CASA ADCX 013/14 - Repeal of Airworthiness Directives

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Legislation au F2014L00942 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Explanatory Statement

Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998

CASA ADCX 013/14 — Repeal of Airworthiness Directives

Legislation

Under section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act), the Governor-General may make regulations for the Act and in the interests of the safety of air navigation. Under regulation 39.001 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998), CASA may issue an airworthiness directive (AD) for a kind of aircraft or aeronautical product. Under subsections 98 (5B) and (5BA) of the Act, an AD is a legislative instrument unless it is expressed to apply in relation to a particular person, a particular aircraft or a particular aeronautical product.

Under subsection 33 (3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character (including rules, regulations or by-laws), the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions
(if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument.

Under Annex 8 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, the State of Design has overall responsibility for continuing airworthiness of an aircraft type and must provide any information necessary to ensure the continuing airworthiness of a type to appropriate States of Registry. ADs (and their equivalents) are the most common form of continuing airworthiness information and are issued by most International Civil Aviation Organization Contracting States.

The State of Registry of an individual aircraft is responsible for its continuing airworthiness. Under Annex 8, the State of Registry must develop or adopt requirements to ensure the continuing airworthiness of aircraft. Foreign State of Design ADs issued on or after 1 October 2009 are defined as ADs under regulation 39.001A of CASR 1998. When a foreign State of Design issues an AD for a type of aircraft on the Australian Register, CASA, as Australia’s national airworthiness authority, must accept that AD. However, CASA may grant an exclusion from the AD or approve an acceptable means of compliance other than that set out in the AD.

Repeal

This instrument repeals 3 ADs for the following reasons.

This instrument repeals AD/BELL 205/72 and AD/BELL 212/66 because the requirements of AD/BELL 205/72 and AD/BELL 212/66 will be superseded by United States of America Federal Aviation Administration AD 2014-12-04 issued on 4 June 2014 with an effective date of 24 July 2014.

 

This instrument also repeals AD/PMC/34. The requirements of this AD were accomplished by reference to maintenance instructions issued by the manufacturer. That maintenance data has now been incorporated within the instructions for continuing airworthiness issued by the manufacturer; therefore the actions of this AD are no longer required.  The repeal of AD/PMC/34 becomes effective on
10 July 2014.

Consultation

No consultation with the Australian public has taken place on the repeal of AD/PMC/34, AD/BELL 205/72 and AD/BELL 212/66.  AD/BELL 205/72 and AD/BELL 212/66 applied foreign State of Design ADs that will no longer be in force in the State of Design and their retention would have been purposeless. AD/PMC/34 applied maintenance instructions issued by the product manufacturer, which have now been incorporated within the instructions for continuing airworthiness issued by the manufacturer. Therefore the actions of this AD are no longer required. The repeals result in a reduction of the regulatory burden. For this reason, it is CASA’s view that it is not necessary or appropriate to undertake any further consultation under section 17 of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

 

Regulation Impact Statement

A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is not required because ADs are covered by a standing agreement between CASA and the Office of Best Practice Regulation under which a RIS is not required for ADs.

 

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment 1.

 

Making and commencement

The instrument has been made by a delegate of CASA relying on the power of delegation under subregulation 11.260 (1) of CASR 1998 and subsection 94 (1) of the Act.

The instrument commences on 10 July 2014.

[Instrument number CASA ADCX 013/14]

Attachment 1

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

CASA ADCX 013/14 — Repeal of Airworthiness Directives

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

The purpose of this legislative instrument is to repeal airworthiness directives (ADs) that have been superseded by foreign State of Design ADs issued by the national airworthiness authority of the State of Design of the aircraft or aeronautical product, or applied maintenance instructions issued by the product manufacturer, which have now been incorporated within the instructions for continuing airworthiness issued by the manufacturer.

 

These ADs relate to inspection and rectification or maintenance of specified aircraft or aeronautical products.

 

Human rights implications

This legislative instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms.

 

Conclusion

This legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Overview

The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998) were enacted by the Governor-General under section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, to ensure the safety of air navigation. These regulations empower the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to issue airworthiness directives (AD) for aircraft and aeronautical products. The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASA ADCX 013/14) were introduced to repeal certain ADs that had been superseded by newer directives issued by foreign States of Design or through the incorporation of maintenance instructions by manufacturers. This repeal aimed to streamline regulations, reduce redundancy, and lower the regulatory burden on industry participants. The instrument was made by CASA under delegated authority and commenced on 10 July 2014. The legislative instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not engage any applicable rights or freedoms.

Scope and Application

The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, as amended by CASA ADCX 013/14, pertain to airworthiness directives (ADs) that govern the safety of air navigation in Australia. These regulations apply to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), which is the national airworthiness authority responsible for ensuring the continuing airworthiness of aircraft registered in Australia. CASA has the power to issue ADs under the Civil Aviation Act 1988, and these directives can be legislative instruments unless they are specifically directed at a particular person, aircraft, or aeronautical product. The repealed ADs, such as those for the BELL 205/72 and BELL 212/66 aircraft, as well as AD/PMC/34, were superseded by newer directives from the United States Federal Aviation Administration or have had their requirements incorporated into manufacturer instructions for continuing airworthiness. The repeal of these directives reduces the regulatory burden without compromising safety. The repeals are effective from 10 July 2014, as determined by CASA without further consultation, given that the directives in question are either outdated or their requirements have been integrated elsewhere.

Key Provisions

The Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998) include provisions that allow the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to issue airworthiness directives (ADs) to ensure the safety of aircraft and aeronautical products. Under section 39.001 of the CASR 1998, CASA can issue an AD for a particular kind of aircraft or aeronautical product. These ADs are legislative instruments unless they apply to a specific person, aircraft, or aeronautical product (Civil Aviation Act 1988, s 98(5B) and (5BA)). The authority to issue these directives comes from section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988, which allows the Governor-General to make regulations for air navigation safety. Moreover, the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (s 33(3)) empowers CASA to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any legislative instrument. This regulatory framework ensures that CASA can respond to safety concerns by issuing or repealing ADs as necessary. The obligations imposed by the repealed ADs primarily concerned the maintenance and inspection of specific aircraft and aeronautical products to ensure their continuing airworthiness. For example, AD/BELL 205/72 and AD/BELL 212/66 required certain inspections and maintenance tasks to be performed on Bell 205 and Bell 212 aircraft respectively. AD/PMC/34 applied to maintenance instructions issued by the product manufacturer, which have since been incorporated into the manufacturer's continuing airworthiness instructions. These ADs were intended to ensure that aircraft and products met the necessary safety standards. Breach of airworthiness directives could result in serious safety risks and, therefore, the regulations impose significant obligations on the parties involved. Failure to comply with an AD could lead to penalties under the Civil Aviation Act 1988. Specifically, non-compliance could result in civil penalties, including fines, and criminal penalties, including imprisonment, if the breach leads to a serious risk to safety. The maximum penalties for breaches that involve serious risks to safety can include substantial fines and imprisonment for individuals involved in the operation of the aircraft or aeronautical product. This legislative instrument does not specify particular offences or penalties for the repeal itself but references the broader framework under which ADs operate. The repealed ADs, if they had remained in effect, would have imposed specific obligations and potential penalties for non-compliance. However, with their repeal, the obligations they imposed are no longer applicable. The repeal aims to reduce the regulatory burden by removing redundant directives and aligning with updated international standards and manufacturer instructions.

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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.