Extraterritorial airspace is Australian-administered airspace beyond the 12 NM territorial boundary.
Military operating areas
A military operating area (MOA) is a type of danger area (DA) that allows its Administering Authority to apply conditions of entry to:
- all aircraft in Australian territory
- Australian aircraft only in extraterritorial airspace.
We have transitioned most former restricted areas (RAs) that included extraterritorial airspace to MOAs.
In some cases, we have amended the boundaries of RAs that included extraterritorial airspace to remain within Australian territory instead of redeclaring them as MOAs.
Most MOAs have the same dimensions as the previous RAs. Airspace users can refer to AIP documents such as charts, DAH, ERSA, and the AIP book for further information.
What operators need to do
Australian aircraft
When seeking access to MOAs Australian aircraft must request an approval from the Administering Authority listed in the AIP. The Authority may also impose conditions of entry.
Foreign registered aircraft
When seeking access to MOAs we strongly recommend foreign registered aircraft comply with the requirements of MOAs as if they were Australian aircraft. However, they can transit a MOA outside Australian territory without an approval.
Within Australian territory, you must request an approval from the Administering Authority listed in the AIP. The Authority may also impose conditions of entry.
Note: Airservices cannot provide air traffic services to foreign registered aircraft outside Australian territory that transit a MOA without an approval. You will require a new civil clearance to re-enter controlled airspace upon leaving the MOA.
Remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and model aircraft (drones)
When seeking access to MOAs remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and model aircraft (drones) must request an approval from the
Administering Authority listed in the AIP. The Authority may also impose conditions of entry.
We recommend drone operators check the advisory message in a CASA-verified drone safety app.
MOA 'M' designation
MOAs use an 'M' designator, for example, M123. We chose 'M' as the designator because we typically associate DAs in Australia with lower risk activities and flight within them is common.
MOA danger areas, however, will host military exercises and training with risk levels more commonly associated with restricted areas.
This means there is a safety need for us to make sure MOAs are clearly distinguishable.
Airspace users can contact the relevant Administering Authority for further information about a particular MOA. This process has not changed.
The process for publishing NOTAMs has also not changed.
We remind operators that the Administering Authority of any MOA in Australian territory may impose conditions of entry on all aircraft. The Authority may only apply conditions of entry to Australian aircraft for MOAs in extraterritorial airspace.
Temporary declarations
From 30 November 2023 until the end of 27 November 2024, instrument CASA 57/23 applied only to temporary extraterritorial RAs declared when there was a lack of air traffic services (ATS). It directed Australian aircraft to observe the requirements of such temporary RAs. We also strongly recommended that operators of foreign registered aircraft did likewise.
From 28 November 2024 there are changes to the ways that Airservices Australia (AA) manage volumes of enroute airspace that are subject to contingency arrangements. In particular, temporary RAs are no longer declared in any sense outside Australian territory. You can find details of these arrangements in the AIC ‘Changes to ATS contingency airspace management’, available on the AA AIP website.
Background on changes to Airspace Regulations 2007
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issued a notice of deficiency for non-compliance against Australia in November 2019. The notice was for declaring RAs in Australian-administered airspace beyond 12 NM.
ICAO allows us to declare DAs in extraterritorial airspace. While ICAO permits the declaration, the Airspace Regulations 2007 did not allow Australia to declare DAs outside Australian territory prior to 30 November 2023.
We amended the Airspace Regulations 2007 on 30 November 2023 to address the issues with extraterritorial RAs and DAs. We gradually transitioned extraterritorial RAs to MOAs from 30 November 2023 to 28 November 2024.
The amended regulations allow for the declaration of DAs anywhere in Australian-administered airspace. This underpins the migration of extraterritorial RAs to MOAs that was necessary to bring Australia into compliance with ICAO standards and international law.
The amendments introduced 2 new types of DAs:
- MOAs
- a specified type of DA.
Like MOAs, the specified type of DA (not currently in use) allows the Administering Authority to apply conditions of entry to:
- all aircraft in Australian territory
- Australian aircraft only in extraterritorial airspace.