CASA 181/11 – Authorisation – to carry out maintenance on class A or class B aircraft – Exemption – to certify maintenance on class A or class B aircraft

Administered by Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts

Legislation au F2011L01198 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Explanatory Statement

Civil Aviation Regulations 1988

Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998

Authorisation — to carry out maintenance on class A or class B aircraft
Exemption — to certify maintenance on class A or class B aircraft

Regulatory Context

Section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the Act and the safety of air navigation.

 

Legislation

Regulation 30 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) describes in detail how a person (a CAR 30 organisation) engaged in the maintenance of aircraft must hold CASA’s certificate of approval for the activity.

 

Regulation 42ZC of CAR 1988 describes in detail who may perform maintenance on an Australian aircraft in Australian territory. Subregulation 42ZC (3) addresses who may carry out maintenance on a Class A aircraft. Subregulation 42ZC (4) addresses who may carry out maintenance on a Class B aircraft. A Class B aircraft is one that is not Class A. A Class A aircraft is one that is certificated in the transport category or one under an air operator’s certificate for regular public transport operations. Among those mentioned in subregulations 42ZC (3) and (4) is a person authorised by CASA, for the purpose, under subregulation 42ZC (6).

 

Regulation 42ZE provides that a person who caries out maintenance on an Australian aircraft in Australian territory must ensure that completion of the maintenance is appropriately certified.

 

Under subregulation 42ZE (1) of CAR 1988, a person who carries out maintenance on an Australian aircraft in Australian territory must ensure that completion of maintenance is certified in accordance with the approved system of certification of completion of maintenance, or the CASA system of certification of completion of maintenance. These systems normally require certification to be made immediately after the maintenance is completed. Thus, certification is to occur at the time the maintenance is completed.

 

Under subregulation 308 (1) of CAR 1988, CASA may exempt aircraft, or persons in, on, or otherwise associated with the operation of, the aircraft, from compliance with specified provisions of CAR 1988. Under subregulation 308 (2), before making an exemption, CASA must take into account any relevant considerations relating to the interests of safety. Under subregulation 308 (3), CASA may make an exemption subject to any condition specified in the exemption as being necessary in the interests of safety. Under subregulation 308 (3A), it is an offence to contravene a condition of an exemption that is otherwise being relied upon for an operation.

 

Background

Instrument number CASA 463/10 authorised a person employed by a particular CAR 30 organisation, Damlan Pty Limited, trading as Manta Aviation (Manta Aviation), to carry out maintenance in the form of aircraft polishing. The person was also exempted from paragraph 42ZE (1) (b) of CAR 1988. This requires a person who carries out maintenance to ensure certification of completion of the maintenance in accordance with the CASA system of certification. The CASA system is set out in Schedule 6 of CAR 1988 and although it permits certain supervised maintenance, this does not extend to supervision of maintenance carried out by a person authorised by CASA under subregulation 42ZC (6). Hence, the need for an exemption from paragraph 42ZE (1) (b), subject to conditions which required an appropriate degree of supervision for the person. Under CASA 463/10, the supervision was to be given by the holder of an aircraft maintenance engineer licence or a relevant maintenance authority.

 

Amendments made to CAR 1988 and the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998) by the Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation Safety Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) (registered on 14 December 2010) changed licence nomenclature and licence categories and as a result there was a need to reflect these changes for the type

of person eligible to supervise an aircraft polisher.

 

Aircraft polishing must be carried out with great care and, therefore, the opportunity has also been taken to align the definition of supervises with that in clause 30 of Part 3 of the CASR Dictionary (inserted by the Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation Safety Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1)).

 

The instrument authorises persons employed by Manta Aviation to carry out aircraft polishing. Aircraft polishing, because of the tools and procedures that are used, may be classified as low level maintenance.

 

More details of the authorisation, exemption and conditions are in Attachment 1.

 

Legislative Instruments Act

Under subparagraph 6 (d) (i) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA), an instrument is a legislative instrument for section 5 of the LIA if it is declared to be a

disallowable instrument under legislation in force before the commencement of the LIA. Under subregulation 308 (4) of CAR 1988, an exemption is a disallowable instrument. The exemption section is, therefore, a provision of a legislative character, although the other provisions in the instrument are administrative. Under subsection 5 (4) of the LIA, an instrument that contains both legislative and administrative provisions is taken to be a legislative instrument and it is subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LIA.

 

Consultation

Consultation under section 17 of the LIA has been undertaken in this case on a one-to-one basis with Manta Aviation.

 

Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)

The exemption is of beneficial, not adverse, effect to the operator. Therefore, OBPR does not require preparation of a Regulation Impact Statement in this case because a preliminary assessment of business compliance costs in the context of the nature of the instrument indicates that it will have only a nil to low impact on business.

 

Making and commencement

The instrument has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 73 (2) of the Act.

 

The instrument comes into effect on 27 June 2011. It stops having effect at the end of 26 June 2013. In the interests of prudence, 2 years is currently the usual duration of an exemption under CAR 1988. It is expected that before the instrument expires in 2013, either the regulations will have been amended to substantively address the issues, or the instrument will be remade in the same terms before it expires.

 

[Instrument number CASA 181/11]

ATTACHMENT 1

Details of the authorisation and exemption

1 Duration

 Under this section, the instrument:

(a) commences on 27 June 2011 and stops having effect at the earlier of:

 (i) the end of 26 June 2013; or

 (ii) the day that Damlan Pty Limited, trading as Manta Aviation, Aviation Reference Number 601671 (Manta Aviation), ceases to hold a certificate of approval covering aircraft polishing under regulation 30 of CAR 1988.

2 Revocation

 Under this section, instrument CASA 463/10 is revoked.

3 Application

 Under this section, the instrument applies to maintenance in the form of aircraft polishing carried out by Manta Aviation on Class A or Class B aircraft.

4 Authorisation — to carry out aircraft polishing maintenance

 Under this section, for paragraphs 42ZC (3) (d) and (4) (e) of CAR 1988, a person employed by Manta Aviation for carrying out aircraft polishing (an aircraft polisher) is authorised to carry out maintenance in the form of aircraft polishing subject to section 6.

5 Exemption — to certify aircraft polishing maintenance

 Under this section, an aircraft polisher who carries out aircraft polishing in accordance with the authorisation in section 4 is exempt from compliance with paragraph 42ZE (1) (b) of CAR 1988, subject to the condition mentioned in Schedule 1.

 A Note explains that under paragraph 42ZE (1) (b) of CAR 1988 a person who carries out maintenance on an Australian aircraft in Australian territory must ensure that completion of maintenance is certified in accordance with the CASA system of certification of completion of maintenance.

6 Conditions on authorisation

 Under this section, the authorisation is subject to the condition mentioned in Schedule 2.

7 Definitions

 Under this section, important terms are defined. Thus, in the instrument:

qualified supervisor means a person who:

(a) holds an aircraft engineer licence, or an airworthiness maintenance authority, covering maintenance on the class of aircraft; and

(b) is supervising the aircraft polisher in the carrying out of the polishing operation.

supervising means:

(a) is physically present at the place that the polishing operation is being carried out; and

(b) is observing the operation being carried out to the extent necessary to enable the supervisor to form an opinion as to whether the operation is being carried out properly; and

(c) is available to give advice to, and answer questions about the operation from, the aircraft polisher carrying it out.

Schedule 1 Condition for exemption

  Schedule 1 states a condition for the exemption, namely, that only a qualified supervisor employed by Manta Aviation may certify for completion of aircraft polishing by an aircraft polisher.

Schedule 2 Condition for authorisation

  Schedule 2 states a condition for the authorisation, namely, that the aircraft polisher must be supervised by a qualified supervisor employed by Manta Aviation.

Overview

The Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 were enacted to regulate the safety of air navigation and the maintenance of aircraft, ensuring that all aviation activities are carried out in a manner that safeguards public safety and national security. This regulation is authorised under section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, which empowers the Governor-General to create regulations pertaining to the safety of air navigation. The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 further detail the specific requirements for maintaining and certifying aircraft maintenance activities, including the authorisation and exemption provisions for specific maintenance tasks. The primary policy objective is to ensure that aircraft maintenance is performed safely and effectively, with particular attention to the supervision and certification of maintenance tasks to mitigate safety risks. This legislative framework was designed to address the need for precise regulation of aircraft maintenance activities, particularly those that require careful execution and certification to prevent safety hazards. The recent amendments and specific exemptions provided under this regulation, such as the authorisation for Damlan Pty Limited, trading as Manta Aviation, to carry out aircraft polishing with certain conditions, reflect ongoing efforts to adapt to changing operational contexts and technological advancements while maintaining stringent safety standards. The regulations are enforced by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and are subject to review and potential amendment to reflect evolving safety considerations and operational practices within the aviation industry.

Scope and Application

The Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation Safety Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) modifies the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) and the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998) to allow for specific authorisation and exemptions related to aircraft maintenance conducted by Damlan Pty Limited, trading as Manta Aviation. The instrument, CASA 181/11, authorises personnel employed by Manta Aviation to perform aircraft polishing, a form of maintenance, on Class A and Class B aircraft. Class A aircraft include those certificated in the transport category or under an air operator’s certificate for regular public transport operations, while Class B aircraft are those not classified as Class A. The authorisation is conditional upon the aircraft polisher being supervised by a qualified supervisor, defined as an individual holding an appropriate aircraft engineer licence or airworthiness maintenance authority and being physically present during the polishing operation to ensure proper execution. Additionally, the instrument exempts these personnel from certain certification requirements under CAR 1988, subject to the condition that only a qualified supervisor may certify the completion of aircraft polishing. This exemption, however, is subject to disallowance under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. The instrument is effective from 27 June 2011 until the earlier of 26 June 2013 or the revocation of Manta Aviation’s certificate of approval.

Key Provisions

The key provisions of this legislation revolve around the authorisation and exemption for Manta Aviation, a CAR 30 organisation, to carry out maintenance on Class A and Class B aircraft, specifically aircraft polishing. Regulation 30 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) mandates that organisations like Manta Aviation must hold CASA’s certificate of approval to perform maintenance activities. Regulation 42ZC of CAR 1988 specifies who is eligible to perform maintenance on Australian aircraft in Australian territory, with subregulations 42ZC(3) and 42ZC(4) detailing the eligibility criteria for Class A and Class B aircraft, respectively. Additionally, subregulation 42ZC(6) allows CASA to authorise certain individuals to carry out maintenance. Regulation 42ZE of CAR 1988 requires that maintenance on Australian aircraft in Australian territory must be certified upon completion, as per the CASA system of certification. The Act imposes several obligations and requirements on the parties involved. Firstly, the aircraft polishers employed by Manta Aviation must be supervised by a qualified supervisor, defined as someone holding an aircraft engineer licence or an airworthiness maintenance authority relevant to the aircraft class. The supervisor must be physically present during the polishing operation, observe it to ensure proper execution, and be available to provide advice and answer questions. Moreover, any exemption from the certification requirement must be granted by CASA, taking into account safety considerations and potentially subject to specific conditions necessary for safety. Failure to comply with the conditions set forth in the exemption and authorisation, or contravening any condition specified in an exemption, is considered an offence under the legislation. The consequences for such breaches can include civil or criminal penalties, although the specific maximum penalties are not detailed in the provided text. The legislative instrument is a disallowable instrument under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, meaning it is subject to tabling and disallowance in Parliament. The instrument has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety on behalf of CASA and will cease to have effect on 26 June 2013, or earlier if Manta Aviation no longer holds the relevant certificate of approval.

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Instrument
Regulation
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Licensing & Registration
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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.