{"id":"damage-by-aircraft-act-1964","name":"Damage by Aircraft Act 1964","slug":"damage-by-aircraft-act-1964","collection":"act","jurisdiction":"wa","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":30444,"registerId":"wa-damage-by-aircraft-act-1964-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Damage by Aircraft Act 1964","content":"![Crest]()Western Australia\n\nDamage by Aircraft Act 1964\n\nWestern Australia\n\nDamage by Aircraft Act 1964\n\nContents\n\n1. Short title 1\n\n2. Commencement 1\n\n3. Interpretation 1\n\n4. Limitation of liability in respect of trespass or nuisance by flying over property 2\n\n5. Liability for damage by aircraft or articles, etc., falling from an aircraft 2\n\nNotes\n\nCompilation table 4\n\nDefined terms\n\n  \n\nWestern Australia\n\nDamage by Aircraft Act 1964\n\nAn Act to make provision in respect of liability for damage caused by aircraft and for incidental matters.\n\n##### 1. Short title\n\nThis Act may be cited as the *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964* 1.\n\n##### 2. Commencement\n\nThis Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by proclamation 1.\n\n##### 3. Interpretation\n\nIn this Act, unless the contrary intention appears —\n\n  Air Navigation Regulations means the Air Navigation Regulations made and as in force from time to time under the Commonwealth Act, and includes such of the provisions of those Regulations as apply to and in relation to air navigation within the State by virtue of the *Air Navigation Act 1937*;\n\n  article includes mail and postal articles, and any liquid and liquid spray;\n\n  Commonwealth Act means the *Air Navigation Act 1920* of the Parliament of the Commonwealth and includes that Act as amended from time to time and any Act of the Parliament of the Commonwealth passed in substitution for the first mentioned Act;\n\n  loss or damage in relation to persons, includes loss of life and personal injury.\n\n##### 4. Limitation of liability in respect of trespass or nuisance by flying over property 2\n\nNo action lies in respect of trespass, or in respect of nuisance, by reason only of —\n\n(a) the flight of an aircraft over any property at a height above the ground that, having regard to the wind, the weather, and all the circumstances, is reasonable; or\n\n(b) the ordinary incidents of such a flight,\n\nso long as the Air Navigation Regulations are complied with.\n\n##### 5. Liability for damage by aircraft or articles, etc., falling from an aircraft 2\n\n(1) Where material loss or damage is caused to any person or property on land or water by, or by a person in, or by an article, animal or person falling from, an aircraft while the aircraft is in flight, or is taking off, or is landing then, unless the loss or damage was caused or contributed to by the negligence of the person by whom it was suffered, damages in respect of the loss or damage are recoverable from the owner of the aircraft without proof of negligence, or intention, or other cause of action, as if the loss or damage had been caused by the wilful act, neglect or default of the owner.\n\n(2) Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1) where material loss or damage is caused as mentioned in that subsection in circumstances in which —\n\n(a) damages in respect of that loss or damage are recoverable from the owner by virtue only of the provisions of that subsection; and\n\n(b) a legal liability is created in some person other than the owner to pay damages in respect of that loss or damage,\n\nthe owner is entitled to be indemnified by that other person against any claim in respect of that loss or damage.\n\n(3) Where an aircraft has been demised, chartered, let, or hired out for a period exceeding 14 days to any other person by the owner thereof and no pilot, commander, navigator or operative member of the crew of the aircraft is in the employment of the owner, this section has effect as if for references to the owner there were substituted references to the person to whom the aircraft has been so demised, chartered, let or hired out.\n\nNotes\n\n1 This is a compilation of the *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964*. The following table contains information about that Act and any previous reprint.\n\nCompilation table\n\n| **Short title** | **Number and year** | **Assent** | **Commencement** |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964* | 49 of 1964 | 30 Nov 1964 | 24 Dec 1964 (see s. 2 and *Gazette* 24 Dec 1964 p. 4093) |\n| **Reprint of the *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964* authorised 12 Mar 1973** | | | |\n| **Reprint of the *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964* as at 4 Oct 2002** | | | |\n\n\n2 Marginal notes in the *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964* referring to legislation of other jurisdictions have been omitted from this reprint.\n\nDefined terms\n\n*[This is a list of terms defined and the provisions where they are defined. The list is not part of the law.]*\n\n**Defined term Provision(s)**\n\nAir Navigation Regulations 3\n\narticle 3\n\nCommonwealth Act 3\n\nloss or damage 3\n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":1,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Scope cannot be assessed as no legislative content was available for analysis. The page returned was a system error/redirect notice, not the text of the Damage by Aircraft Act 1964."},"complexity_factors":["No legislative text was retrievable — the source URL returned a 'page not found' error","Cannot assess complexity without access to the actual Act's provisions","Score of 1 reflects absence of content, not simplicity of the underlying law"],"plain_english_summary":"**No legislation content could be retrieved.**\n\nThe link provided for the *Damage by Aircraft Act 1964* (Western Australia) returned an error page — the document is no longer available at that web address due to system upgrades on the Western Australian legislation website.\n\n**What this means for you:** No analysis of the actual law can be provided because the legislative text was not accessible. To find this Act, try:\n- Visiting [www.legislation.wa.gov.au](https://www.legislation.wa.gov.au) and searching for \"Damage by Aircraft Act 1964\"\n- Contacting the Parliamentary Counsel's Office Helpdesk directly\n- Checking the Federal Register of Legislation at [www.legislation.gov.au](https://www.legislation.gov.au) for any Commonwealth equivalent"},"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"},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act, as drafted, establishes a narrow scheme: it limits overflight nuisance/trespass claims when Air Navigation Regulations are complied with and imposes strict liability for material damage from aircraft or falling items/people, subject to victim-contribution and indemnity rules (ss4–5). No alteration of that scope is apparent in the supplied text."},"complexity_factors":["Interplay with external Air Navigation Regulations (s3, s4) — dependence on Commonwealth rules increases cross-jurisdictional complexity","Reasonableness standard for flight height (s4) — fact-sensitive and judicially determined","Strict (no-fault) liability for owners for falling objects/people (s5(1)) — alters usual negligence framework","Exception where the injured party's negligence contributed (s5(1)) — requires causation assessment","Indemnity right against another legally liable person (s5(2)) — creates secondary recovery and allocation issues","Substitution of owner with long-term lessee/operator when no crew employed and demised over 14 days (s5(3)) — creates threshold questions about employment and duration","Broad definition of 'article' (includes liquids and sprays) (s3) — widens the set of covered harms"],"plain_english_summary":"This Act prevents claims for trespass or nuisance based only on an aircraft flying over property at a height that is reasonable, so long as Air Navigation Regulations are followed. It also makes the owner strictly liable (no need to prove negligence) for material loss or damage on land or water caused by the aircraft or by articles, animals or people falling from it, except where the victim’s own negligence contributed. Owners can be indemnified by another legally liable person, and liability can shift to a long-term lessee/operator."},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":2,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The Act remains tightly focused on its original purpose: establishing liability rules for aircraft operations. The scope has not expanded beyond damage caused by aircraft and overflight rights since its enactment in 1964."},"complexity_factors":["Only 5 substantive sections (very short statute)","4 defined terms in a single interpretation section","Simple conditional logic (14-day lease threshold in section 5(3))","No cross-references to other WA statutes (only references to Commonwealth Air Navigation Act/Regulations)","Single layer of exceptions (subsection 5(2) indemnity provision is straightforward)","No delegated legislation or regulation-making powers within the Act itself"],"plain_english_summary":"**What this law does:**\n\nThis Western Australian law sets the rules for who pays when aircraft cause damage or fly over private property.\n\n**Key points:**\n\n*   **Flying over your property:** You generally **cannot** sue an aircraft owner for trespass (unlawfully entering your land) or nuisance (interfering with your use of land) just because a plane flies over your property—**provided** the flight is at a reasonable height given weather conditions and follows Commonwealth aviation regulations.\n\n*   **Damage caused by aircraft:** If an aircraft (or something falling from it—like cargo, mail, fuel, or even a person) causes damage while taking off, landing, or flying, the aircraft owner is **automatically liable** (this is called \"strict liability\"). The injured person does **not** need to prove the owner was negligent or careless.\n\n*   **Exceptions:**\n    *   If the person who suffered the damage was negligent themselves (e.g., ignoring safety warnings), they can't claim.\n    *   If someone else (like a pilot or operator) is legally responsible for the damage, the owner can claim the money back from them (indemnity).\n    *   If the aircraft is leased out long-term (more than 14 days) with the owner's crew, the lessee (the person renting it) becomes the \"owner\" for liability purposes.\n\n**Who it affects:** Aircraft owners, operators, pilots, and anyone who might be injured or have property damaged by aircraft operations in Western Australia.\n\n**Why it matters:** It balances aviation safety with property rights—allowing normal flight operations while ensuring victims of aircraft accidents can get compensation without fighting complex negligence cases."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/damage-by-aircraft-act-1964","history":"/api/acts/damage-by-aircraft-act-1964/history","analysis":"/api/acts/damage-by-aircraft-act-1964/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/damage-by-aircraft-act-1964/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/damage-by-aircraft-act-1964/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/damage-by-aircraft-act-1964/documents"}}