Australia Yearbook - 2001

824 Year Book Australia 2001
meetings of the Directors-General of Civil
Aviation for Asia and the Pacific, and
aviation-related work undertaken in APEC.
International agreements
As at 30 June 2000, Australia has air services
agreements of full treaty status with 40 countries.
Renegotiation of capacity and route rights has
occurred under most of these to accommodate
traffic growth on international routes to and from
Australia. Agreements with 13 countries will be
upgraded to treaty status once the draft
agreements are incorporated into domestic law.
Australia has four air services arrangements of
less than treaty status.
These agreements and arrangements enable
airlines of Australia and its bilateral partners to
operate a network of international air services to
and from Australia.
International Air Services Commission (IASC)
The International Air Services Commission (IASC)
is an independent statutory authority responsible
for the allocation of capacity negotiated under air
services arrangements to existing and prospective
Australian international carriers.
The Commission was established on 1 July 1992
following the decision to allow Australian airlines
other than Qantas to fly internationally. The
Government decided that the process of
allocating capacity to Australian airlines should be
at arms length from the negotiation function.
The IASC works within a legislative and policy
framework laid down by the Government. Under
the International Air Services Act 1992, the IASC
objectives are to foster competition, consumer
benefits, tourism, trade and the maintenance of
competitive Australian airlines.
When considering applications for capacity, the
Commission takes into account public benefit
criteria outlined in a policy statement issued by
the Minister for Transport and Regional Services.