Australian and International Pilots Association and Civil Aviation Safety Authority

The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) sought to challenge an instrument issued by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). The dispute concerned whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) had jurisdiction to review the instrument, which imposed or varied conditions on flight crew licences. The matter came before Deputy B W Rayment Oam Qc P.

The central legal issue before the court was the interpretation and application of section 31 of the *Civil Aviation Act 1988* (Cth) to determine if the AAT possessed jurisdiction to review the instrument issued by CASA. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the instrument constituted a "reviewable decision" as defined in section 31(1) of the Act, particularly in relation to the imposition or variation of conditions on flight crew licences.

The court reasoned that the applicant's members, who are pilots, hold flight crew licences granted under the *Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998* (CASR). CASA issued an instrument, the Civil Aviation Order 48.1 Instrument 2019, which the applicant contended imposed conditions on these licences or varied existing conditions. The court examined the definition of "reviewable decision" in section 31(1) of the *Civil Aviation Act 1988*, which includes the imposition or variation of a condition contained in a licence. The court was satisfied that the instrument, by imposing conditions on flight crew licences for the management of fatigue risk, fell within the scope of paragraph (b) of the definition of a reviewable decision, thereby granting the AAT jurisdiction to review it.