{"id":"BILL-r7471","name":"Aviation Consumer Protection Levy (Collection) Bill 2026","slug":"aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026","collection":"bill","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":446007,"registerId":"commonwealth-BILL-r7471-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-05-05","status":"introduced","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[],"analysis":{"summary":{"status_summary":"The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on 1 April 2026 and referred to the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee with a report due on 19 June 2026.","complexity_score":3,"likely_questions":["What is the next stage for the bill after the committee reports?","Where can the explanatory memorandum be accessed?"],"complexity_factors":["Referral to Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee","No proposed amendments circulated"],"plain_english_summary":"The bill establishes the legal framework for collecting an Aviation Consumer Protection Levy, setting out how the levy will be gathered and who is responsible. It primarily affects airlines, airport operators (who may collect or remit the charge), regulators and air passengers if costs are passed on. It matters because, if enacted, it enables formal levy collection tied to aviation consumer protections and could influence ticket prices and industry compliance."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":6,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Unable to determine definitively whether this draft departs from the legislation’s original intent because the original instrument or baseline policy text has not been provided. Based on the bill’s short title and standard drafting practice, the bill appears narrowly focused on collection mechanics rather than expanding substantive consumer protection obligations. If the bill contains broad delegated powers, new exemptions or revenue‑uses that extend beyond mere collection, those would constitute an expansion of scope — supply the bill text and I will identify any such changes and cite sections."},"complexity_factors":["Title and purpose specific to collection only (separate collection bill often cross-references substantive levy Act)","Likely multiple defined terms (collector, payer, fare, passenger, flight types) — typically 20+ defined terms","Cross-references to existing revenue and aviation statutes (e.g. Taxation Administration Act, Customs/Border Acts, aviation consumer protection legislation)","Multiple conditional rules (exemptions, refunds, transit exceptions, infant/diplomat exceptions)","Compliance machinery: reporting, record-keeping, audit, interest and penalty provisions (adds administrative complexity)","Transitional and savings provisions creating temporal conditions and possible grandfathering","Potential for delegated rule-making or determinations (ministerial or Commissioner powers)"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this bill appears to do (preliminary and conditional)**\n\n- Creates a legal mechanism to collect an \"Aviation Consumer Protection Levy\" (ACPL) from air travel transactions and to remit those amounts to the Commonwealth. In practice this usually means levying a small fee on passengers or tickets and requiring airlines or ticketing agents to collect and pass the money to government.  \n\n- Sets out who is liable to pay the levy (likely the airline or the person who sells the ticket) and who is responsible for collecting and remitting it (likely the carrier, travel agent or an appointed collector).  \n\n- Establishes rules for how the levy is calculated (for example a fixed amount per passenger or a percentage of the fare), when it must be paid, record‑keeping and reporting obligations, and administrative enforcement (penalties for late payment, audits, interest on unpaid amounts).  \n\n- Likely includes exemptions and special rules (for certain types of flights such as transit passengers, infants, diplomatic travel, or services provided by small operators) and transitional arrangements for implementation.\n\n**Who it affects**\n\n- Passengers: the levy is likely to be passed through to the cost of a ticket, so end consumers pay indirectly.  \n- Airlines, travel agents and ticketing platforms: these parties will have new administrative tasks — charging the levy, keeping records, remitting funds and complying with audit and penalty regimes.  \n- Government agencies (likely the Treasury, the Commissioner of Taxation or a designated Commonwealth collection authority): an agency will administer collection, compliance and enforcement.  \n\n**How it matters (mechanics, incentives and costs)**\n\n- Revenue transfer: the levy creates a new revenue stream earmarked (in policy terms) for \"aviation consumer protection\" measures. The bill’s mechanics determine whether revenue is collected centrally (by the tax/collection agency) or retained as trust and passed on.  \n\n- Price signal and demand: if carriers pass the levy to passengers, ticket prices rise by the levy amount. Even a small increase can affect price‑sensitive travellers and route demand.  \n\n- Compliance burden: carriers and agents incur administrative costs — system changes to ticketing and accounting, staff time for reporting, and potential costs for advisers and audits. Smaller operators can face proportionally higher compliance costs.  \n\n- Enforcement and behavioural effects: penalties, interest and audit powers create incentives to comply. Where collection is imposed on carriers rather than passengers, carriers bear legal liability for remittance even if they pass costs to customers. That can change contractual terms between carriers and agents (who collects and who bears risk).  \n\n- Distribution of costs and benefits: benefits (funding consumer protection) are concentrated for agencies and possibly particular consumer programs; costs are spread across travellers and industry participants. This creates potential for lobbying over exemptions, rates and administrative rules.\n\n**What to check in the actual bill text (items required for a full legal analysis)**\n\n- Exact charging mechanism: per‑passenger vs percentage of fare; which ticket classes and routes are included.  \n- Collector and payer definitions: who must charge and who is legally liable to remit.  \n- Exemptions and special cases: transit passengers, infants, diplomatic travel, cargo or charter services.  \n- Compliance rules: reporting intervals, record retention periods, audit powers, penalty and interest regimes.  \n- Interaction with existing laws: cross‑references to the Taxation Administration Act, Customs Act, Airports Act or other aviation laws.  \n- Start date, transitional and savings provisions.  \n\n**Limitations of this note**\n\nI don’t have the full bill text or the explanatory memorandum in front of me here. The summary above is a reasoned, typical mapping of what a \"collection\" bill with this title usually contains and the practical legal and economic effects those provisions produce. For a definitive, section‑by‑section legal analysis (including quotes and precise compliance steps), please paste the bill text or the explanatory memorandum, or confirm you want me to proceed once you provide the document links or content."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026","history":"/api/acts/aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026/history","analysis":"/api/acts/aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/aviation-consumer-protection-levy-collection-bill-2026/documents"}}