ATAS FAQ's

No, a travel agent licence is not required to operate a travel agency.

If you are considering trading as a travel agent, please seek independent legal and commercial advice about how to enter the industry. General information on starting a travel agent can be found here.

ATAS or the Australian Travel Accreditation Scheme is a national accreditation scheme which certifies Australian travel intermediaries. It is administered by the industry association, the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA)

To be eligible to apply for ATAS accreditation, you must meet the ATAS definition of a 'Travel Intermediary'.

A 'travel intermediary' is an entity, domiciled, registered or incorporated in Australia, who sells a travel product on behalf of a travel supplier. This includes, but is not limited to, a travel agent, Travel Management Company, aggregator, distributor, online travel agent, inbound tour operator, wholesaler and a consolidator.

An 'entity' is a sole trader, partnership, trust or company (proprietary limited or limited). An ‘entity' does not include independent contractors, sub-agents, branch offices, or persons employed by an entity.

83% of consumers will use a travel agent when booking an overseas trip. Of those, 71% will choose an ATAS accredited travel agent over a non-accredited business.

ATAS is an important third party industry endorsement. ATIA strongly recommends that trusted, quality and professional travel business become ATAS industry accredited.

Whilst we strongly recommend it, it is not compulsory for travel agents to be accredited.

In addition to ATAS accreditation, travel agents can be accredited by a number of other organisations within their industry, such as the International Air Transport Association Contact the relevant organisations for more information about these accreditation schemes.

The Australian Government's Travel Industry Transition Plan 2012 calls for a voluntary industry-led accreditation scheme.

ATAS participation is subject to an annual fee and based on an entity's annual gross 'Total Transaction Value' or TTV, as per the category levels.

ATAS Participant Fees 

• Start-up businesses will pay the applicable Participant Fee upon becoming accredited .A start-up business is defined as a business that is in the first stages of its operation, and has either recently started trading or is about to commence trading.
• Total Transaction Value (TTV) equals the gross annual turnover of the entity applying. If your entity has multiple selling locations then the TTV is the gross annual turnover of all locations under the single entity's ABN.

No, ATAS accreditation is only available to Australian registered businesses, incorporated or domiciled in Australia.

As an ATAS accredited business you are require to inform us as soon as any of your details change.

For example, if you have recently changed networks, ownership or business details like address, contact number or authorised person.

Please complete this form and return to compliance@afta.com.au .