Hemmant’s List Member Matthew Williams recently appeared for the Whitsunday Regional Council in relation to its application for an interlocutory injunction in Whitsunday Regional Council v Bairnsdale Air Charter Pty Ltd & others [2026] QSC 141, in which judgment was delivered on 19 June 2026 by Smith J.
The Council, as owner of the Whitsunday Coast Airport (a certified aerodrome), sought to restrain the defendants’ use of the aerodrome for the conduct of their scenic flights business. The defendants asserted a right to operate from the aerodrome, arguing that their Air Operator Certificate and the airport’s certification under civil aviation legislation and regulations conferred on them a right to use the aerodrome.
His Honour rejected that argument, finding that reg 93 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (Cth) preserves a property owner’s common law rights ahead of any rights flowing from an AOC or aviation legislation more broadly. Nothing in that legislative framework displaces an airport owner’s right to control access to its land.
This appears to be the first superior court decision to confront the question directly – whether rights under a CASA-issued AOC or aerodrome legislation generally override a landowner’s rights in respect of land certified as an aerodrome. The Court’s decision provides clarity on a point of real significance for councils and other aerodrome operators across the country.