{"id":"aerodrome-fees-act-1998","name":"Aerodrome Fees Act 1998","slug":"aerodrome-fees-act-1998","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"sa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":31472,"registerId":"sa-aerodrome-fees-act-1998-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Aerodrome Fees Act 1998","content":"South Australia\nAerodrome Fees Act 1998\nAn Act to provide for the fixing and recovery of aerodrome fees relating to aircraft activities.\n\nContents\n1\tShort title\n3\tInterpretation\n4\tAct binds Crown\n5\tAct does not affect other powers with respect to fees\n6\tAerodrome operator may fix fees for arrivals, departures etc\n7\tLiability for payment of fees\n8\tRecovery as debt\n9\tRegulations\nLegislative history\n\nThe Parliament of South Australia enacts as follows:\n1—Short title\nThis Act may be cited as the Aerodrome Fees Act 1998.\n3—Interpretation\n\t(1)\tIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—\naerodrome 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;\naircraft means an aircraft registered under Part III of the Civil Aviation Regulations;\nAircraft Register means the register of Australian aircraft called by that name established and kept under Part III of the Civil Aviation Regulations;\nCivil Aviation Regulations means the Civil Aviation Regulations of the Commonwealth;\nholder of a 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.\n\t(2)\tIn this Act, a reference to Commonwealth regulations includes a reference to—\n\t(a)\tthe regulations as amended and in force for the time being; and\n\t(b)\tregulations made in substitution for the regulations.\n\t(3)\tFor the purposes of this Act, 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.\n4—Act binds Crown\nThis Act binds the Crown.\n5—Act does not affect other powers with respect to fees\nThe provisions of this Act do 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.\n6—Aerodrome operator may fix fees for arrivals, departures etc\n\t(1)\tA person who operates an aerodrome (an aerodrome operator) may fix a fee for—\n\t(a)\tthe arrival of an aircraft at the aerodrome; or\n\t(b)\tthe departure of an aircraft from the aerodrome; or\n\t(c)\tthe parking of an aircraft at the aerodrome; or\n\t(d)\ta training flight approach to the aerodrome; or\n\t(e)\tthe 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; or\n\t(f)\tlate payment of a fee fixed under this section.\n\t(2)\tIf an aerodrome operator fixes fees under this section, a notice setting out the fees must be published by the aerodrome operator in the Gazette and—\n\t(a)\ton its website; or\n\t(b)\tin any periodical publication prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection; or\n\t(c)\tin a daily newspaper circulating in the State.\n\t(3)\tFees fixed under this section—\n\t(a)\tmay vary according to different factors or to the circumstances in which they are to apply;\n\t(b)\tcome into force on the day specified by the aerodrome operator in the notice of the fees published under this section, being a day not earlier than the day on which the notice is published.\n7—Liability for payment of fees\n\t(1)\tIf a fee fixed under this Act is incurred in respect of an aircraft, the holder of the certificate of registration of the aircraft is, subject to subsection (2), liable for payment of the fee to the aerodrome operator.\n\t(2)\tThe holder of the certificate of registration of an aircraft may assign the liability for the payment of fees incurred under this Act in respect of the aircraft to another person by agreement in writing.\n\t(3)\tThe agreement will be effective to 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.\n\t(4)\tThe agreement must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the holder of the certificate of registration, the person to whom the liability for fees is assigned and the aerodrome operator for the aerodrome to which the agreement relates.\n8—Recovery as debt\nAn aerodrome operator 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.\n9—Regulations\nThe Governor may make such regulations as are contemplated by, or necessary or expedient for the purposes of, this Act.\nLegislative history\nNotes\n\t•\tFor further information relating to the Act and subordinate legislation made under the Act see the Index of South Australian Statutes or www.legislation.sa.gov.au.\nPrincipal Act and amendments\nNew entries appear in bold.\nYear\nNo\nTitle\nAssent\nCommencement\n1998\n45\nAerodrome Fees Act 1998\n3.9.1998\n1.11.1998 (Gazette 24.9.1998 p930)\n2019\n25\nStatutes Amendment and Repeal (Simplify) Act 2019\n3.10.2019\nPt 2 (s 4)—6.4.2020 (Gazette 2.4.2020 p631)\nProvisions amended\nNew entries appear in bold.\nEntries that relate to provisions that have been deleted appear in italics.\nProvision\nHow varied\nCommencement\ns 2\nomitted under Legislation Revision and Publication Act 2002\n\ns 6\n\n\ns 6(2)\nsubstituted by 25/2019 s 4\n6.4.2020\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Amendments recorded in the legislative history updated publication options for fee notices (s6(2) substituted by 2019 amendment) and editorial revisions occurred, but the Act’s core scope—who may set fees, who is liable, and how fees are recovered—remains unchanged. The changes altered procedural publication mechanics rather than substantive fee-setting or liability rules."},"complexity_factors":["Short, single-purpose statute focused on fee-setting and recovery (whole Act).","Clear primary liability rule: holder of aircraft registration liable for fees (s7(1)).","Explicit statutory route to assign liability requiring a tripartite written and signed agreement (s7(2)–(4)) — creates a modest documentary compliance burden.","Discretion to fix a range of fee types (arrivals, departures, parking, training approaches, related services, late payment) vested in aerodrome operator (s6(1)) — concentrates decision authority with operator.","Mandatory publication requirement for fee notices with alternative media options (Gazette plus website/periodical/daily newspaper) — operational compliance and notice timing constraint (s6(2)–(3)).","Recovery mechanism is ordinary debt action in court — legal enforcement route is conventional but involves litigation cost (s8).","Preservation of other contractual or statutory charging powers means overlap with existing arrangements may require interpretation in practice (s5).","References to Commonwealth Civil Aviation Regulations and Aircraft Register create cross‑jurisdictional links that may affect application (s3).","Regulations power for Governor allows future detail or change in operation (s9).","Act binds the Crown, so it applies to government-owned aircraft/aerodromes (s4)."],"plain_english_summary":"This Act lets a person who operates an aerodrome set and publish fees for aircraft arrivals, departures, parking, training-flight approaches and related services, and recover unpaid fees as a debt (see s6, s8). The registered holder of an aircraft’s certificate is primarily liable for those fees but may transfer that liability by a written, signed agreement that also involves the aerodrome operator (see s7). The Act permits regulations and binds the Crown (ss9, 4)."},"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope assessment is not possible — the full text of the legislation was not retrievable. No comparison between original intent and current provisions could be made."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was available for analysis — the source URL returned a 404 Page Not Found error","Complexity cannot be meaningfully assessed without the actual content of the Act","Score of 1 reflects absence of data, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"## ⚠️ Content Unavailable\n\nThe actual text of the **Aerodrome Fees Act 1998** (South Australia) could not be retrieved. The link provided returned a **'Page Not Found'** error from the South Australian legislation website, likely due to a website restructure in March 2026 that broke older hyperlinks.\n\n**What we can say from the title alone:**\n- This is a South Australian law dealing with fees charged at aerodromes (airports and airstrips)\n- It likely governs who can charge landing fees, parking fees, or other aerodrome-related charges, and how those fees are set or regulated\n- It would most likely affect **aircraft operators, airlines, private pilots, and aerodrome owners/operators** in South Australia\n\n**To access the actual legislation**, visit [www.legislation.sa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.sa.gov.au) and search directly for *'Aerodrome Fees Act 1998'*."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"Unauthenticated. Configure AI_GATEWAY_API_KEY or use a provider module. Learn more: https://ai-sdk.dev/unauthenticated-ai-gateway","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The legislation remains tightly focused on its original purpose of enabling aerodrome operators to fix and recover fees for aircraft activities. The only amendment since 1998 (2019) merely modernised the publication requirements to include websites, without expanding the substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Only 9 sections total, with section 2 omitted entirely","5 defined terms in the interpretation section (aerodrome, aircraft, Aircraft Register, Civil Aviation Regulations, holder of a certificate of registration)","Minimal cross-referencing—only internal references to other sections of this Act","Simple conditional logic: one main exception in section 7(2) allowing assignment of liability via written agreement","Straightforward procedural requirements (publication in Gazette plus one other venue, written agreements for liability assignment)","No nested exceptions or complex definitional chains","2019 amendment was minor—only updated publication requirements in section 6(2) to include websites"],"plain_english_summary":"This law lets airport operators in South Australia charge fees for planes using their facilities. Here's what it does:\n\n**Who can charge fees?**\n- Anyone who runs an airport (called an 'aerodrome operator') can set fees for planes arriving, leaving, parking, or doing training approaches at their airport.\n\n**What fees can be charged?**\n- Landing fees\n- Take-off fees\n- Parking fees\n- Fees for training flights (even if the plane doesn't actually land)\n- Fees for services related to these activities\n- Late payment penalties\n\n**Who has to pay?**\n- Usually, the registered owner of the aircraft (the person whose name is on the official aircraft register) is responsible for paying.\n- However, the owner can transfer this responsibility to someone else (like an airline or charter company) through a written agreement that all parties sign.\n\n**How are fees set?**\n- Airport operators decide their own fee amounts and can vary them based on different circumstances.\n- Fees must be published in the Government Gazette and either on the operator's website, in a prescribed publication, or in a daily newspaper.\n- Fees can't start earlier than the publication date.\n\n**How are fees collected?**\n- If someone doesn't pay, the airport operator can sue them in court to recover the money as a debt.\n\n**Other key points:**\n- The law applies to government entities as well as private operators.\n- It doesn't stop airports from using contracts or other legal methods to charge fees—this law just provides one clear way to do it."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/aerodrome-fees-act-1998","history":"/api/acts/aerodrome-fees-act-1998/history","analysis":"/api/acts/aerodrome-fees-act-1998/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/aerodrome-fees-act-1998/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/aerodrome-fees-act-1998/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/aerodrome-fees-act-1998/documents"}}