Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Exemption — maintenance releases for class B aircraft
Legislation
Section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 empowers the Governor-General to make regulations.
Under subregulation 308 (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may, among other things, exempt an aircraft or category of aircraft, or persons associated with the operation of those aircraft, from compliance with specified provisions of CAR 1988. Subregulation 308 (3) provides that such an exemption is subject to the aircraft complying with any conditions specified by CASA as being necessary in the interests of safety.
Under subregulation 41 (1) of CAR 1988, the holder of the certificate of registration for a class B aircraft (the registered operator) must ensure that all maintenance required to be carried out on the aircraft by the aircraft’s maintenance schedule is carried out when required by that schedule.
Under paragraph 43 (7) (a) of CAR 1988, an authorised person may issue a maintenance release only if all maintenance required to be carried out on an aircraft has been certified in accordance with regulation 42ZE or 42ZN to have been completed.
If an aircraft that has been certified for Instrument Flight Rules (I.F.R.) operations, it is required to have all maintenance work on its I.F.R. system completed when required under its maintenance schedule. The I.F.R. system maintenance that is due as required by the maintenance schedule must be certified to have been completed before a maintenance release can be issued.
It has been proposed that the application of these provisions be modified so that a class B aircraft engaged in private, or aerial work, operations may be issued with a maintenance release in spite of maintenance on its I.F.R. system not having been completed. In that case, the maintenance release must contain a condition that clears the aircraft for operations under the Visual Flight Rules (V.F.R.) only.
The exemption has been issued to give effect to that proposal. It exempts the registered operator and authorised person from compliance with subregulation 41 (1) and paragraph 43 (7) (a) of CAR 1988. It allows a class B aircraft to be issued with a maintenance release that allows it to operate under the V.F.R. if required maintenance for I.F.R. operations has not been carried out.
The exemption is subject to conditions. The authorised person must ensure that the maintenance release contains an endorsement stating that the aircraft is suitable for V.F.R. operations only and the registered operator must ensure that the aircraft only engages in such operations. When the required I.F.R. maintenance is carried out, the registered operator must ensure that completion of that maintenance is certified in accordance with regulation 42ZE or 42ZN of CAR 1988.
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 in legislation in force before the commencement of the LIA. The exemption is, therefore, a legislative instrument and 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 has been prepared following a request from industry and is minor or machinery in nature.
The instrument commences on the day after it is registered and stops having effect at the end of May 2009.
The instrument has been made by a delegate of CASA, under subregulation 7 (1) of CAR 1988.
[Instrument number CASA EX60/07]