Armidale Regional Airport redeclared security controlled with new airside boundary

Armidale Regional Airport has been re-declared a security controlled airport under federal aviation security law, with a defined airside area fixed by a map attached to the instrument. The decision was made by a delegate of the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs and published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 12 November 2026 as notice NTC-31445 (official reference C2026G00724). The notice commences upon publication in the Gazette, so the new security status and boundaries apply from that date.

The legal instrument and what it replaces

The notice is made under subsection 28(2) of the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004. It revokes notice NTC-26416, the earlier declaration for the same airport published in the Gazette on 8 April 2024 (official reference C2024G00226), and replaces it with a fresh declaration and a fresh airside boundary.

Three operative steps are set out in the instrument:

• Revocation of notice NTC-26416, which had declared Armidale Regional Airport a security controlled airport in 2024;
• Declaration that Armidale Regional Airport is a security controlled airport, with its boundaries shown on the attached map, which forms part of the notice;
• Establishment, in accordance with section 29 of the Act, of an airside area for the airport, being the area indicated as the airside area on that same attached map.

Because the boundaries and the airside area are defined by reference to the attached map rather than by written description, the geographic extent of the controls is fixed by the cartography that forms part of NTC-31445.

Signatory and duration

The instrument was signed on 9 November 2026 by Gerome Balangue (Position No: 48000573), described in the document as a Delegate of the Secretary of the Department of Home Affairs.

The notice carries two explanatory notes: that “Gazette” means the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, and that the notice remains in force until otherwise revoked in writing and subsequently published in the Gazette. In other words, the re-declaration has no fixed expiry date and continues until a further notice is published.

Part of a wider round of security re-declarations

The same edition of the Gazette carried a parallel notice for another airport reached by the same statutory provision. Notice NTC-31726, signed on 11 November 2026 by the same delegate, revokes notice NTC-31520 for Launceston Airport (published 29 October 2026, official reference C2026G00702) and re-declares that airport as security controlled with a newly established airside area under section 29.

The edition also included a maritime instrument. Notice NTC-31641, signed on 6 November 2026 by delegate Jaran Blethyn (Position No: 48000469), re-declared six South Australian ports as security regulated ports under subsection 13(1) of the Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003:

• Port of Port Adelaide (Maps 1 to 9);
• Port of Port Lincoln (Maps 10 to 11);
• Port of Port Pirie (Maps 12 to 14);
• Port of Port Giles (Maps 15 to 16);
• Port of Wallaroo (Maps 17 to 18);
• Port of Thevenard (Maps 19 to 20).

That notice revoked NTC-31092, published on 20 August 2026 (official reference C2026G00555).

Why it matters

For travellers using Armidale Regional Airport, the formal consequence is that the airport sits within the Commonwealth’s security controlled regime, with a defined airside area separating the screened, access-restricted zone from public areas. For the airport operator, the notice sets the boundary lines against which access control and security obligations under the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 are measured, and any future change to those boundaries would require a further notice published in the Gazette.

Source: Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, Government Notices, 12 November 2026, p. 1 (official reference: C2026G00724).