Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Exemption — recency flying at night by holders of night V.F.R. agricultural ratings
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 5.14 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may give directions in Civil Aviation Orders (the CAOs) setting out the requirements for the issue of a flight crew rating to a person. Under subregulation 5.14 (1A) of CAR 1988, the CAOs may include any other requirements and conditions to be satisfied by the person.
CASA has issued a direction in Civil Aviation Order 40.2.2 (the Order). Under subparagraph 5 (1) (a) of Appendix II of the Order, the holder of a night V.F.R. agricultural rating must not exercise the authority given by the rating unless he or she has obtained a minimum of 20 hours’ flying experience at night in agricultural operations in the 12 months preceding the flight. Agricultural pilots are not able to meet the recency requirements because of the nature of the operations.
Under subregulation 308 (1) of 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) of CAR 1988, an exemption is subject to the person complying with any conditions which CASA specifies to be necessary in the interests of safety.
The instrument exempts the holder of a night V.F.R. agricultural rating from the requirement to have obtained a minimum of 20 hours’ flying experience at night in agricultural operations in the 12 months preceding the flight. As a condition of the exemption, however, a recency requirement option of 10 hours or practice of the necessary manoeuvres by night in an unladen agricultural aircraft is substituted. CASA does not think that safety will be compromised if the conditions are met.
Legislative Instruments Act
By operation of subregulation 308 (4) of CAR 1988 and subparagraph 6 (d) (i) of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA), the exemption is a legislative instrument for section 5 of the LIA. 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 the form of discussions with the Aerial Agricultural Association of Australia and at a Part 137 post-implementation review workshop. The instrument remakes a previous instrument, CASA EX22/09, which ceases to have effect at the end of February 2011.
The exemption commences on 1 March 2011 and stops having effect at the end of February 2013.
The exemption has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety under subsection 73 (2) of the Act.
[Instrument number CASA EX28/11]