Between 2015 and July 2025, we issued a total of 857 air display approvals in Australia. In 2022, we introduced new regulations that consolidated the approval process, streamlining requirements for operators. We can attribute the noticeable reduction in approvals from 2023 onwards to Defence, which no longer operates under Part 91 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations and therefore does not require air display approvals.
The table below presents a detailed breakdown of applications over this period.
Source: CASA EAP
Air displays occurrences 2000 - 2024
An analysis of air display occurrences indicates a total of 16 accidents, 6 of which resulted in fatalities. There were also 12 serious incidents and 14 incidents recorded.
Note: There were some anomalies and nuances in classifying this data from the ATSB. As there is no specific 'Air Show' classification, we made assumptions based on the details entered in the occurrence data. Furthermore, some events may have related to aerobatic training or Air Display practice flights rather than public displays.
For example, the ATSB recorded the fatal accident involving a Grumman aircraft in Western Australia in January 2017 under 'aerial work'.
| Total accidents | Fatal accidents | Serious incidents | Incidents | Total |
| 13 | 6 | 12 | 14 | 39 |
Source: ATSB Occurrence Database