The growth of bureaucracy in Australia
Of course it is true that the CC have the authority to enforce a seat allocation.
But from a safety perspective there are surely no W&B issues on that aircraft. It won't be loaded with any remote chance of being out of envelope at any stage if one person moves.
If the manifest seat allocation is wrong by one seat and there is a prang then that fact is most unlikely to inhibit the ATSB investigation.
So in reality someone moving seats on a 200 ton aircraft is a non event.
But Australian bureaucrats are progressively getting a greater control over the public with needless and excessive Bureaucratic rules. (Inherited from the Brits I suspect). Aviation is a major victim.
This is just another example, and every participant has lost.
SB.