Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998
ATSO-C1007b - flight data recorder interface unit
Legislation
Under section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act and in the interests of the safety of air navigation. Under regulation 21.601 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998), CASA may issue an Australian Technical Standards Order (ATSO) for specified articles used on civil aircraft.
CASA is aware of some manufacturers in Australia that want to manufacture Flight Data Recorder Interface Units for sale and use within Australia. However, there is no suitable US or Australian design standards published for these units. In the absence of the design standards each manufacturer would be required to develop their own design standards and have those approved by CASA. The manufacturers would also be required to pay for CASA to assess and approve the design standards.
Industry has requested CASA to develop and publish design standards for Flight Data Recorder Interface Units (FDRIUs). This would avoid the need for individual manufacturers to develop their own design standards and the associated costs.
CASA raised ATSO-C1007a - Flight Data Recorder Interface Unit design standards to give Australian manufacturers a design standard which would enable them to manufacture FDRIUs for sale and use within Australia.
This instrument replaces ATSO-C1007a with ATSO-C1007b. It will apply to applications for ATSO authorisations or design approvals that are submitted after its commencement. It removes the previous requirement under subsection 9.2 to provide the information mentioned in paragraphs 7 (h) to 7 (o) to intending users of the equipment. It is considered that this could be the intellectual property of the manufacturer and need not be made available to third parties. It also removes the previous paragraph 9.2 (b) which required disclosure of particulars of the ATSO authorisation from CASA. This has been done for the same reason.
An FDRIU must comply with the applicable minimum performance standards in clause 1 of Appendix 1.
Consultation
This ATSO was issued after a request from the public. As the alterations to ATSO-C1007a are minor and clarify the intention of the original document, which was not to require disclosure of intellectual property of the manufacturer and require a manufacturer to comply only with the applicable minimum standards in Appendix 1 of ATSO-C1007b for their FDRIU, no further consultation was considered necessary.
The new instrument requires the FDRIU to meet the performance requirements specified in Schedule 1 to CAO 103.19, in order to comply with the new ARINC 717-15 signal characteristics. This approach does not change the obligations of a manufacturer to meet minimum performance standards, but introduces additional flexibility in how a manufacturer meets those performance standards.
Regulatory Impact
The OBPR assessed that the ATSO is machinery in nature and no further analysis in the form of a Regulation Impact Statement was required (OBPR ID: 15078).
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment 1.
Commencement and making
The instrument commences on the day after registration.
This ATSO has been made by a delegate of CASA relying on the power of delegation under paragraph 21.601 (2) (a) of CASR 1998.
[Instrument number ATSO-C1007b]
Attachment 1
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
ATSO-C1007b - flight data recorder interface unit
This legislative instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the legislative instrument
CASA raised ATSO-C1007a to give Australian manufacturers a design standard which will enable them to manufacture Flight Data Recorder Interface Units for sale and use within Australia. The ATSO related to specified aeronautical products.
This ATSO replaces ATSO-C1007a to remove the previous requirement to provide certain information to intending users of the equipment, as it could be the intellectual property of the manufacturer and should not be made available to third parties. It also replaces the previous requirement to comply with the standards in Appendix 1 with a requirement to update the parameters in Civil Aviation Order 103.19 to meet the new ARINC 717-15 signal characteristics.
Human rights implications
This legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms. Its purpose is to protect the intellectual property of the manufacturer.
Conclusion
This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority