Stakeholder engagement

Fostering positive, strong, lasting relationships with all those who might be affected by the decisions and activities concerning the airport’s development and operation is a priority for us, and we acknowledge that this is vital to our long-term success.

We recognise that each of our stakeholders have different interests, expectations and interactions with the airport, which inform the sustainability issues we consider to be material.

We engage with our stakeholders to build a better understanding of these interests and expectations so these can inform the decisions that we make as a business. The way we do this is outlined in the table below.

Our key stakeholders

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How we identify our stakeholders

To identify our stakeholders, we work to understand which groups have a ‘stake’ in our business.

That includes, but is not limited to, people and organisations that:

  • work with us to operate the airport, for example to provide goods and service to us, regulate us or operate parts of the airport process
  • interact with our asset, for example as customers, or members of our local community
  • are impacted by our business, for example members of our local community; or
  • have an interest in our business

How we engage

We regularly engage with our stakeholders about airport operations, proposed development and future planning via a range of channels outlined in the table below.

Our Master Planning process includes extensive stakeholder engagement. To understand more about the stakeholder engagement undertaken for Master Plan 2039, see section 5.3 of the Master Plan.

In 2019 we established a deliberative community engagement forum, the Sydney Airport Community Panel, a first of its kind for a major Australian airport. You can read more about our engagement with the Panel in our annual Sustainability Reports.

Stakeholder groupHow we engageTopics of interest
Business partners• Committees and forums

• Briefing and meetings

• Relationship managers

• Service requests

• infoSYD website

• Safety and security

• Customer experience

• Operational efficiency and continuous improvement

• Business continuity and resilience

• Service quality and value

• Whistleblower policy

Local community• Community forums

• Council briefings

• Sentiment surveys

• Partnerships with community organisations

• Media and advertising

• Safety

• Economic and financial performance

• Airport access - roads and public transport

• Noise and environmental management

• Community investment

• Jobs for locals

Customers• Satisfaction surveys

• Feedback channels and service requests

• Media and advertising

• Relationship managers

• Customer experience

• Airport access

• Safety and security

• Operational efficiency and service quality

Employees• Engagement surveys

• Employee committees and working groups

• Yammer (internal social media)

• People leader forums

• CEO newsletters and all staff briefings

• Intranet

• Safety and security

• Sustainable development

• Growth and development

• Health and wellbeing

• Diversity and inclusion

• Fair and ethical operations

• Financial performance

• Whistleblower policy

Government and regulators• Briefings and meetings

• Industry forums

• Submissions

• Industry working groups

• Safety and security

• Climate change

• Airport access

• Operational efficiency and continuous improvement

• Environmental management

• Sustainable development

Investors and analysts• Annual General Meeting

• Roadshows, meetings and conferences

• ASX releases

• Investor days, presentations and briefings

• Analyst surveys

• Economic and financial performance

• Fair and ethical operations

• Climate resilience

• Operational efficiency and continuous improvement

• Safety and security

• Human rights and modern slavery

• ESG performance

Suppliers• Supplier forums

• Meetings

• Assesment against our Supplier Code of Contact

• Safety and security

• Business continuity and resilience

• Customer and experience

• Fair and ethical operations

• Whistleblower policy

Tourism bodies and industry associations• Meetings

• Participation in events and conferences

• Industry forums

• Security

• Economic and financial performance

• Airport access

• Customer experience

• Sustainable development

Sydney Airport Community Forum

We are a member of the Sydney Airport Community Forum (SACF), which was established by the Australian Government and has an independent chair. Its members are appointed by the Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development. SACF’s role is to act as a forum for:

  • providing advice to the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Sydney Airport and aviation authorities on the abatement of aircraft noise and related environmental issues at Sydney Airport. In particular, it is the main body for consultation on the Long Term Operating Plan for the airport.
  • providing advice to aviation authorities to facilitate improved consultation and information flows to the community about the airport’s operations.

Other members of SACF include representatives from the communities surrounding the airport, local councils, Federal and state Members of Parliament and representatives from the international and domestic airline industry. You can access more information on SACF and view its meeting minutes on the SACF website.

We attend and regularly report to SACF about a range of airport-related issues, including:

  • impacts of existing development and operations
  • plans for future development and steps being taken to implement the airport’s Master Plan or develop a new plan
  • proposals to increase or change aviation services
  • noise (including aircraft noise) and environmental issues
  • ground transport and access issues
  • access issues for passengers, including people with disabilities
  • planning, regulatory, and policy changes affecting the airport
  • improvements or changes to airport facilities
  • Ensuring effective complaints-handling procedures are in place
  • reports from Airservices Australia and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority on issues affecting the community
  • the contribution of the airport to the local, regional and national economy
  • strategies to ensure the broad community is informed of issues discussed in the group

Read more about our community engagement in Community investment and social impact.