Aviation Law
A specialist niche in a heavily regulated sector
Aviation is a small field with its own regulators, its own contracts and its own liability regimes. We act for operators, owners, maintenance organisations and insurers across the commercial and regulatory side of it.
What we do
Aviation work, by area
Commercial aviation work and the disputes that come out of it.
01
Aircraft transactions
Sale, purchase, lease and finance
Aircraft sale and purchase agreements, dry and wet leases, financing and security, registration and delivery and redelivery conditions.
02
Maintenance and LAMEs
Contracts for maintenance organisations
Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers and maintenance organisations need contracts that define scope, airworthiness responsibility, parts supply, warranty, liability limits and payment. The absence of those terms is what most maintenance disputes turn on.
- Scope of work and airworthiness responsibility
- Parts, tooling and supply arrangements
- Warranty and rectification obligations
- Liability limits and insurance requirements
- Payment, liens and retention of aircraft
- Record-keeping and regulatory obligations
03
Regulatory
CASA and the compliance framework
Certification and approvals, regulatory investigations, and the compliance obligations attaching to operators and maintenance organisations.
04
Liability and insurance
Incidents, cargo and claims
Hull and liability claims, cargo damage claims, passenger liability, and insurance coverage disputes arising from aviation operations.
05
Aviation disputes
Litigation and arbitration
Redelivery and repossession disputes, disputes with suppliers, and proceedings arising out of incidents, in court and in arbitration.
How we work
Three steps
01
The regulatory question first
Whether an issue is commercial or regulatory changes who you need to talk to and how fast. That gets answered before anything else.
02
Scope and fee in writing
Fixed where it can be fixed, estimated with a warning where it genuinely cannot.
03
Advice in industry terms
Aviation clients do not need aviation explained to them. Advice is written for people who already know the operation.
Common questions
Aviation questions, answered
What contracts does a maintenance organisation need?
At minimum a maintenance services agreement defining scope and airworthiness responsibility, terms of trade covering payment and liens, and a parts supply arrangement. Liability limits and insurance requirements should be express rather than left to implication.
Can a maintenance organisation retain an aircraft over an unpaid invoice?
That depends on whether the contract creates a lien and whether it has been properly preserved. Retaining an aircraft without a contractual or statutory right is a serious exposure, and this is worth resolving in the contract rather than in the hangar.
What law applies to international carriage?
International carriage of passengers and cargo is governed by the Warsaw and Montreal regime as implemented in Australian law, which sets liability limits and notice periods that differ from ordinary contract law.
Do you act for insurers as well as operators?
Yes, though never on both sides of the same matter. Conflicts are checked before an engagement is accepted.
Also relevant
Related services
Next step
An aviation matter to talk through?
Tell us what the aircraft, the contract or the incident is, and we will tell you where you stand.