Source: Australian Ministers 1
CATHERINE KING: Today the Albanese Labor government is releasing our draft consumer rights charter for airline travellers. This is part of the work we have done this year as part of the Aviation White Paper and the establishment for the first time ever of an aviation industry ombudsman. We know the travelling public has not been happy with the services that they are getting both from our airlines and from our airports, and we want to improve the circumstances. Customers should get what they pay for or they should get a refund. This Charter of Rights, which is out for consultation now, spells out very clearly what people, the flying public, can expect. If they have flight cancellations, they should expect, at no cost of their own, to either be rebooked on that airline or another airline, or they should get a refund and that refund should be a timely refund within 14 days. We also know that people should – if they are stuck away from their home, away from the where they actually live – that they should also get access to accommodation and food to be able to stay overnight then go onto their travels. This is the first time we’ve had a consumer rights for the air travelling public and it’s part of the reforms that we have of trying to make sure customers actually get what they pay for or get a refund.
JOURNALIST: If this charter is ultimately improved, is there a plan to impose penalties on airlines if they don’t comply with it and how will you ensure that they do comply?
CATHERINE KING: We will be legislating next year the aviation industry ombudsman scheme. We’ve got an interim person in at the moment who’s been developing this Consumer Rights Charter and all of those issues in relation to penalties, in relation to the way in which people can get remedies, will all be detailed as part of that legislation. This is the first part of putting that together, drafting the consumer rights charter to make sure we get that right.
JOURNALIST: And what powers can you say at this stage? What powers will the interim ombudsman have?
CATHERINE KING: Well, similar to the communications industry ombudsman, where they will be able to seek remedies directly from airlines, being able to name and shame in terms of the amount of complaints that they are getting, and to seek remedies. But again, all of that will be in the draft legislation.
JOURNALIST: And I understand that this aviation code is now out for public comment until the end of January?
CATHERINE KING: Until the end of February, so 28th of February, people can access it on my department’s website, infrastructure.gov.au and look for the Aviation Charter of Rights, [indistinct] and you can just send an email to the email but basically says we think it should be this way, or we think it should have a shorter time frame, all of those things. It can just be a line in an email to give us some feedback about it.
JOURNALIST: And so after feedback closes, how long could it realistically take for this charter to be approved and become legislation?
CATHERINE KING: Well, not long. We’re obviously subject to parliament sitting, and they’re sitting in February, and then obviously getting it past, but we hope to do so as quickly as possible.
JOURNALIST: The feedback closes at the end of February, after Parliament sits, so at this stage, is it likely there’ll be another sitting after that before the next election?
CATHERINE KING: What we will be doing is that obviously the legislation will reference the charter and then the actual wording of the charter can be finalised later.
JOURNALIST: So you hope to pass this legislation in the February week of parliament, is that correct?
CATHERINE KING: Well we are certainly hoping to introduce the legislation as soon as possible, but again, we announced this back in November that we were establishing an aviation industry ombudsman scheme. The drafting of that legislation is underway, but it is part of our commitment to improving the experience of the travelling public.
JOURNALIST: Obviously, the changes won’t be in effect this Christmas, this travel season, when do you want the changes to kick in, and if companies do not comply with the changes will there be penalties and what will they be?
CATHERINE KING: Well, people already have rights under Australian Consumer Law. The problem we have is, when you’re booking a flight ticket, very few of us look at the terms and conditions of the contract you’re entering into. But people do already have existing rights really under Australian Consumer Law, part of the problem has been, A). not knowing what those rights are, but also having real difficulty enforcing those rights – trying to get hold of someone in the first place, and waiting for hours on the phone to a call centre, or then in some cases, having almost 100 days in some cases before any remedy is put in place. So, building in a Charter that basically says, this is what your rights are, this is making it very clear what our expectation of the airlines and the airports are, provides that opportunity for remedies.
JOURNALIST: And when do you want that to kick in, and will there be penalties?
CATHERINE KING: It certainly when the legislation passes through the parliament, obviously the timing of that will be a part of the legislation but as I said, people do have rights and they should be upheld, but really what this charter is doing – and what we’re consulting on – is trying to codify those rights and ensure that they are part of the legislation and the ombudsman scheme going forward. But we hope for that to be in place certainly for next year.
JOURNALIST: And the penalties for non-compliant?
CATHERINE KING: Again, that would be part of legislation that we’re drafting at the moment.
JOURNALIST: You mentioned that this is the first time that airlines have been held to account or have such harsh laws in place. Why has it taken so long and I understand the Coalition’s private members bill has been up since March on Pay on Delay, why not support that? And do you think you will have the Coalition’s support in Parliament next year?
CATHERINE KING: Well, who knows what the Coalition is going to do, frankly, you know, you never know they seem to have decided to say no to absolutely everything just to cause political havoc, even when it is in the travelling public’s actual interest to do so. We know that the previous government, they were in power for a decade, they couldn’t have cared less about the aviation industry, couldn’t have cared less about aviation consumers, did nothing for a decade. What we’ve seen in the two and a half years of the Albanese Labor Government is the most significant reforms that they aviation sector and the travelling public have ever seen. That’s what we’ve done in the two and a half years that we’ve been in Government. The opposition can be accountable for their lack of action in the last decade.
JOURNALIST: [indistinct] is it enough to deter the practice?
CATHERINE KING: What we’re seeing in terms of the travelling public is where consumers are more informed about what their rights are, where they have information about what to expect and what their rights are, we know that they can be enforced in a much stronger way. Having an ombudsman for the first time, we’ve had a sort of voluntary system at the moment that’s really not been working for the travelling public. Having an ombudsman who then, you know, if you can’t get anywhere with the airline and yourself, then actually going to the ombudsman and having that capacity to get a remedy through that process really will be a significant change from the Australian travelling public.
JOURNALIST: Airlines make it hard enough to get a voucher or switch flight, how hard do you think they’re going to make it for passengers to get a refund?
CATHERINE KING: Well, certainly this is what we’re trying to rectify, we’re trying to make sure that the traveling public either gets what they pay for or they get a refund. If someone wants to have a credit voucher then that it is an option that they have available but it has to be at, the travelling public, if that’s what you want and you want the voucher, then that’s what you get, but that can’t be the default. So that’s what this Charter of Rights lays out really clearly that if you need a refund and you want and refund, then that is what you should actually get, you shouldn’t get a flight credit that you may or may not be able to use later on, unless you want one.
JOURNALIST: Minster, on Sunrise this morning, this flight delays of three hours or more, what about for delays like say a Volcano in Bali or you know, this considered out of the airlines control will you expect refunds for cancellations or at least a some sort of hotel room or meal provided oin those circumstances?
CATHERINE KING: So, certainly refunds for cancellations is part of the charter of rights and that’s important. If a flight gets cancelled, those refunds are important. If you don’t get what you pay for, then you should get a refund, and that is very much part of the charter. In terms of the delay, really, uh, you know, there are delays that, of course, that are no fault of the airlines themselves. Really what this is about is where the airline is at fault, you know, had crewing issues or maintenance issues, or they’ve really not delivered what they should be delivering. Then, really, the next thing is to say can you rebook? how else can we travel? And if you can’t do any of those things, being able to get a refund for your flight or getting your meals and your accommodation paid if you’re not at your home port.
JOURNALIST: Arguable you’ve got bigger airlines, Virgin and Qantas, [indistinct]… do you think that legislation like this might create a barrier for new airlines entering the market?
CATHERINE KING: No, I think that any new airline entering the market really should take into account what they are supposed to do under Australian Consumer Law. People do have substantial rights under Australian Consumer Law. What this draft charter is doing is codifying that, is putting that down in writing, so that people have a much better understanding of it. And of course, any new entrant it has to comply with that law.
JOURNALIST: So far have you had any feedback from the airlines?
CATHERINE KING: Well, we are just releasing it today. I’m sure they’ll have plenty to say. I’m sure the airports will have plenty to say, but at the end of the day, this is about the travelling public and improving the experience for everybody.
JOURNALIST: How much can you estimate this will cost the airlines annually?
CATHERINE KING: Well, we don’t know, hopefully it costs them nothing because they actually deliver the service that people pay for and that’s what really this is about improving the experience of the travelling public, and if nothing goes wrong, then it’s not you know, their fault, then they won’t have to pay for it. And so that’s what this is really about – improving the experience of the travelling public. And again, as I said, you know, we’ve had this is the single biggest reform, we’ve had to the aviation sector. Our demand management system at Sydney Airport, the slots reforms there, and this ombudsman scheme, really is a significant reform and it should improve the services that people are experiencing going forward.
JOURNALIST: And what lost luggage?
CATHERINE KING: Yeah, well, certainly in terms of luggage that is one of the rights that is part of the charter, and I encourage people to have a look at it and again, [indistinct]. So sometimes you have delayed luggage, your luggage, they can’t find where it is, so you might have some costs that are incurred having to buy some toiletries so that you can actually get through the next day or so. So, getting a refund or getting money back for those, but also making sure that you are fairly refunded or compensated for the luggage if it’s lost for good and that is very much part of the consumer rights charter that we’re putting forward at the moment and again encourage people to have a look at that and give us feedback as to whether that goes far enough.
JOURNALIST: Apologies, I haven’t read the paper…
CATHERINE KING: [laughs] I certainly have read it, yes, I’ve read it extensively.
JOURNALIST: Will there be any scope in here for how loyalty programs are managed?
CATHERINE KING: It doesn’t cover so much loyalty programs. Again, there are significant rights that people have under consumer law in relation to those. That certainly has been an area of some contention as well. Uh, but again, this is a draft, it’s out for consultation and we’re happy to have a look at whether there is broader things that needs to be picked up in the charter, or there needs to be something else that the ombudsperson looks at more broadly as part of those flight incentives as well.
JOURNALIST: I’ve just got a few more questions about two unrelated matters, first of all, have you heard the latest about the ADF flights out of Vanuatu?
CATHERINE KING: Yes, so certainly we’ve already repatriated 568 people out of Vanuatu. There are two more flights today, more RAF flights out of Port Vila today, and commercial flights are restarting as well. So options for people to get home continue. Obviously, it continues to be a difficult circumstance on the ground there, but really that’s what we’ve done, so there are two more flights out of Port Vila today and commercial flights are commencing as well. We’ve already repatriated 568 people. We’ve also announced a further $5 million of humanitarian assistance on top of the two million that’s already been there, but, you know, we’re in there for the long haul. This is a really important, one of our important Pacific neighbours and we want to make sure that we do everything we can to help them recover.
JOURNALIST: And looking a bit closer to home, obviously, there’s a bushfire emergency into Grampians at the moment. Can you say at this stage what Federal support is available to people who are evacuating or who might be spending weeks away from home?
CATHERINE KING: At the moment we’re really in the emergency phase. There’s an emergency warning, obviously for Grampians fire and a watch and act in Pomonal. These are communities that we’re hit very hard in February Pomonal, in particular. We’ll let the emergency services agencies do their work at the moment, in fighting the fires. This is going to be something that is quite difficult, but Minister McAllister will have a bit more to say when we are working with the Victorian state government about what emergency services and relief will be put in place fairly quickly for people. But right at the moment it’s really the emergency situation just trying to make sure we keep people safe. I do want to give a shout out to our emergency services personnel, from our firefighters in the air to those that are on the ground, really doing an amazing job, to our relief services, there’s relief centres at Stawell, at Ararat and I believe one opening up at Kyneton shortly. Just doing an amazing job and I want to thank them and say, please stay safe everyone. Take head of the emergency warnings. It is absolutely critical that you do so. Leave if leaving is your best option and leave if they tell you to leave.
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