The Department of Infrastructure Transport and Regional Development has said that general aviation charter and aerial application operations will benefit from the $715 million aviation package.
Previous announcements from Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack and Hansard reports from the House of Representatives had limited the package to domestic airlines.
A spokesperson for the department told Australian Flying that all operators would benefit from the waiver of Airservices charges and commercial GA would be included in the fuel excise waiver.
"The Government will provide grant payments to eligible organisations equal to the amount of excise paid on fuel used for domestic air services, where the air services are:
- domestic scheduled Regular Public Transport services
- domestic commercial charter operations
- agricultural aviation commercial operations
- contracted aeromedical services.
as defined under Australian civil aviation regulations and authorised on your Air Operator’s Certificate."
Other parts of the package such as offsetting security costs and screening charges apply only to airlines and support to enhance security where required will be paid to airport operators.
The government will rebate the fuel excise based on invoices or other documented evidence submitted by operators.
The aviation community continues to be confused over the value of the package given that the fuel excise and the Airservices charges are variable costs dependent on movement levels, which at the moment are only a fraction of what they were a month ago.