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 thank 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 2024 / 2025 (4 Nov 2024)
• Budget Estimates 2024 / 2025 (28 / 29 May 2024)
• Additional Estimates 2023 / 2024 (12 Feb 2024)

Supplementary Budget Estimates 2024 / 2025

📺 Video recordings: Airservices; hearing date: 4 Nov 2024

Budget Estimates 2024 / 2025

📺 Video recording: Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts; hearing date: 28 May 2024

📺 Video recordings: Airservices; hearing date: 29 May 2024

Answers to Questions on Notice: Airservices

91. Noise action plan – budget for Brisbane engagement for 2024-25

Senator Penny Allman-Payne asked:

Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: […] What is the budget for the noise action plan for the Brisbane
engagement for 2024-25?
Mr Curran: The noise action plan budget in total over three years is $15.5 million. Your
question related to engagement specifically. That’s a subset of that, and I would have to
take that on notice as it relates to a mixture of our internal costs, consulting costs and
advertising and promotional costs to engage communities for financial year 2024-25. I have
to isolate it in that way. I can give you some information around advertising and
promotional cost activities for this year.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: We’re particularly interested in how the money is being spent and
the types of events that you are putting under the heading of ‘engagement’. Is it pop-up
events? Is it advertising? What is the line spend for engagement in that plan?

Answer: Airservices Australia has a budget of $1.25 million (excluding GST) for 2024-25 for
community engagement for the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane.

Costs for engagement activity include venue hire for face-to-face community engagement
sessions, print, radio and social media advertising, printing of engagement materials and
letterbox drops.

94. A380 Brisbane departures

Senator Penny Allman-Payne asked:

Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: Coming back to Brisbane, why are the nightly A380 departures
from Brisbane overland unable to stick to the published standard instrument departure
track and modelled heights for noise abatement?
Mr Curran: That’s a question I’d have to take on notice. I’m not aware for the A380 in
particular or which particular airline’s operations you’re referring to. It is the case that we
endeavour, wherever weather and traffic permit, to operate in a mode that I’ve referred to
in this committee before, SODPROPS, simultaneous opposite direction parallel runway
operations, which puts arrivals and departures over the bay. Wherever possible, that is the
mode that we seek to operate in sensitive times of the day, night-time and weekends. To
the extent that A380 operations occur overland, it would be because it was not possible to
operate in that mode over the bay. Then, as to the specific tracking of a flight on a given
day, there are myriad considerations. There could be weather factors. There could be a
range of factors. It would be difficult for me to give a precise answer other than to take on
notice that perhaps we can provide some data around that particular operation. If you could
be more precise on the time that the flight takes, we can then look into that.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: On notice, could you please provide a report of how often aircraft
are not flying the published SIDs across Brisbane and not meeting the published model
overflight heights for the last 12 months?
Mr Curran: I think we can do that on notice. There will be instances where that’s due to
weather and other matters.

Answer: There are 2 types of published Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs):

• a procedural SID with published flight paths, waypoints and height requirements; and
• a radar SID which uses compass headings.

Pilots may request a radar SID where aircraft may not be able to meet the procedural SID
height requirements due to weight, aircraft speed, aircraft type or atmospheric
temperature.

Air traffic control may require aircraft to deviate from a procedural SID to safely avoid conflicting traffic or due to weather such as thunderstorms or low visibility.

SIDs are designed to ensure the safe separation of aircraft and are not specifically designed for noise abatement.

Under the Noise Abatement Procedures for Brisbane, there is 1 SID height requirement noted for aircraft that depart over water at night, where they should remain over water until they have reached an altitude of 5,000 feet. During the period 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024 the 6 aircraft that departed over water at night remained over water until they reached 5,000 feet.

A380s can only depart Brisbane Airport on a SID – either procedural or radar. Air traffic control will always assign a procedural SID but the pilot can request a radar SID if they cannot meet the requirements of the procedural SID.

Procedural and radar SID use for departures 1 June 2023 – 31 May 2024 (A380 aircraft)

The daily A380 departures from Brisbane operate one of the longest routes (14 hours) and are the largest passenger aircraft in operation. Due to aircraft weight and high passenger loading there are a higher proportion of aircraft that while they accept the procedural SID, may still deviate from the design heights or flight path corridor.

The procedural SID paths have altitude requirements at set waypoints to ensure the safe separation of aircraft (not for noise abatement). The table below shows how often A380 aircraft maintained the procedural SID and its design height requirements over the period 1 June 2023 to 31 May 2024. Note this data includes all A380 departures including those issued a radar SID which do not adhere to flight path corridors, thus affecting the total adherence percentage.

Procedural SID departures alignment with design corridor and height, 1 June 2023 – 31 May 2024 (A380 aircraft):

95. Air traffic controllers in Brisbane

Senator Penny Allman-Payne asked:

Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: This is a follow-up from committee question number 41 in
additional estimates 2023-24 regarding the number of air traffic controllers required in
Airservices’ terminal control unit in Brisbane. Airservices’ response was that Brisbane
operations require 39 air traffic controllers in Airservices’ terminal control unit to provide
full service and Airservices plans to have 46 controllers allocated to this air space by July 2024. How many air traffic controllers are available in the Brisbane terminal control unit
right now?
Mr Curran: I will ask my colleague Mr Craig Charker to see if he is able to answer that
question. Mr Charker: I might have to take that on notice for the exact number now.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: I’m somewhat surprised that that needs to be taken on notice,
given that you were asked that question at the last estimates. I would have thought that
was obvious question that would be asked again. Where is the recruitment, onboarding and
training program up to in Brisbane? Are you able to answer that question?
Mr Charker: I don’t have the details with me of the exact training program that’s being
undertaken at the moment, but we can get that to you.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: Could you take that on notice, please? So I guess you can’t answer
whether the aspiration of 46 air traffic controllers in a month’s time is likely to be reached
for Brisbane?
Mr Charker: I don’t think we will achieve 46 in that timeframe, but again I’ll come back on
that.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: You said in answer to my earlier question that you’re not sure how
many there are. You’ve now just told me that you don’t think we’re going to achieve 46.
What is that based on? What is your assumption around how many are there now? Is it
more than 39?
Mr Charker: I don’t want to do the exact number, but my understanding is that there are
around 43 total air traffic controllers there, against that mature requirement of 39.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: If you can take the broader questions that I’ve asked on notice,
that would be helpful.
Mr Charker: Certainly.

Answer: As at 1 June 2024, 47.6 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) people were allocated to the Brisbane Approach roster, including 2 undertaking initial training.

96. Demand forecast until 2026

Senator Bridget McKenzie asked:

Senator McKENZIE: Your demand forecast that they’re claiming is out of date and conservative you’ve addressed, so what are you forecasting in terms of demand over this period, to June 2026?
Mr Logan: Off the top of my head—
Senator McKENZIE: Well, you’ve got a folder there; it might be in there. Mr Logan: The demand forecast was—sorry, Senator.
Senator McKENZIE: That’s okay. You’re obliged—in fact, required—to give full and accurate information to our questions, so I’m happy to wait.
ACTING CHAIR: If he doesn’t know it, he can also take it on notice. That’s within his rights. Mr Logan: I don’t have the specific numbers. I’m looking at the graph that I brought in.
Based on the graph, we were anticipating—and, again, I’ll clarify on notice—about a 20 per cent increase in traffic over the time period through to 2030, so we were looking over quite a long time period. What we have seen in comparison to that is that, in the 2023-24 financial year, the likely outcome forecast for this year is about three to four per cent higher than what was anticipated, and that three to four per cent, along with a small increase above that, we’d be looking to take off those activity forecasts in an adjusted price notification. The specifics I’d need to clarify on notice, but hopefully that gives you a sense of the orders of magnitude.

Answer: The original and the revised demand forecasts to June 2026 are as follows:

144. Phase 2 noise sharing options assessment document

Senator Penny Allman-Payne asked:

Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: Going to the phase 2 options assessment document that was
recently released by Airservices Australia: that document outlines five options for noise
sharing, is that correct?
Mr Curran: That is my understanding, yes.
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: Based on that summary document put out by Airservices, it
appears the only option that will be progressed is option 5, which solely impacts the northwestern
suburbs and outskirts of Brisbane. If that’s the case, why aren’t there any
consultation sessions planned for north of the river?
Mr Curran: I don’t know that there’s been any determination made in that options
assessment as to a particular option or only one going through; I’ll have to take that on
notice. My understanding is there were a number of options progressing through to the
next phase of consideration. My recollection is there was one option not being taken
through, but I’d like to take that on notice. We have a fairly extensive pack on all the
different options that were being assessed and the criteria against which they were being
assessed—
Senator ALLMAN-PAYNE: Can I suggest that would be good because I’ve got the phase 2
options assessment summary in front of me, and next to most of the options it says, ‘This
option will not be progressed’, ‘This option will not be progressed’, ‘This option will not be
progressed’, ‘This proposal will not progress’—except for the last one. I would suggest that
that option paper says the only option that will be progressed is option 5— which, as I said,
is in the north-western suburbs and yet the consultations are happening south of the river.
That seems somewhat incongruous.
Mr Curran: That’s not my understanding, but I will take that on notice. If we were not
progressing an option that was an option that would have impacted communities south of
the river, we would still be consulting or engaging them on any determination not to
progress an option. But I will check with regard to the northern option you mentioned.

Answer: Airservices Australia (Airservices) engaged the community on the Phase 2 options throughout July and August 2023. This included sessions north of the Brisbane River at Brookfield, Samford Valley, The Gap, Everton Park, Paddington, New Farm and Hendra. Community engagement in May 2024 focused on flight path changes over suburbs to the south of the Brisbane River and thus engagement sessions were held in those locations. Engagement locations are selected based on the options being presented and the locations they have the potential to impact.

The Phase 2 options assessment was released on 21 May 2024 and was open for feedback until 16 June 2024. The Phase 2 options received very mixed community feedback, mostly based on the location of members of the community relative to the proposed noise sharing flight path. It was determined that these options would be better presented as part of a more holistic design, including all other arrival and departure paths, so community members could better assess the fairness of the noise sharing opportunity being proposed. The assessment outcome noted this option will not progress in this format but will be considered among broader noise sharing operations as part of Package 3 and 4 of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane. Option 5, a minor relocation of a waypoint to better align aircraft over greenspace between communities, was noted as being progressed, however this option will now also be considered as part of Package 3 and 4 due to the interdependency between this waypoint location and the other proposed noise sharing options.

146. Consultation with pilots and airlines

Senator Matthew Canavan asked:

Senator CANAVAN: You might have seen some of the pilots were scathing of the proposal.
Mr Curran: Yes.
Senator CANAVAN: Some of them claimed they hadn’t been consulted, although that
seemed to be disputed later. What’s the status of that? Have the pilots been consulted
about this proposed change?
Mr Curran: We are consulting. This is very much a change that impacts pilots and airlines. So
we are absolutely engaging in consultation with domestic and international airlines. I think
your comment there goes to the heart of some of the challenges that we have with this
issue. In terms of delivering better community outcomes by using a particular runway—
Senator McKENZIE: When did you last meet with the pilots to discuss this?
Mr Curran: I would have to check on the timing of that. We’ve been speaking—
Senator McKENZIE: You said, ‘international and domestic airlines’. When did you last discuss
this with international airlines?
Mr Curran: I’ll have to take that on notice. We’ve been working—
Senator McKENZIE: When did you last discuss this with domestic airlines?
Mr Curran: It would be in the last number of weeks.
Senator McKENZIE: Okay. On notice, I would like a full list. You come in and make flippant
remarks that you’ve heavily consulted with pilots.
ACTING CHAIR: Alright. Senator—
Senator McKENZIE: And we ask the pilots, and they say they are not consulted with. So I
would like to see the hard data—
ACTING CHAIR: Alright, but before you do that—
Senator McKENZIE: that tells us the dates and who you met with. Thank you

Answer: Airservices Australia, in conjunction with Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC), consulted with a cross-section of domestic and international airlines, industry associations and pilot unions from January to April 2022 when developing the Brisbane SODPROPS 7 Knot Tailwind Safety Case.

• Attachment A lists the stakeholders invited to participate in this engagement, and
• Attachment B lists the consultation dates for those stakeholders who chose to participate.

More recently, BAC has also engaged with a number of international and domestic airlines on a plan to trial the 7 Knots concept and provide a revised safety case submission to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

147. Flight height marker data

Senator Matthew Canavan asked:

Mr Curran: I listened to the evidence of Qantas at the Brisbane hearing, and I think that they were clear around the way that they managed their engines in terms of whether or not they actually took off any earlier. In terms of the height marker, aircraft are cleared above that height marker. It’s the minimum altitude that they need to be at. The aircraft were above that height marker, and, as we learnt through that process—
Senator CANAVAN: So they were above it? Mr Curran: Yes.
Senator CANAVAN: How do you know they were above it?
Mr Curran: Because we monitored their altitude and the noise associated with it. Senator CANAVAN: They’re claiming they didn’t—that the pilots just hit that marker.
Mr Curran: I recall the evidence that was given—specifically that that is the lowest altitude that you can be at. They are cleared to a higher altitude than the marker, which is, I think, 3,300.
Senator CANAVAN: On notice, can you get us some data on what percentage of flights were above that marker? Was there a baseline? Did you say, ‘Before the trial this was the flight path, and then after the trial this was the flight path’? What was the difference?
Mr Curran: We didn’t have the noise monitor. Senator CANAVAN: What was the point?
Senator McKENZIE: Wow, what a great research project! I wouldn’t be going back to uni with that project.
Senator CANAVAN: You said you collected it. Mr Curran: We did not have the noise monitor. ACTING CHAIR: One at a time.
Senator CANAVAN: You said you collected the data. Mr Curran: We didn’t have the noise monitor.
ACTING CHAIR: Hang on there, Mr Curran. Senator McKENZIE: Let’s do a research project.
ACTING CHAIR: I don’t think it’s helpful that everyone is yelling on top of each other. Senator Canavan.
Senator CANAVAN: You said you collected the data. Do you have that data?
Mr Curran: Yes, we do. We will provide that on notice. The point I was making is that we didn’t know ahead of time that we were going to do this trial, so we didn’t have a noise monitor sitting in this particular location.
Senator CANAVAN: This is not about a noise monitor, though. This was about assessing whether there had been—I think the issue here that I’m taking away, at least from your evidence, is that there was nothing obliging the airlines to hit a higher ascent. They just could. So how do we know they did or not? That’s the question. To what extent did they? Mr Curran: We can provide you that data on notice.

Answer: The published standard instrument departure routes used by jet aircraft departing from Runway 19R require aircraft to achieve a minimum altitude of 5000ft at ‘TOGIN’ waypoint (a waypoint is a geographical location used to define a flight path route). TOGIN waypoint is the ‘height marker’ referred to and is located near Mt Coot-tha.

Data for the months of April 2022 (during the period of the trial restricting the use of intersection departures off the new runway over the city) and

April 2024 (outside the trial period) indicates that aircraft achieved, and on average exceeded, the minimum altitude requirements of the standard instrument departure routes both during and after the trial:

• during the trial, 90% of jet flights were between 6,500ft to 10,600ft at the waypoint ‘TOGIN’, with an average of 8,500ft.
• outside the trial, 90% of jet flights were between 6,200ft to 10,500ft at the waypoint ‘TOGIN’, with an average of 8,000ft.

Please refer to Committee Question Number 44 (SQ24-000044) from the 2023-2024 Additional Estimates hearing for further details of the purpose and outcomes of the trial.

Additional Estimates 2023 / 2024

📺 Video recordings: Airservices; hearing date: 12 Feb 2024

Answers to Questions on Notice: Airservices

41. Post-Implementation Review – Packages 3 and 4

Senator Janet Rice asked:

Senator RICE: For package 3 and package 4 to be implemented, what’s the time line?
Mr Curran: Package 3 is being developed throughout this year, for implementation into next year, and package 4 can start in parallel next year but will likely continue into 2026.
Senator RICE: And will require more staff.
Mr Curran: For the training et cetera, yes. I couldn’t give you an exact number at the moment, but we’re anticipating that the training load for a major change would require some additional staff. It’s not many staff; it’s a small number of licence-rated staff in those particular roles in Brisbane.
Senator RICE: So you’ve got a double-whammy going on, in that you are currently short of staff, compared with where you’d like to be in Brisbane, even to conduct your operations as normal, and then you’ve got this additional load that’s going to be required.
Mr Curran: I think that’s the point that Mr Harfield was making around the change program that we have coming with Brisbane, Western Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Senator RICE: You’ve said that you aren’t able to say now how many extra staff, compared with what you’ve got at the moment, will be needed for the implementation of package 3 and package 4. Could you take that on notice.
Mr Curran: Yes.

Answer: Brisbane operations require 39 air traffic controllers in Airservices’ Terminal Control Unit to provide full service. Airservices plans to have 46 controllers allocated to this airspace by July 2024.

The specific design and operational outcomes of Packages 3 and 4 have not yet been determined. Once this is finalised the associated procedures and training will be developed, and at this point any temporary staffing impacts will be identified.

42. Airservices – Employee Assistance Program

Senator Janet Rice asked:

Senator RICE: What’s the general advice that those EAP counsellors are providing to affected community members seeking help?
Mr Curran: I’ll have to take that on notice. As far as I’m aware, we don’t have any information about the specifics, much like with our employees. But there may be some general themes that we’d be able to provide, on notice, that might be relevant.

Answer: The EAP is a confidential counselling service that is made available to individuals and delivered by a psychologist or relevant professional.

43. Airservices – Brisbane Airport Runway during Daylight Savings

Senator Janet Rice asked:

Senator RICE: […] The CEO of Brisbane Airport Corporation wrote to the chair of the AAB, saying: ‘I am pleased to advise you that Airservices has facilitated an official Notice to Airmen update to its operations recognising that Brisbane’s new runway is not to be used for flights over the city from 10pm-6am [5am during daylight saving periods],’ … But wasn’t there already a practice, since the new runway opened, not to use it for flights over the city between 10 pm and 6 am?
Mr Curran: I might provide this quite precisely on notice for you. Certainly, we seek the preferred runway mode between 10 pm and 6 am, which is the mode we discussed before, SODPROPS. There are certain weather conditions in which SODPROPS cannot be implemented, so it is the case that SODPROPS do not occur all the time.
Senator RICE: SODPROPS, in general, between 10 and six. But this notice is actually saying that, during daylight saving periods, it only operates until five. The act, in practice, actually means there is increased early morning noise over Brisbane during daylight saving periods.
Mr Curran: I would like to take that on notice. There is a related matter in regard to turboprops—non-jet aircraft that were departing early from Brisbane. We implemented a change last year to cease that being able to happen. That was one of the changes we implemented last year. I am not sure whether we’re talking about the same thing or something different.
Senator RICE: It seems to me that there were restrictions in place between 10 and six, and now we are being told that in fact during the daylight saving period they stop at five. In fact there is extra noise between five and six.
Mr Curran: That’s certainly not the direction that we’re working towards, in terms of reducing impact. I’d need to check the details of that letter from the Chief Executive Officer of Brisbane Airport Corporation to make sure I’m answering the question correctly.

Answer: Brisbane Airport does not operate on daylight savings time. Consistent with all airport operations, the Brisbane Airport Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) is based on local time and does not change when other states enter daylight savings time.

A Noise Abatement Procedure (NAP) relating to preferred runway use at night – 10pm to 6am local time – has been in place since the new parallel runway opened. This NAP restricts jet aircraft landing on the new runway when approaching over the city and taking off from the new runway when departing over the city. The new runway may be used for arrival or departure over the waters of Moreton Bay.

The NAP allowed departure of some turboprop aircraft between 5am and 6am from the new runway over the city. This aimed to clear some conflicting traffic to allow Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) to continue to operate for jet aircraft as the peak traffic period approaches. Engagement was undertaken based on recommendation 2.4 c) of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane to reduce the impact of aircraft operations during night-time periods which included removing the turboprop departure from the new runway. Turboprop aircraft can depart the legacy runway over the Lytton industrial estate to ensure that SODPROPS can continue to operate and to minimise noise impacts on the Brisbane community.

44. Airservices – SID Height Markers

Senator Janet Rice asked:

Senator RICE: You say that it’s available, but could you take on notice getting the analysis of how much higher the planes actually were over particular communities?
Mr Curran: Yes. We can provide the quarterly reports that we’ve published as well as the full-length departure noise benefit trial from Perth from 2012.

Answer: The noise improvement trial was recommended by the previously established Brisbane Airport Post Implementation Review Advisory Forum (BAPAF) based on community feedback it had received. The aim of the trial was to restrict the use of intersection departures off the new runway over the city. It did not extend to changing aircraft climb gradients or height requirements at particular locations.

The trial was undertaken on the basis that aircraft using the full length of the runway would gain altitude more quickly with the additional runway length compared with using a shorter departure from an intersection of the runway. The community requested this trial through BAPAF in the belief that intersection departures were creating more noise as aircraft would be at a lower altitude than using the full-length departures. The outcomes of the trial resulted in a less than one decibel difference as aircraft gained slightly higher altitudes earlier, but not sufficient altitude to make a perceptible noise difference over residential areas.

Following completion of the trial, the results were consulted with the Brisbane Airport Community Airspace Advisory Board (AAB) which replaced the previous BAPAF, who requested further investigation be undertaken to understand what the establishment of a minimum climb gradient or height requirement could mean for the trial results or noise improvements. This was completed by Airservices and the results were presented in November 2023. It was identified that to have a perceptible noise difference (greater than 3 decibels) at the first community overflown from the new runway (Ascot), aircraft would need to be 50 per cent higher. This would involve a climb gradient of 24 per cent. We engaged with airlines and were advised that this climb gradient is in excess of the capability of most aircraft. Aircraft that could not meet the climb gradient would have to be diverted off the Standard Instrument Departure, resulting in newly overflown communities.

The noise improvement trial ran from February 2022 to February 2023, with quarterly reports provided on the Brisbane Airport Flight Path Changes Post Implementation Review page on Engage Airservices.

The aircraft altitudes achieved during the trial are detailed in attached table.

45. Airservices – Breakdown of Expenditure on Consultants and Community Engagement Services

Senator Bridget McKenzie asked:

Senator McKENZIE: How much are we spending on consultants and community engagement services?
Mr Curran: Throughout 2023, I can give you the expenditure for our Brisbane activities. The total spend in relation to Brisbane was $373,017. I can give you some breakdown of that, if you wish.
Senator McKENZIE: On notice will be fine.

Answer: The figure of $373,017 detailed by Airservices at the hearing is for specific engagement activities for Brisbane, including newspaper and radio advertising and letterbox drops.

The total contract value issued in 2023 for consultants to support community engagement activity was $230,300 (excluding GST) for Brisbane. This included:

• $100,000 (excluding GST) for additional community engagement personnel to support
  engagement events; and
• $130,300 (excluding GST) to review and record feedback submissions.

46. Airservices – Total FTE for Community Engagement and Consultation

Senator Bridget McKenzie asked:

Senator McKENZIE: I want to go to community engagement. How many FTEs do you currently employ for community engagement and consultation?
Mr Curran: I will have to take on notice the total FTE for community engagement.

Answer: Airservices Australia’s community engagement team consists of 11 full time equivalent (FTE).

47. Airservices – SODPROPS data for Brisbane Airport

Senator Matthew Canavan asked:

Senator CANAVAN: […] Are you able to provide the SODPROPS data to us for both day and night-time operations in a spreadsheet format for the Brisbane airport since the last estimates?
Mr Harfield: Yes, we can, Senator.
Senator CANAVAN: Just to be clear, that should include the dates, the number of SODPROPS flights and hours of operations of SODPROPS as well.

Answer: Please refer to Committee Question Number 55 (SQ23-004806) from the 2023-2024 Supplementary Budget Estimates hearing for Brisbane SODPROPS data for the period 1 June 2023 – 30 September 2023.

Brisbane SODPROPS data for the period 1 October 2023 to 29 February 2024 is provided in Attachment A.

49. Airservices – SODPROPS data for Brisbane

Senator Matthew Canavan asked:

Senator CANAVAN: I don’t know exactly what the metric should be. I would have thought there would be some measure here that you benchmark and say, ‘This many people for this amount of time were impacted previously, and now because of what we’ve done we’ve achieved a reduction in X amount.’
Mr Curran: Perhaps to convert these into percentages might be more meaningful for committee members. The data I have to share with you today is the total minutes it has been available that we’ve used SODPROPS— the change that I was talking about—which was 27,132 for the second half of last calendar year. Those are the sort of meaningful metrics that we can give to communities. We can also give those by time of day—daytime, evening and nighttime. And typically when we find and engage with communities there are more sensitive hours obviously than others. They are very interested in those kinds of details as well. We do publish this data on our website on a quarterly basis.
Senator CANAVAN: Are you saying 27,000 hours you’ve used these SODPROPS?
Mr Curran: Yes.
Senator CANAVAN: Am I right to say those 27 hours previously—that’s over a year, is it?
Mr Curran: It’s over six months from June to December 2023.
Senator CANAVAN: If without the use of these SODPROPS, would those 27,000 hours have been flying over people’s houses?
Mr Curran: I don’t think we can just draw that straight conclusion. We have had SODPROPS in use. We’ve sought to use it more, and so there’s probably another level of detail we would need to provide you on notice.
Senator CANAVAN: I am trying to assess what we have done or the impact. That doesn’t work either. Maybe you can take that on notice. Can we get an estimate of what has been the impact of the changes on people living in Brisbane?
[…]
Senator CANAVAN: You said you used SODPROPS before. […] What was it for the six months for the second half of 2022?
Mr Curran: I would have to take that on notice.
Senator CANAVAN: Can you get me going back to 2019, before COVID. Once we get too far back we will start getting into the COVID period. Can you get me the last six months of 2019 and going forward?
Mr Curran: I can’t go earlier than the runway opening, which was in July 2020, because we weren’t using that mode of operation. I can go back to the runway opening in July 2020.
Senator CANAVAN: Yes, okay, because it’s still coming up as an issue, that’s all.

Answer: The use of Simultaneous Opposite Direction Parallel Runway Operations (SODPROPS) in Brisbane aims to maximise flights over water and minimise the impact on the community.

The following table provides data on total SODPROPS availability and movements since the introduction of the new runway. SODPROPS was not possible prior to the new runway commencing operations.

In general, 50% of all operations in Brisbane will be over water due to the orientation of the parallel runways – either arrivals occur over water and departures over land, or arrivals over land and departures over water, depending on the prevailing wind conditions at the time.

SODPROPS seeks to increase the percentage of over water operations by having both arrivals and departures occur over water, when conditions allow. SODPROPS is the preferred operating mode at night, reducing the impact on communities at sensitive times.

The impact of using SODPROPS mode since runway opening in 2020 is that approximately 13,000 flights did not operate over communities close to the airport.

128. AIRSERVICES – Community Engagement

Senator Bridget McKenzie asked:

1. Can you provide a list of all 2023-24 engagement projects or programs you have ongoing?
2. When was your last community pop up event? Where was it?
3. How does Airservices compare value for money on time performance?
4. How much of the annual budget is on stakeholder engagement?

Answer:

1. 2023-24 Engagement Projects in progress as at 29 February 2024:

• Flight Path Changes:
  o Noise Action Plan for Brisbane;
  o Western Sydney International Airport – supporting Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts;
  o Melbourne Aircraft Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) Trial;
  o Gold Coast Airport Noise Monitoring Review;
  o Sunshine Coast Airport Airspace Changes Post Implementation Review;
  o Hobart Community and Industry Suggested Alternatives;
  o Port Lincoln Airport – New Arrivals Approach to Runway 01; and
  o Increased Surveillance Services for 4 Towers – Hobart, Launceston, Mackay and Rockhampton.
• National PFAS Management Program (landholder engagement):
  o Rockhampton Detailed Site Investigation (DSI)
  o Gold Coast DSI;
  o Launceston DSI;
  o Melbourne DSI;
  o Hobart DSI; and
  o Canberra DSI.

2. Most recent community event was on 20 January 2024: Western Sydney International Airport drop-in session at Arncliffe
3. The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) reports the on time performance of major domestic airlines each month. Airservices also reports this data in its Australian Aviation Network Overview reports. On time performance may be affected by a range of factors including weather, airlines, airports, and air navigation service providers.
4. The 2023-24 Airservices Community Engagement business unit budget is $3,330,260 inclusive of resourcing, advertising and venue hire.
   Larger programs also include community engagement budget (inclusive of resourcing, advertising and venue hire):

• Noise Action Plan for Brisbane: $1,850,000;
• Western Sydney International Airport: $1,100,000; and
• National PFAS Management Plan: $497,000.

132. AIRSERVICES – Continuous Descent Technology (CDT)

Senator Bridget McKenzie asked:

1. Does Airservices have any priority list for the implementation of CDT, if so, please provide a list in order of priority?
2. What airports are planned to have CDT implemented over the next ten years and by what date?
3. Are there any constraints on implementing CDT at all major airports and what, if any, are they?
4. Will CDT be implemented at Sydney Airport? If so, by what date?

Answer:

1. Following is the list for implementing Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) in the order of priority:
   a. Melbourne
   b. Sydney
   c. Perth
   d. Brisbane
2. The initial plan to implement CDO, is for 4 high-density airports listed below. Based on the outcome of the trials on these initial 4 airports, expansion of the CDO will be considered for other airports.
   a. Melbourne – trials commenced in December 2022, with a plan to transition into routine operations in Quarter two (Q2) 2024;
   b. Sydney (only specific to arrivals from oceanic) – trials planned to commence in Q4-2024;
   c. Perth – trials planned to commence in Q4-2024; and
   d. Brisbane (specific to arrivals from oceanic) – trials planned to commence in 2025.
3. Complexity of the airspace (e.g. current airspace design, special use airspace, flight paths, volume/mixture of traffic etc.) can constrain CDO’s implementation.
4. Please see response to question 2b.

134. AIRSERVICES – Brisbane Suburbs noise complaints

Senator Janet Rice asked:

• Please provide an updated list of the suburbs where complainants reside that have contacted the Airservices Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS) in relation to Brisbane Airport or Archerfield Airport over the period July 2020 to February 2024.
• What budget has been allocated to the resource the NCIS team in the last and in this financial year?
• What proportion of the budget and NCIS resources is going to deal with complaints from Greater Brisbane considering that the volume of complaints is greater than all other complains across the country combined?

Answer:

1. Attachment A lists the suburbs of complainants that have contacted the Noise Complaints and Information Service (NCIS) in relation to Brisbane Airport over the period July 2020 to February 2024 [227 suburbs].
2. Attachment B lists the suburbs of complainants that have contacted the NCIS in relation to Archerfield Airport over the period July 2020 to February 2024 [153 suburbs].
3. The 2023-24 Airservices NCIS budget is $1,122,134. In 2022-23 the NCIS budget was $765,505.
4. Approximately 37 per cent of NCIS resources were allocated to Brisbane complaints in
5. This is based on the proportion of total complaints responded to nationally and those responded to for Brisbane.

135. AIRSERVICES – SODPROPS extended weekend hours

Senator Janet Rice asked:

From 7 May 2022, Airservices announced the SODPROPS Weekend Extension Trial, which reintroduced SODPROPS from 6-8am Sat/Sun and 8pm-10pm Sat.

• Why has Airservices stopped producing reports on this trial for more than 12 months now?
• How often have ATCs actually been able to put Brisbane Airport into SODPROPS mode during those extended weekend hours over the last 12 months?
• Please provide the missing data in the same format as in the 2022 quarterly reports, including:
  • Total hours of SODPROPS between 6am – 8am on weekends
  • Number of flights directed over the bay between 6am – 8am on weekends
  • Total hours of SODPROPS between 8pm – 10pm on weekends
  • Number of flights directed over the bay between 8pm – 10pm on weekends
  • Total hours SODPROPS was used over a 24 hour period
  • Number of flights directed over the bay during SODPROPS operations.

Answer:

• Reporting on the trial ceased when the trial ended in February 2023. The trial enabled more aircraft to operate over water and therefore away from communities, and as a result, it was determined to adopt the trial on a permanent basis, where weather and safety conditions permitted its use.
  As part of the Noise Action Plan for Brisbane, recommendation 1.4, Airservices is developing public reporting to increase transparency of operations which will include SODPROPS use, Noise Abatement Procedures use, aircraft tracking and altitude and noise complainant and complaint reporting.
• The total hours and number of aircraft movements achieved during the ongoing extended SODPROPS hours over the past 12 months (1 February 2023 to 31 January 2024) are provided below.

To operate SODPROPS, specific weather conditions are required including:

• dry runway;
• less than 5 knots in either direction (tailwind);
• cloud base not lower than 2500ft; and
• visibility of a minimum of 8km.

As a low capacity mode, total traffic of less than 20 arrivals per hour is also required to operate in this mode.