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From October 2025, the H225 will be operated by ARC Helicopters from Victoria to perform essential missions including firefighting and utility operations across the region.
Assistant Minister for Defence Peter Khalil will oversee the new body alongside NSW Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe, with an initial focus on affected sites in NSW.
Queensland Fire Department has secured an extension to the contract of its Large Air Tanker aircraft until the end of the 2026–27 fire season, with four additional services also made available until the end of the 2028–29 bushfire risk period.
In its final report, the safety watchdog found that the crash of the Rockwell 695A Jetprop Commander light aircraft, registered VH-HPY, on 4 November 2023 was likely due to pilot hypoxia from a faulty pressurisation system of which operator AGAIR had been aware for some time.
The Queensland-based firm plans to use the Transall C-160 fixed-wing aircraft, which can safely land on small regional airstrips for refilling, to bolster its aerial firefighting capabilities in remote and rugged locations. It aims to have all three operational for the 2025–26 fire season.
This season has seen around 3,000 drops by both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft, up from 1,399 hours in the previous period, which the state government has attributed to longer and larger fire incidents.
