Legal/Professional & Govt Affairs (LEG/PGA)
AFAP Advocacy and Submissions
IFALPA Working Papers for the 42nd ICAO Assembly
The AFAP has recently reached out to our government aviation agencies to seek official support from Australia at the next ICAO assembly for the four IFALPA Working Papers, which are:
- Positive Safety Culture (PSC) working paper;
- Fatigue Management (FM) working paper;
- Social Sustainability (SS) working paper; and
- Extended Minimum Crew Operations (eMCO) working paper;
These papers seek to have ICAO place resources into these topic areas, which in turn help all contracting states to ICAO (including Australia) progress reforms, policy, and guidance material for general use.
AFAP has joined with our AusALPA partners, Civil Air and the FAAA in a coauthored letter to the Minister and Department advocating for Australia to officially cosponsor the working papers. S&T officer Lachlan Gray also provided a briefing on the papers to CASA’s Executive Manager - Legal, International and Regulatory Affairs.
Departmental Policy Consultations and Advocacy
National Airports Safeguarding - GA infrastructure protection submission.
AFAP's Safety and Technical (S&T) team is contributing to the development of a key submission titled "Unlocking General Aviation: Implementing the Senate’s Vision in Line with the Aviation White Paper" (July 2025).
This position paper, being prepared by a coalition of general aviation stakeholders, addresses the critical erosion of GA infrastructure at federally leased airports, drawing on findings from the 2022 Senate Inquiry and the 2024 Aviation White Paper. It highlights systemic issues such as privatisation-driven displacement of GA operations, opaque master planning processes, and inadequate regulatory protections, while proposing urgent reforms including amendments to the Airports Act 1996 by 2027, an independent review of head leases, and a national GA protection strategy.
The submission calls for safeguarding GA's role in pilot training, regional connectivity, and national resilience, and is aimed at pressuring the Australian Government for immediate legislative action to prevent irreversible sector decline.