Aerodrome Fees Act 2002

Aerodrome Fees Act 2002

This Act may be cited as the Aerodrome Fees Act 2002.

This Act commences on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.

In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –

aerodrome means an area of land or water (including any buildings, installations and equipment) intended for use wholly or partly for the arrival, departure or movement of aircraft, but does not include an aerodrome excluded by regulation from the ambit of this definition;

aircraft means an aircraft registered under Part III of the Civil Aviation Regulations;

Aircraft Register means the register of Australian aircraft established and kept under Part III of the Civil Aviation Regulations;

Civil Aviation Regulations means the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 of the Commonwealth, as amended from time to time;

holder of the certificate of registration, in relation to an aircraft, means the person whose name is entered in the Aircraft Register as the holder of the certificate of registration of that aircraft.

This Act binds the Crown in right of Tasmania and, so far as the legislative power of Parliament permits, in all its other capacities.

This Act does not limit or affect contractual or other powers that would exist apart from this Act to charge and recover aerodrome arrival, departure, parking or other fees.

A person who operates an aerodrome may fix a fee for any or all of the following:the arrival of an aircraft at the aerodrome; the departure of an aircraft from the aerodrome; the parking of an aircraft at the aerodrome; a training flight approach to the aerodrome; the carrying out of an activity, or the provision of a service, at the aerodrome directly related to the arrival, departure, parking or training flight approach of an aircraft; late payment of a fee fixed under this section.

If an aerodrome operator fixes fees under this section, the aerodrome operator must publish a notice setting out the fees in the Gazette and in – a daily newspaper circulating in the State; or a periodical publication prescribed by the regulations.

A fee fixed under this section – may vary according to different factors or to the circumstances in which it is to apply; and comes into force on the day specified in the notice of the fee published under this section, being a day not earlier than the day on which the notice is published.

For the purposes of this section, an aircraft makes a training flight approach to an aerodrome if the aircraft makes a planned descent to, or in the immediate proximity of, a runway at the aerodrome (whether or not the aircraft touches the runway) during a flight undertaken for the training or testing of a person as a pilot or member of a flight crew.

Subject to subsection (2), if a fee fixed under this Act is incurred in respect of an aircraft, the holder of the certificate of registration of the aircraft is liable for payment of the fee to the aerodrome operator.

The holder of the certificate of registration of an aircraft may, by agreement in writing, assign to another person the liability for the payment of fees incurred under this Act in respect of that aircraft.

An agreement may assign any liability for fees incurred under this Act in respect of the aircraft for the use of a specified aerodrome during a future period specified in the agreement.

The agreement is to be signed by or on behalf of – the holder of the certificate of registration; and the person to whom the liability for fees is assigned.

Unless the agreement otherwise specifies, the person to whom the liability for fees is assigned is to notify any relevant aerodrome operator of the agreement.

The operator of an aerodrome may recover a fee fixed under this Act, by action in a court of competent jurisdiction, as a debt due to the aerodrome operator from the person liable under this Act for payment of the fee.

The Governor may make regulations for the purposes of this Act.

Until provision is made in relation to this Act by order under section 4 of the Administrative Arrangements Act 1990 –

the administration of this Act is assigned to the Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources; and the department responsible to the Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources in relation to the administration of this Act is the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources.