The capability requires six aircraft that are maintained in strategic locations to respond to oil spills on a 24/7 basis. The current capability provides a capacity to respond to an incident within short time periods. Some of the requirements of the FWADC include:

• six primary aircraft located around Australia
• availability to fly within a specified time period from activation
• suitably equipped to undertake aerial dispersant application activities in the marine environment
• the ability to operate offshore (up to 200 nautical miles from the coast)
• provision of adequately-trained personnel to support contract requirements.