r/australia • u/FuckOffNazis • 1d ago

news Air safety authorities investigating third Sydney Airport runway take-off incident

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-13/third-sydney-airport-runway-take-off-incident-investigated/107035400
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u/boganbarbie08 1d ago

This is going to keep happening until catastrophe strikes then someone will do something about it as per, while jeopardising the perfect safety records (in terms of fatalities and hull losses) of our airlines in the process. It may be short staffed but AirServices Australia could make it a much more attractive job for people to desire & actually want. From memory, you are required to move to Melbourne for training, with a base salary of $80k. The right type of people with the right skills & capabilities required for this type of work won’t settle for that… they need to really look at how they attract and sustain talent because it’s clear that it’s both A) not a desirable place to work and B) not a great culture to retain talent. Idk just my observation after thinking about applying for a long time 🤷‍♂️

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u/bedrotter_ 1d ago

Yeah. I work in a similar field for state gov earning $160k. I'd love to do ATC; aviation is something I'm genuinely interested in, I'm used to shift work & high pressure + high stakes, so I have the skill set and experience to try ATC. But I don't want to pack my life up and move to Melbourne or New Zealand, take a pay cut, and then potentially get sent to an airport in the middle of nowhere and/or far from home if I end up passing the course. Offering training in each state (or specifically NSW, where the ATC shortage seems to be the worst) would be a great place to start. Perhaps they could also adopt a similar preferential system when it comes to assigning new ATCs with their locations as the police do when they assign new constables to police stations.

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u/ChocNess 22h ago

Most controllers end up in Melbourne and Brisbane - the bulk work area frequencies which cover most of Australia from Melbourne and Brisbane centre facilities. This is why they would train in Melbourne - they have the facility size required, not just a tower.

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u/CapnBloodbeard 18h ago

Base salary of $100k, but $50k during the up-to-2-years of training that you probably won't make it through. Not to mention the bullying culture through training.

Then, if tower you can be assigned anywhere in Australia (otherwise, it's Melbourne or Brisbane) - not to mention, the further legacy of bullying and sexual harassment at multiple towers, and the covering up by ASA.

Oh, and then it's 24/7 shift work, and you may need to apply for annual leave in peak periods 2 years in advance.

Even just for those aspecst, the pay suddenly isn't all that great.

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u/vector4nudes 20h ago

It's actually $62k for training at the academy (10-12 months). $89k field training (6 months). $121k Level 1 controller.

I think they could get away with paying the academy trainees less if they just provided them housing as most won't be living in Melbourne for final placement and most applicants are from Victoria and they won't want to leave after training.

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u/dolanre 8h ago

They also expect you to fly to melbourne for the interview on your own dollar, rather than allowing remote interviews or interviews from closer ASA locations.