Australia proposes passenger rights bill weaker than EU or Canada say lobbyists

Australian consumer advocate Adam Glezer has stated that the Aviation Consumer Protection Bill 2026 now before the federal Parliament would leave Australian air passengers with fewer guaranteed rights than travellers already have in Canada and the European Union despite ministers repeatedly citing both regimes as models for the reform. Under Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations an airline must refund a cancelled flight within 30 days whenever the cancellation is outside its control and the passenger cannot be rebooked within 48 hours. Under the EU’s Regulation 261/2004 every cancellation including extraordinary circumstances entitles a passenger to a refund reimbursed within seven days or rerouting plus meals accommodation and communication for as long as they are stranded.

Australia’s proposed Aviation Consumer Protection Charter does neither. A witness for the Australian government told the Senate committee scrutinising the bill on the record that when a disruption is outside the airline’s control the Australian scheme does not require airlines to provide care or support nor provide refunds in these cases and confirmed plainly that some schemes including Canada and the EU do require exactly that while Australia’s does not.

Adam Glezer, Consumer Advocate, shared: “Every time this bill has been defended in public, it’s been defended by pointing overseas. Well, I’ve read what’s actually in the Canadian and EU rules, word for word. Australia isn’t matching them. It’s falling short of them, on the two things that matter most when you’re actually stuck at an airport: getting your money back, and getting fed.”