Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Exemption — night acrobatic flight
Legislation
Section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the Act and in the interests of the safety of air navigation.
Under subregulation 308 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may exempt persons from compliance with specified provisions of CAR 1988 in relation to a category of aircraft. Under subregulation 308 (3), an exemption is subject to the person complying with any conditions which CASA specifies to be necessary in the interests of safety.
Under paragraph 155 (1) (a) of CAR 1988, a pilot in command must not fly an aircraft in acrobatic flight at night.
The Australian International Air Show 2011 (the Air Show) is scheduled to be held at Avalon, Victoria, from 1 March 2011 to 6 March 2011 inclusive. The organiser, Aviation Development Australia Limited, proposed a display program that includes night acrobatic performances and asked for an exemption for 2 experienced pilots to perform night acrobatic flights at the Air Show using the aircraft specified in the exemption. Both pilots hold qualifications issued by the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America.
Having considered the safety implications of the request for the exemption in the context of the controlled environment of the Air Show, CASA agreed to grant the exemption from the requirements of paragraph 155 (1) (a) of CAR 1988.
Legislative Instruments Act
Subregulation 308 (4) of CAR 1988 declares an exemption to be a disallowable instrument. 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. The exemption is, therefore, 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 not been undertaken in this case. The instrument is an exemption requested for a specific activity during a specified period. Similar instruments have been issued for operations of this nature at air shows.
The instrument commences on 24 February 2011 and stops having effect at the end of 4 March 2011. It will only apply to the night display that is part of the official program approved by the organisers of the Air Show.
The exemption has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety, on behalf of CASA, under subsection 73 (2) of the Act.
[Instrument number CASA EX18/11]