Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Exemption — requirements for authorised release certificate
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.
Subregulation 308 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) provides that CASA may exempt aircraft, or persons in, on, or otherwise associated with the operation of aircraft, from compliance with specified provisions of CAR 1988. Subregulation 308 (2) provides that before making an exemption, CASA must take into account any relevant considerations relating to the interests of safety. Subregulation 308 (3) provides that CASA may make an exemption subject to conditions specified in the exemption as being necessary in the interests of safety.
Paragraph 42W (4) (d) of CAR 1988 requires that an aircraft component to which subregulation 42W (5) applies must not be installed in an aircraft unless the supplier of the component has supplied an authorised release certificate (ARC) with it. Regulation 42WA contains requirements for an ARC including, in paragraph (b), a statement that it must be issued by the National Airworthiness Authority (NAA) of the country in which maintenance was carried out or, if no maintenance has been carried out, the NAA of the country in which it was manufactured.
The operator who had originally requested the exemption has entered into a contractual arrangement for leasing aircraft which requires all parts fitted to the aircraft to be accompanied by an ARC supplied as approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States of America (FAA).
This arrangement does not refer to the location of the place where the maintenance was carried out or the component manufactured.
The exemption allows an ARC to be issued in accordance with that arrangement. The conditions of the exemption are that the operator must ensure that the ARC it obtains is issued under an EASA or FAA approval and that it has been issued by a person authorised to do so by the NAA that has oversight of the issuing organisation. These conditions are intended to guarantee the airworthiness of the component.
The exemption has been issued to all operators as it is consistent with intended changes to CAR 1988 and recognises accepted practice.
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 exemption will allow operators, where applicable, to maintain leased aircraft in accordance with leasing agreements and contains conditions to guarantee the safety of air navigation.
The instrument commences on the day after registration. It stops having effect at the end of May 2012.
The exemption has been issued by the Director of Aviation Safety, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 73 (2) of the Act.
[Instrument number CASA EX55/11]