brisbane Airport draft Master Plan 2026; hearing date: 7 Oct 2025

📺 Video recordings: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts // Senator Bridget McKenzie re Senate Inquiry response; hearing date: 7 Oct 2025

📺 Video recordings: Airservices // Senator Penny Allman-Payne re Noise Action Plan and SODPROPS; hearing date: 7 Oct 2025

📺 Video recordings: Airservices // Senator Bridget McKenzie re Senate Inquiry recommendations; hearing date: 7 Oct 2025

Additional Estimates 2024 / 2025

📺 Video recordings: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts // Senator Larissa Waters re Senate Inquiry & Aviation White Paper recommendations; hearing date: 24 Feb 2025

📺 Video recordings: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts // Senator Larissa Waters re lead-based avgas pollution; hearing date: 24 Feb 2025

📺 Video recordings: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts // Senator Bridget McKenzie & Senator Matt Canavan; hearing date: 24 Feb 2025

📺 Video recordings: Airservices; hearing date: 24 Feb 2025

Airservices // Senator Larissa Waters; hearing date: 24 Feb 2025

Answers to Questions on Notice: Department of Infrastructure

31. Data collected by AEOs for Brisbane and Archerfield Airports

Senator Larissa Waters asked:

Senator WATERS: What data have those AEOs for both Brisbane airport and Archerfield Airport reported to the department in the last 24 months?
Mrs Wright: I don’t have that information available at the moment.
Senator WATERS: Okay. Could you take on notice: I’d like full copies of all the AEO reports and the datasets, including whether any soil testing was performed and what the results were. Could you provide that on notice, please?
Mrs Wright: I will see what we have, yes. I’m not sure of the level of detail I can provide to you. There are restrictions under legislation as to what information can be shared by regulators with other parties. So I’ll take that on notice.
Senator WATERS: Okay. Well, I reckon if they want to take on the investigative powers of the Senate then that’s probably a bigger fight than you or I. But they should be aware that when we ask for stuff we kind of like to be able to see it.
Mrs Wright: Agreed. Yes.
Senator WATERS: Thank you.

Answer: Details about specific monitoring results should be requested from the Airport Lessee Companies who are responsible for environmental monitoring on the airport.

Answers to Questions on Notice: Airservices

39. Brisbane Airport SODPROPS Usage

Senator Larissa Waters asked:

Senator WATERS: Okay. Could you please, on notice, run me through—you gave me one example of why perhaps the five per cent wasn’t used; there was an emergency helicopter or something, for example—could you list for me the instances that meant that you couldn’t do SODPROPS 100 per cent of the time when you otherwise might have been able to?
Mr Curran: Yes.

Answer: Specific reasons where SODPROPS may not be able to be used include Military operations,
emergency services operations and system maintenance.

40. Response to Senate inquiry recommendations

Senator Larissa Waters asked:

Senator WATERS: […] I’m interested in the recommendations of the Senate inquiry into aircraft noise, and Airservices was a witness before.
[…]
Senator WATERS: Thank you. If you have any other recs that you’re already doing something about, would you mind putting those to me on notice.
Mr Curran: Yes.

Answer: The Senate Inquiry into the Impact and Mitigation of Aircraft Noise made 21 recommendations. 8 recommendations related to Airservices Australia (Airservices).

While the Australian Government is yet to respond to the Inquiry report, Airservices already had activity underway which aligned with a number of the recommendations as detailed below.

Recommendation 4 – Airservices to support SODPROPS at Brisbane Airport.

  • Airservices implemented the Ministerial Direction – Airservices (Use of Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations at Brisbane Airport) Direction 2024 on 30 November 2024.
  • Recommendations 2.1 to 2.3 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, focus on gaining the greatest possible use of SODPROPS, weather and operations constraints permitting. 12 actions from Package 2 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane target opportunities to increase the use of SODPROPS at Brisbane Airport.

Recommendation 5 – Airservices to prioritise continuous descent operations and continuous
climb operations for Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

  • A limited trial of continuous descent operations known as ‘predictable sequencing’ which reduces air traffic control intervention for high altitudes is currently being trialled in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. Predictable sequencing for Brisbane will be trialled from mid-2025. Continuous climb operations are not being considered at this stage.

Recommendation 13 – Airservices considers for metropolitan airports which add a new or expanded runway to conducting a full-scale review of broader airspace in the greater metropolitan area.

  • This is a policy matter for government.

Recommendation 15 – the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts facilitates through Aircraft Noise Ombudsman or Airservices the provision of appropriate technical support for noise related issues to community representatives, including access to technical experts.

  • Airservices’ participates in a range of forums (including Community Aviation Consultation Groups (CACGs), the Brisbane Airport Community Airspace Advisory Board (AAB), the Sydney Airport Community Forum (SACF), the Long-term Operating Plan Implementation and Monitoring Committee (IMC) and the Forum on Western Sydney Airport (FOWSA)). Airservices provides technical advice on flight path design and noise related issues at these forums. Airservices currently has many community representatives who contact Airservices personnel directly to seek technical advice about specific operations. Airservices will consider how to facilitate additional technical advice and access to experts.
  • Airservices has recently engaged a third-party independent technical advisor for community representatives on the AAB.

Recommendation 16 – Airservices to improve its community engagement framework through robust processes for considering, responding to, and implementing outcomes of consultation processes.

  • Airservices will continue to evolve its Community Engagement Standard which was nationally consulted, benchmarked and based on international best practice. The Community Engagement Standard contains robust processes for considering, responding to and implementing the outcomes of community consultation processes.

Recommendation 17 – The NCIS should be removed from Airservices. Airservices should concentrate on its core functions.

  • This is a policy matter for government.

Recommendation 19 – Airservices Statement of Expectations be revised within six months outlining LTOP for Sydney, adequate staff and support air traffic control, and organisations engagement and operational areas for Post Implementation Reviews, and recruitment retention and training of air traffic controllers to pre-pandemic levels within 12 months.

  • This is a policy matter for government. The current Statement of Expectations expires at the end of June 2025. The matters raised will be considered in the context of the new Statement of Expectations. Air traffic controller numbers are predicted to return to pre-pandemic levels by June 2025.

Recommendation 20 – department to work with Airservices, Aircraft Noise Ombudsman and aviation industry stakeholders to create a modern, user-friendly website that provide a single source of truth for the community.

  • The department and Airservices will work collaboratively to provide high quality information to the public. A more formalised arrangement through a single website is a matter for both organisations to give further consideration to.

41. Noise and flight path monitoring system

Senator Larissa Waters asked:

Senator WATERS: Have you done, or when will you do, an examination of your noise and flight path monitoring system, including additional information in that on aircraft movements and noise impacts? Is that underway? That one is for Airservices. I think the aviation white paper suggested that that occur, and I’m just wondering whether—
Mr Sharp: Is there an initiative number on that one?
Senator WATERS: Probably, but I don’t have it.
Mr Sharp: We’ll have to take that on notice. I’m not quite sure of the specific reference there.
Senator WATERS: Is there an intention to publicly release all historic and future data from the noise and flight path monitoring system?
Mr Stoddart: We’ll have to take that question on notice as well.
Senator WATERS: Will you commit to real-time public reporting of noise threshold breaches?
Mr Curran: We have to take that one on notice, also.

Answer:

  1. Initiative 33 of the Aviation White Paper states, “Airservices Australia will examine its Noise and Flight Path Monitoring System (NFPMS) and including additional information in the NFPMS on aircraft movements and noise impacts. Airservices Australia will also publish a quarterly report on noncompliance with noise abatement procedures”.

    In the last 12 months, Airservices has implemented the following improvements to this system through its WebTrak flight path and noise monitoring information tool:
    • updated to provide near real-time aircraft movement and noise information (3-minute delay).
    • rainfall layer added so the location of poor weather can be clearly seen, and aircraft diversions better understood.
    • alert box added noting planned runway works and their likely implications for operations.
    • We are currently working with our supplier on further improvements including:
      • addition of mode information so it is clear what operating mode is being used at any given time.
      • addition of a flight path layer so it can be seen if aircraft are tracking along these paths or if they are diverting off them.
    • In addition, we have commenced Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) reporting for Brisbane Airport through our Aircraft In Your Neighbourhood website. This site explains local operations, the flight paths, what is normal in the area and reports on movement numbers and complaints. NAP reporting is being progressively rolled out across other Australian Airports (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, and Canberra) over coming months and is expected to be completed no later than June 2025.
  2. Historic aircraft movement and noise data can be viewed on WebTrak. This is available
    for all locations covered by the WebTrak system. This includes:
    • aircraft movement and noise monitor data for the preceding 3-month period.
    • historic flight path data, including noise monitor information, available in monthly, quarterly and yearly blocks from 2011.
    • location specific aircraft statistics and noise data for a rolling 5-year period based
      on the address entered into Aircraft In Your Neighbourhood (from February
      2020).
  3. There are no legislated noise thresholds or limits for aircraft operations activity in
    Australia against which to report.

42. Australian Government’s request for advice on Senate inquiry into Aircraft Noise

Senator Larissa Waters asked:

Senator WATERS: […] Finally, has the government asked you, Airservices Australia, for any advice in relation to the recommendations from the Senate inquiry into aircraft noise? Has the government asked you for your input into the Senate recommendations?
Mr Stoddart: Yes. We work closely with the department to feed into their response on a whole range of recommendations from that inquiry.
Senator WATERS: Can you tell me what you told them?
Mr Stoddart: There are numerous recommendations, and we would be contributing to specific recommendations that affect Airservices. If you want me to provide—
Senator WATERS: Perhaps on notice, that would be great.
Mr Stoddart: Sure.

Answer: Please refer to Committee Question Number 40 (SQ25-000046) from the 2024-25 Additional Budget Estimates hearing.