Neither the New South Wales Rural Fire Service or Queensland Fire and Emergency Service had established cross-border coordination procedures for aerial firefighting activities to ensure reliable aircraft communication and separation.
The ATSB is satisfied that the introduction of a national guideline establishing frequency alignment, air desk-to-air desk liaison, state jurisdictional border mapping and cross-border tasking triggers, combined with NSW RFS training modules focused on mixed-jurisdiction operations, adequately addresses the safety issue.
The NSW RFS advised that, on behalf of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC), NSW RFS led the development of the national Cross-Border Airspace Management Guideline, which was released in January 2024 and involved all jurisdictions.
This guideline established common procedures for frequency alignment, air desk to air desk liaison, cross-border tasking triggers, and shared temporary restricted area/temporary flight restrictions activation.
The document was endorsed by the NAFC Strategic Committee as a model for national interoperability.
Cross-border training modules were introduced into the Aviation Centre of Excellence simulation program, focusing on mixed-jurisdiction operations. Joint exercises conducted during the 2024–25 season demonstrated improved communication clarity and reduced duplication of airspace control.
These arrangements are monitored annually through NAFC reporting and joint operational audits.
Queensland Fire Department (QFD) advised that following the occurrence, discussion was held at a national level and a process of establishing clearer processes when operating in proximity to state/territory borders has been established.
QFD provided a copy of those procedures and advised that since implementation they have been effectively utilised several times – demonstrating increased and effective verbal and written communication with the NSW state air desk regarding crewed and uncrewed aerial firefighting operations.
QFD has also worked with its mapping personnel and generated a boundary of 15NM (28 km) either side of the border, which triggers contact with the NSW SAD when operations are conducted within this area.
