Border modernisation has emerged as one of the travel industry’s most urgent priorities, with aviation, tourism and airport leaders warning that Australia risks falling behind global competitors unless long-promised reforms finally move from planning to implementation.
Speaking at the Australian Airports Association (AAA) National Conference & Industry Expo at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, senior airport executives, tourism advocates and the Australian Border Force (ABF) underscored the need to eliminate the paper arrival card, unlock stalled technology and accelerate the ABF’s next-generation border processing program, including a new partnership with Qantas now being trialled at Brisbane International Airport.
In the panel title Seamless Travel Sydney Airport CEO Scott Charlton indicated that the current process is anything and his frustration was palpable. Despite major investments in security and processing capability, he warned that border services are struggling to match surging international demand.
“There’s only… 40 kiosks, even though that from Sydney Airport’s perspective, we pay the money… but we keep getting obstacles, not necessarily from Border Force, but Home Affairs. And there’s always another reason for delay and implementation,” Charlton said.
He argued that border modernisation remains the most critical productivity reform available to the sector, and despite going to Treasury with its cost-savings with the most productive thing that can be done for the aviation industry is border modernisation, the pace is glacial.
“There’s a plan there, but we’re just not getting the traction, and we need to get traction,” he said.
A million more arrivals
Sydney Airport is expecting one million additional international passengers this year alone, growth Charlton said the current system cannot support.
“We’ve spent close to $500 million, adding additional security and compliance issues, which we can now process 30 per cent more passengers, but we don’t necessarily have a border that can process 30 per cent more passengers,” he said.
Adding to the irony, Sydney Airport has 32 brand-new kiosks sitting idle.
“They’re sitting there waiting to be used,” Charlton said. “They’ve been there for a while, but we can’t plug them in at this point in time… now we have to turn to James (Copeman, from Border Force) and say, we don’t have this machine. So we need 10 more staff, 20 more staff… It’s just so inefficient to what the process should do.”
Tourism & Transport Forum CEO Margy Osmond agreed that Australia must move quickly and decisively to compete with world-class airport experiences, especially with the 2032 Olympics games “breathing down our neck”.
“First up, we’ve got to get rid of that arrivals card… It’s $20-25 million to take away that card,” she said, adding that travellers all know the pain of frantically searching for a pen before landing. Beyond that, she said, “kiosks got to go… they’re outdated technology”.
Osmond urged Australia to benchmark itself against global leaders.
“Anybody who’s gone off an airplane and walked out of the airport in Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong, Qatar… You know what the difference is,” she said.
ABF’s Copeman pointed to the agency’s collaborative work with industry, including a new pilot program with Qantas at Brisbane Airport aimed at testing more seamless identity and document verification processes. The trial is part of the ABF’s multi-year push to deliver smarter, more automated border pathways.
Perth Airport’s CEO Jason Walters said 2032 should be a national milestone for border transformation.
“We have to do it right,” he said “I think we have to use 2032, as a really logical point of motivation… but equally, not leaving it until then.”
For Osmond, the prize is bigger than efficiency, it’s Australia’s global reputation!
“Make no mistake, every time somebody has a bad experience at the border, it affects brand Australia.”
Charlton offered one final warning.
“Most of our airports are forecasting sort of 30-50 per cent growth in international traffic over the next 20 years. It will not happen without these changes, and the sooner we bring them in, the sooner we can bring back growth.”
Program highlights
The conference program also included Justin Erbacci, Director General, Airports Council International on the State of the Global Airport and Aviation Industry: Preparing for the Next Era of Growth.
Erbacci covered the current global aviation and airport landscape examining macroeconomic trends, passenger growth forecasts, and the leading indicators shaping global travel and airport revenues. In addition, he covered Australia and the massive Return On Investment Capital (ROIC) versus the increasing debt to EBIDTA.
Also appearing in a Fireside Chat were Queensland Airports Limited CEO Amelia Evans, with Jetstar Group CEO Stephanie Tully as they discussed the perception of the low-cost Qantas Group carrier versus the reality. Tully and Evans discussed growth strategies, highlighting Jetstar’s improved reliability and fleet expansion.
Jetstar launched new routes, including Christchurch to Auckland, Hobart to Newcastle, and Brisbane to Cebu, and plans to introduce the XLR aircraft for international growth.
The conversation emphasised the importance of partnerships, particularly with Queensland airports, which handle over 50 per cent of Jetstar’s network. They also discussed the need for efficient infrastructure investments, the potential of regional gateways, and the role of women in aviation, advocating for greater inclusion and diversity.
There were also a number of breakouts in addition to the main stage panels and speakers.
