At Airservices, we are proud of our long-standing record of keeping Australian aviation safe, and 2018-19 was no exception.

Over the course of the year, we facilitated over 160 million passenger movements through Australia’s skies while recording zero significant safety occurrences. Our aviation rescue firefighters responded to more than 6,700 events (468 aviation related) and saved 21 lives.

While our standards of day-to-day service delivery are second to none on the world stage, we are also undertaking the work required to serve our customers and the aviation industry in an exponentially more complex and busier future.

In 2018-19 we achieved several major milestones in the OneSKY program, including commissioning the Civil Military Air Traffic Management (CMATS) voice communication system in our Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney facilities.

The new voice communication system enables greater efficiency of our air traffic resources, enhances safety outcomes and minimises service disruptions. These benefits are already being experienced by all users of Australian airspace, from the major airlines and their passengers, right through to the smallest ultralight aircraft.

This year we have been collaborating closely with industry to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the national aviation network. We completed the foundation work for the Airport Collaborative Decision Making system and commenced implementation of the Long Range Air Traffic Flow Management platform in in the second half of the year.

These initiatives will provide benefits such as decreased fuel burn and more predictable arrival flows into our major airports for our customers and the industry. Importantly, they will also minimise the impact of air traffic disruptions on the travelling public and contribute to improved environmental outcomes for the wider community.

We are also investing in innovative technologies to enhance safety and service delivery on the ground. A new internal access vehicle has been introduced at Melbourne Airport, allowing firefighters to quickly access and evacuate passengers safely without the need for ladders and emergency slides. This is a first for an Australian fire service.

We remain focused on supporting the long-term financial health of Australia’s aviation industry. With continued strong financial performance, we have passed on the savings to our customers through a 2 per cent price reduction from 1 July 2019, which collectively saves our customers approximately $20 million per annum. Together with the price freeze that has been in place since 2015, this represents a real price decrease of over 10 per cent.

Moreover, in 2018-19 we continued to waive more than $2 million in annual service charges for the nation’s not-for-profit aeromedical operators as part of our ongoing efforts to foster and promote Australia’s civil aviation industry. We are always pleased to support those who deliver these essential services to rural and remote Australia.

We are building an agile organisation to anticipate and respond to the rapid change and disruption we are seeing in the global aviation industry. We also remained committed to building a genuinely safe and inclusive workforce that fosters diversity, and we commenced the refresh of our Reconciliation Action Plan. We also implemented a series of initiatives to support the application of our ‘Just Culture’ program, which is key to enabling a positive workplace culture.

Maturing our enterprise-wide cyber resilience also remained a key area for us and we have an ongoing investment program to ensure we are able to respond effectively in the event of a threat to our systems. Our Security Operations Centre came online this reporting period, providing continuous incident detection and response capabilities.

The 2018-19 Annual Report demonstrates the performance and value of the investment we are making in technology, people and infrastructure in delivering right across the value chain to meet the challenges that lie ahead for Australia’s aviation industry.

Jason Harfield

Chief Executive Officer