Gawd 4dogs - too complicated for my tiny mind.
The external territories of Australia include the Norfolk Island Territory, which in turn also includes the 12nm territorial sea surrounding it and the airspace above.
But …
The Norfolk Island Territory is a ‘self-governing’ territory and, unless the Commonwealth chooses to legislate over the top of it, the Legislative Assembly of the territory makes laws for that territory.
However …
There appears to be no Norfolk Island Territory law about airspace (have some fun, here:
Norfolk Island Government Information), but the Commonwealth
Airspace Act 2007 and the Commonwealth
Civil Aviation Act 1988 are each expressed to extend to “all external Territories” (see s 6 of each Act).
Further, Australian citizens operating Australian registered aircraft are bound by Australian law, wherever they are, to the extent the Australian law is intended to apply to them where they may be.
This seems to help answer the question as to what rules Australian pilots may be obliged to comply with and where.
But …
I don’t know whether it helps to answer the question as to what services must be provided, by whom, to aircraft in ‘international airspace’ – that is, airspace other than that above the territory of a sovereign state – or to what standard.
There’s a hell of a lot of ‘international airspace’ out there. I have NFI about the potential sources of legal obligations to provide air traffic services within it.
Hopefully the consequences of the Senate inquiry may include some improved clarity about who’s responsible for what, and to what standard.
