Post Implementation Review - Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System Environmental Assessment

This project has concluded

Airservices has commenced the Post Implementation Review of our environmental assessment and community engagement associated with the implementation of the Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System (ILS) arrival procedures, including Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs).

To read about the ILS and the NAPs please refer to information in our Resources and FAQs.

What are we doing?

Airservices is conducting a Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System (ILS) arrival procedures.

Why are we doing a PIR?

Airservices conducts Post Implementation Reviews into airspace changes to verify assumptions made about potential environmental and community impacts, and to assess the effectiveness of the change implementation. The outcomes inform future changes and improve the overall change management process.

As part of the conditions of approval for the Gold Coast ILS, Airservices must undertake a PIR of the Environmental Assessment.

What will the PIR include?

To ensure approval conditions are met, the PIR will include review of:

  • Airservices 2014 environmental assessment of the ILS flight path, including assumptions and forecast noise levels

In addition, Airservices will also review:

  • application of Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs) for arrival procedures to the ILS
  • community engagement activities and information about forecast noise levels and NAPs.

When will the PIR happen?

To inform the PIR, we undertook short term noise monitoring between October 2019 and February 2020. To learn more click here.

We are also reviewing air traffic data to confirm when the ILS was used over this period and if the NAPs requirements were adhered to.

From 23 July to 20 August 2020, we are seeking community feedback on:

  • the effectiveness of our communication about NAPs to determine if we were clear about what they would do to reduce noise impacts for the community
  • if the community experience of the ILS usage and NAPs application has been consistent with what was communicated.

In late August a draft PIR report will be made available for a two week public review period. We will then release the final PIR report.

If you would like to be notified of the report's availability, please register with Engage Airservices here and subscribe to project updates by clicking the Stay Informed button on this page.


Airservices has commenced the Post Implementation Review of our environmental assessment and community engagement associated with the implementation of the Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System (ILS) arrival procedures, including Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs).

To read about the ILS and the NAPs please refer to information in our Resources and FAQs.

What are we doing?

Airservices is conducting a Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System (ILS) arrival procedures.

Why are we doing a PIR?

Airservices conducts Post Implementation Reviews into airspace changes to verify assumptions made about potential environmental and community impacts, and to assess the effectiveness of the change implementation. The outcomes inform future changes and improve the overall change management process.

As part of the conditions of approval for the Gold Coast ILS, Airservices must undertake a PIR of the Environmental Assessment.

What will the PIR include?

To ensure approval conditions are met, the PIR will include review of:

  • Airservices 2014 environmental assessment of the ILS flight path, including assumptions and forecast noise levels

In addition, Airservices will also review:

  • application of Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs) for arrival procedures to the ILS
  • community engagement activities and information about forecast noise levels and NAPs.

When will the PIR happen?

To inform the PIR, we undertook short term noise monitoring between October 2019 and February 2020. To learn more click here.

We are also reviewing air traffic data to confirm when the ILS was used over this period and if the NAPs requirements were adhered to.

From 23 July to 20 August 2020, we are seeking community feedback on:

  • the effectiveness of our communication about NAPs to determine if we were clear about what they would do to reduce noise impacts for the community
  • if the community experience of the ILS usage and NAPs application has been consistent with what was communicated.

In late August a draft PIR report will be made available for a two week public review period. We will then release the final PIR report.

If you would like to be notified of the report's availability, please register with Engage Airservices here and subscribe to project updates by clicking the Stay Informed button on this page.


This project has concluded

  • Final Post Implementation Report released

    We have released the final Gold Coast Airport Runway 14 ILS Post Implementation Review Report.

    Access a copy of the final report here.

    This follows a public comment period between 4-18 September 2020.

    We would like to thank everyone who participated in the PIR public comment period by providing comments. We were pleased to receive several detailed submissions. Based on the feedback we have updated the report including:

    • adjusted the wording in Recommended Action 2 for clarity
    • provided comparison with the estimated ILS usage information from the Gold Coast Airport ILS MDP
    • provided additional information regarding the slight change in noise exposure in the Broadbeach area

    The report includes a review of:

    • Airservices 2014 environmental assessment of the ILS flight path, including assumptions and forecast noise levels
    • Current operations for arrivals to Runway 14, including the results of actual noise monitoring
    • Application of Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs) for arrival procedures to the ILS
    • Community engagement activities and information about forecast noise levels and NAPs.

    The following recommended actions have been identified in response to the PIR findings:

    Recommended Action 1

    We will provide updated information derived from this report in a succinct and accessible format to the community regarding the use of preferred approaches to RWY14, the distribution of arriving traffic across various procedures, and the associated noise exposure.

    Recommended Action 2

    We will review the arrival flight paths to the ILS for RWY14 to identify possible noise improvements for the community. This will include consultation with the Airport Noise Abatement Consultative Committee (ANACC) and Gold Coast Community Aviation Consultation Group (CACG) to identify safe, feasible and appropriate proposals. This will also include engagement with the Gold Coast community.

    Recommended Action 3

    1. We will include a broader mix of aircraft types in all future noise modelling and flight path change considerations to ensure a representative assessment.
    2. We will add piston aircraft utilisation of the ILS to future reporting.

    Recommended Action 4

    1. We will continue to work closely with airlines and operators to ensure correct application of the priorities as per NAPs.
    2. We will provide information derived from this report in a succinct and accessible format to the community to explain how the NAPs are achieving the AAT conditions and intent.
    3. While the NAPs are an aviation operational document for pilots, with language and instructions specific to this audience and constrained by the aviation rule set, we will review the specific community concerns raised prior to, and as part of, this PIR regarding the wording of the NAPs. We will consult with the ANACC regarding this review and provide briefings to the Gold Coast CACG. Findings will be made available on the Airservices website.

    Recommended Action 5

    We will consult with the ANACC regarding the format of future reporting on the ILS usage to ensure information is transparent and available for the Gold Coast CACG and ANACC meetings. We will provide this information on the Airservices website.

    Recommended Action 6

    We will provide a briefing to the CACG and ANACC on our ‘Community Engagement Framework’.

    Recommended Action 7

    When predicting noise levels from aircraft using specific instrument procedures designed to be used in adverse weather conditions, we will make specific allowance for increased ambient noise levels in future EIAs (due to the influence of high winds, rain and thunder on ambient noise levels). Information on these allowances will be included in community information. This will improve the accuracy of noise exposure forecast modelling.

  • Draft PIR Report comment period closed

    The comment period for our draft Gold Coast Airport Runway 14 ILS Post Implementation Review Report has now closed.

    Thank you for taking the time to submit your comments.

    We are currently considering the information provided in feedback submissions.

    We will release the Final PIR report shortly.

  • Draft PIR Report Released

    We would like to thank everyone who participated in the Post Implementation Review by providing comments and submissions.

    During the community engagement period, there were 177 visits to this project page. We received 14 comments and 3 more detailed submissions.

    Feedback was analysed and broadly related to the following:

    • effectiveness of communication about NAPs
    • community experience of the ILS (including NAPs)
    • community engagement experience
    • ILS reporting.


    The draft Gold Coast Airport Runway 14 ILS Post Implementation Review Report includes a review of:

    • Airservices 2014 environmental assessment of the ILS flight path, including assumptions and forecast noise levels
    • current operations for arrivals to Runway 14, including the results of actual noise monitoring
    • application of Noise Abatement Procedures (NAPs) for arrival procedures to the ILS
    • community engagement activities and information about forecast noise levels and NAPs.


    The draft Report is provided for public review for 2 weeks from Friday 4 September 2020 to Friday 18 September 2020 (midnight AEST).

    You can access a copy of the draft Report here.

    If you would like to submit comments on the draft report, please do so here.


  • Comment period closed

    The comment period for our Post Implementation Review (PIR) of the Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System (ILS) arrival procedures has now closed.

    Thank you for taking the time to submit your comments.

    We will release a draft PIR report shortly.

  • Participate in the Post Implementation Review by providing a comment

    How can I get involved?

    Click here to review our NAPs community engagement materials.

    Provide your feedback by:

    • Contacting your community representatives on the Gold Coast Airport Community Aviation Consultation Group (cacg@gcal.com.au) or the Airport Noise Abatement Consultative Committee (anacc@gcal.com.au)
    • Submitting your comments directly to us here
    • Posting your comments to Airservices Community Engagement, Locked Bag 747, QLD 4009

    If you require assistance with accessing materials, including translation into other languages, please contact us here.

    Comments about noise monitoring and flight path changes are outside the scope of this PIR and will be referred to the CACG and ANACC, as appropriate.

  • Coming soon!

    Airservices will shortly commence the Post Implementation Review of our environmental assessment and community engagement associated with the implementation of the Gold Coast Airport Instrument Landing System arrival procedures, including Noise Abatement Procedures.

    Select Stay Informed on this project page to receive updates on this activity.