Lowering the Base of Class E Airspace on the East Coast

17 NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE - The Airspace Change Proposal (ACP) has been submitted to CASA for their review.

17 AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts are pleased to advise the Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast (ADS-B) Rebate Program opened for applications at 9am Friday, 12 August 2022. Please see the link below:

https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/automatic-dependent-surveillance-broadcast-rebate-program

10 AUGUST 2022 UPDATE - Engagement Update document and a copy of the Industry Briefing pack uploaded under Consultation Update 10/08/2022.

Airservices would like to thank all airspace users and aviation industry stakeholders who provided feedback on our proposal to lower the base of Class E airspace along the east coast of Australia.

We began consultation with industry on this proposal throughout January and April 2021. We have incorporated industry feedback into a final proposed design to lower the base of Class E from 8,500ft to 6,500ft above mean sea level along the east coast between Melbourne and Cairns.

The proposal will enhance safety of Australian airspace by leveraging existing infrastructure and resources without increasing the ongoing cost of service provision.

While Australia’s airspace architecture has remained relatively unchanged over the last two decades, the traffic volume and airspace complexity along the east coast has grown significantly. The primary driver for the proposal is to reduce the collision risk between Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) aircraft and support pilots to reduce reliance on visual sighting of aircraft and self-separation.

The volume of final proposed Class E airspace has been optimised to limit the change impact on non-transponder equipped Visual Flight Rules (VFR) operators that could not obtain an exemption. This forms our commitment to facilitate equitable access for all airspace users, while improving the overall industry safety outcomes.

Fitment of upgraded surveillance equipment for VFR operators will enhance safety for their operations as well as the safety of other airspace users. Applications for the ADS-B Rebate Scheme are expected to open in August 2022, and further updates on the status of the program can be found at Automatic Dependent Surveillance (ADS-B) Broadcast Rebate Program | business.gov.au.

Collision Risk Modelling by Airservices shows that the proposed airspace change also lowers the calculated collision risk per flight hour for IFR and VFR aircraft in the remaining volume of Class G airspace.

We continue to work closely with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, and CASA to ensure any airspace change proposal (ACP) aligns with Australia’s national airspace policy and the proposed Australian Future Airspace Framework while maximising overall industry benefits.

Airservices plans to submit an ACP with the supporting safety and economic impact analyses, and the insights from industry engagement for CASA’s review early in the third quarter of 2022, following the conclusion of the engagement period.

We invite industry to ask questions and provide feedback through the Airservices Engage website by Friday 12 August 2022. The resulting insights from this final engagement process will be provided to CASA as part of the ACP submission.

Implementation of the proposal will be subject to the outcome of CASA’s ACP review and associated regulatory process. An implementation date will be determined in consultation with CASA, and as soon as that determination has been made, we will advise industry through our normal consultation channels.

Contact

If you have any questions or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact our team by emailing contactAMP@AirservicesAustralia.com