About the Commission

Role of the Commission | Members of the Commission | The Secretariat

Role of the Commission

The Commission was established under the International Air Services Commission Act 1992. The object of the Act is to enhance the welfare of Australians by promoting economic efficiency through competition in the provision of international air services, resulting in:

• increased responsiveness by airlines to the needs of consumers, including an increased range of choices and benefits; and
• growth in Australian tourism and trade; and
• the maintenance of Australian carriers capable of competing effectively with airlines of foreign countries

The Commission's role is to determine the outcomes of applications by existing and prospective Australian airlines for capacity and route entitlements available under air services arrangements. These determinations allocate the available capacity on a route to one or more carriers and set conditions, where these are considered appropriate. The Commission may conduct a review of a determination at any time, either at the request of the carrier concerned or if the Commission believes that there may be grounds for doing so. The Commission is also responsible for reviewing determinations after a specified period and providing advice to the Minister for Transport about any matter referred to the Commission by the Minister concerning international air operations.

In allocating capacity, the Commission assesses the merits of claims by applicants under specified public benefit criteria. These criteria are detailed in Policy Statements issued, from time to time, by the Minister.

The Government, through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts, continues to have the responsibility for administering and negotiating Australia's air services arrangements. In this role, the department is responsible for maintaining a Register of Available Capacity for use by the Commission and applicants. This register details the capacity available under each air services arrangement, and is updated to reflect changes in capacity entitlements arising from new negotiations and determinations by the Commission. The department is also responsible for making operational decisions that authorise carriers to fly on each route based on the Commission's determinations.

Members of the Commission

The Commission is comprised of a Chairperson and a Member, appointed on a part-time basis. Its office in Canberra is assisted by a small Secretariat.

Ms Genevieve Butler, Chairperson

Ms Genevieve Butler was appointed by the Governor-General as part-time Chairperson of the Commission for a three-year term commencing on 5 August 2021. Ms Butler has been a Member of the Commission since 14 May 2021. The Governor-General has extended her appointment for a further period of two years from 5 August 2024. 

Ms Butler is a government lawyer with an expertise in administrative law, statutory interpretation and aviation law. She has provided in-house legal advice to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, particularly regarding the application of the Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 and the Freedom of Information Act 1982. She provided legal advice regarding the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 and for coronial inquiries regarding aviation accidents. Previously, she provided legal advice and conducted litigation for the ACT Government Solicitor in the ACT Supreme Court and ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, working on matters including regulation and licensing, public and constitutional law, information privacy, citizen’s rights and community protection. She has also worked for the Department of Parliamentary Services, providing advice to Senators and Members of Parliament on matters including intellectual property law, international human rights and administrative law. 

Ms Butler has a broad governance background and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. In addition to her role as Chairperson of the Commission, she is currently Chair of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, an ACT Government ministerial advisory body. Ms Butler was previously a national Board Member of the Association of Corporate Counsel Australia (ACC), and ACT President of the ACC. She is a former member of the ACT Government’s Brand Strategic Advisory Board and the Non-Executive Director Community Services #1. Ms Butler also served on the ACT Law Society’s Government Law Committee and Military Law Committee for many years and is a former editor of the Aviation Law Association of Australia and New Zealand’s periodical.

Ms Butler’s international career in public affairs took her to Europe, North America and Africa. She worked as an external relations adviser for the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations in New York and for the United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia. During this time, she also Chaired a Board of Inquiry. Ms Butler held the role of Public Affairs Manager for the Australian Embassy to Belgium and Mission to the European Union and NATO, based in Brussels. She has also worked as a foreign correspondent and producer for leading media organisations including CNN, CNBC and Reuters in London, Paris, Stockholm, Frankfurt and Brussels.

Ms Butler holds the following degrees: Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the Australian National University (ANU), Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the NSW College of Law, Master of Journalism from the University of Queensland and Bachelor of Arts from the ANU. She is admitted as a practitioner of the Supreme Court of NSW and holds an Unrestricted Government Practicing Certificate from the ACT Law Society. She has undertaken post-graduate courses at the United Nations University in Tokyo. Foreign languages include French.
 

Ms Jane McKeon

Ms Jane McKeon was appointed by the Governor-General as part-
time Member of the Commission for a three-year term commencing 16 December 2021. Ms McKeon was initially appointed as Acting Member of the Commission by the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development from 1 October to 26 December 2021. The Governor-General has extended her appointment for a further period of four years from 16 December 2024. 

Ms McKeon has experience in public policy and stakeholder management. She is an independent non-executive director of Crown Sydney and chairs the board’s Risk, Compliance and Responsible Gaming Committee, provides advisory consulting services to clients in the private and public sectors, and is a member of the UNSW School of Aviation Industry Advisory Committee. She has previously served on the Board of the Australian Government’s Council of Australia Latin America Relations and as a Commissioner of Tourism Western Australia.

Ms McKeon had a long career in the airline industry, having joined Ansett Australia as a management trainee. As Group Executive – Government Relations for Virgin Australia from 2010 to 2018, she was responsible for leading engagement with governments, regulators and industry bodies in Australia and internationally to enhance the airline’s profile and reputation and influence policy and regulatory frameworks to support its strategic transformation program. From 2014 to 2017 she was Chair of the airline’s joint venture with the Samoan Government, Virgin Samoa. She was a member of the Tourism and Transport Forum Advisory Board and the International Air Transport Association Industry Affairs Committee and a director of Airlines for Australia and New Zealand.

From 2002 to 2010, Ms McKeon was employed by Qantas Airways. She was appointed General Manager – Government and International Relations in 2004, with responsibility for promoting the carrier’s interests in the development of Australia’s aviation and related policy settings, managing economic regulatory activities to support Qantas’ international passenger and freighter services and the launch of Jetstar as an Australian international carrier. She also represented Qantas on the Board of Airline Representatives of Australia, the Aeropolitical Committee of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines and the Australian Tourism Export Council.

Ms McKeon holds Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of Melbourne and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Commission Chairpersons and Members since 1992

The following table sets out the Chairpersons and Members of the Commission since the Commission was founded in 1992.

The Secretariat

The Commission is assisted in its work by a small secretariat. The secretariat is staffed by officers of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts. The secretariat is headed by a Director, supported by a Senior Adviser. These officers provide advice and assistance to the Commissioners on all aspects of the Commission’s operations.

Further, the Commission has delegated certain powers and functions to the Director, and in the absence of the Director, the Senior Adviser. These arrangements enable the delegate to make a range of determinations and decisions on behalf of the Commissioners. Generally, these relate to cases that are straightforward. More complex matters are dealt with by the Commissioners.