Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998
CASA EX83/24 — Authorised Release Certificate (FAA or EASA Approved Components) Exemption 2024
Purpose
The purpose of this legislative instrument is to permit the installation, in an aircraft that is maintained under the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR), of components manufactured or maintained by organisations that are approved by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) or the United States Federal Aviation Administration (the FAA), where the manufacturing or maintenance does not take place in an EASA member country or the United States of America (the USA), whichever is applicable.
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. Relevantly, the Governor-General has made the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR) and CAR.
Authorised release certificates
Subregulation 42W(4) of CAR makes it an offence to install aircraft components in aircraft unless the requirements in the subregulation are met. For the purposes of the offence provision, paragraph 42W(4)(d) requires that an aircraft component to which subregulation 42W(5) applies must not be installed unless the supplier of the component has supplied an authorised release certificate (ARC) with it and for it. Similarly, paragraph 42W(4)(e) requires that an aircraft component that includes another component (the included component) to which subregulation 42W(5) applies must not be installed in an aircraft unless the supplier of the included component has supplied an ARC with it and for it.
Subregulation 42W(5) applies to:
(a) an aircraft component manufactured to approved data by a manufacturer that holds an approval from CASA or a national aviation authority (NAA) to do so; or
(b) an aircraft component that has had maintenance carried out on it.
For the purposes of CAR, authorised release certificate is defined in clause 18 of Part 2 to the CASR Dictionary to be a document that complies with regulation 42WA of CAR. The requirements of regulation 42WA include in paragraph (1)(b) a requirement that the ARC be issued by, or with the approval of, the NAA of the country in which the most recent maintenance on the component was carried out or, if no maintenance has been carried out, the NAA of the country in which the component was manufactured.
Exemptions
Subpart 11.F of CASR provides for the granting by CASA of exemptions from particular provisions of the regulations.
Subregulation 11.160(1) of CASR provides that, for subsection 98(5A) of the Act, CASA may grant an exemption from a provision of the regulations.
Under subregulation 11.160(2) of CASR, an exemption may be granted to a person or a class of persons.
Under subregulation 11.160(3) of CASR, an exemption may be granted on application by a person or on CASA’s own initiative.
Under subregulation 11.175(4) of CASR, in deciding whether to reissue an exemption on an application by a person, CASA must regard as paramount the preservation of at least an acceptable level of aviation safety. CASA takes the same consideration into account when renewing an exemption on its own initiative.
Regulation 11.225 of CASR requires an exemption to be published on the internet. Under subregulation 11.230(1), the maximum duration of an exemption is 3 years.
Background
Since 2011, CASA has issued a series of exemptions from paragraphs 42W(4)(d) and (e) of CAR relating to the issue of an ARC in order to permit the installation of aircraft components that are manufactured by, or subject to maintenance by, organisations that are approved by EASA or the FAA but where the manufacturing or maintenance activities were conducted other than in, respectively, an EASA member State or the USA.
For example, a Singaporean organisation may obtain EASA or FAA approvals in order to perform maintenance or component manufacturing services for European or American aircraft operators, respectively. Without the exemption, a document supplied by such an organisation for the component cannot be an ARC under CAR because neither EASA nor the FAA is the NAA of Singapore as the country in which the manufacturing or maintenance is conducted.
CASA EX140/21 — Authorised Release Certificate (FAA or EASA Approved Components) Exemption 2021 (CASA EX140/21) was the most recent exemption from paragraphs 42W(4)(d) and (e) to allow the installation of components in the circumstances described above. That instrument expires at the end of 30 November 2024.
Overview of instrument
The instrument reissues the exemption in CASA EX140/21. Section 4 of the instrument provides an exemption against the offence provision in subregulation 42W(4) of CAR to the extent that it requires compliance with the ARC requirements in paragraphs 42W(4)(d) and (e).
The exemption applies in relation to regulated components and components that include a regulated component. The term regulated component is defined for the instrument to be a component to which subregulation 42W(5) applies. However, the exemption only applies in relation to a component that is supplied with an EASA ARC or FAA ARC.
The definitions of EASA ARC and FAA ARC in section 3 of the instrument ensure that the exemption works as intended. Those terms are defined to cover a document that:
(a) is supplied with a regulated component manufactured in, or that has been the subject of maintenance in, a country that is not an EASA member State or the USA; and
(b) complies with regulation 42WA of CAR in relation to the regulated component, except the requirement in paragraph 42WA(1)(b) — this ensures that the document meets all other requirements for an ARC under CAR; and
(c) is issued by a person who is approved by EASA or the FAA to issue the document.
The effect of the exemption in section 4, with the abovementioned definitions, is that a person will not breach the offence provision in subregulation 42W(4) of CAR if they install, in an aircraft to which Part 4A of CAR applies, a regulated component that is manufactured or maintained anywhere in the world by an EASA or FAA approved organisation, and that is supplied with a document that is an ARC except in relation to the requirements in paragraphs 42W(4)(d) and (e).
The words “in an aircraft to which Part 4A of CAR applies” are included in section 4 to make clearer that the exemption does not apply in relation to the installation of a component in:
- an aircraft to which Part 42 of CASR applies
- when proposed Part 43 of CASR commences, an aircraft to which Part 43 applies (Part 43 aircraft).
These additional words are explanatory in nature, as section 328 of CAR provides that Part 4A of CAR (in which subregulation 42W is located) does not apply to an aircraft to which Part 42 of CASR applies, and CASA anticipates that proposed Part 43 will provide similarly in relation to Part 43 aircraft, subject to transitional provisions.
Under Part 42 of CASR, ARCs from NAAs, other than those of the country in which the most recent maintenance was carried out, are accepted for aircraft components installed on aircraft to which Part 42 applies. CASA anticipates that under proposed Part 43 of CASR, ARCs will not be required at all, and a licenced aircraft maintenance engineer or approved maintenance organisation (AMO), as applicable, may assess an aeronautical product using more outcome-based criteria and issue an approval for return to service for the component as appropriate.
However, Part 4A of CAR may still apply in limited circumstances to a Part 43 aircraft. CASA anticipates that, under the Part 43 transitional provisions, the registered operator of a Part 43 aircraft may elect for it to be maintained under CAR by an AMO holding a certificate of approval issued under regulation 30 of CAR before Part 43 commenced. In that circumstance, the exemption would apply in relation to the installation of an aircraft component in the aircraft.
CASA has assessed the safety risk of remaking the exemption and is satisfied that the exemption would preserve a level of safety that is at least acceptable, for the purposes of Subpart 11.F of CASR.
Content of instrument
Section 1 of the instrument sets out the name of the instrument.
Section 2 sets out the duration of the instrument.
Section 3 set out definitions of EASA ARC, FAA ARC and regulated component for the instrument.
Section 4 is the exemption provision. It provides that a person is exempt from compliance with paragraphs 42W(4)(d) and (e) of CAR in relation to the installation of a regulated component or the installation of an aircraft component that includes a regulated component, in an aircraft to which Part 4A of CAR applies, if an EASA ARC or an FAA ARC is supplied for the regulated component.
Legislation Act 2003 (the LA)
Paragraph 98(5A)(a) of the Act provides that CASA may issue instruments in relation to matters affecting the safe navigation and operation, or the maintenance, of aircraft. Additionally, paragraph 98(5AA)(a) of the Act provides that an instrument issued under paragraph 98(5A)(a) is a legislative instrument if the instrument is expressed to apply in relation to a class of persons.
The instrument applies to a class of persons, being persons installing aircraft components. The instrument is, therefore, a legislative instrument, and is subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LA.
Sunsetting
Part 4 of Chapter 3 of the LA (the sunsetting provisions) does not apply to the instrument because the instrument relates to aviation safety and is made under CASR (item 15 of the table in section 12 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015). However, the instrument will be repealed at the end of 31 October 2027, which will occur before the sunsetting provisions would have repealed the instrument if they had applied. Any renewal of the instrument will be subject to tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 38 and 42 of the LA. Therefore, exemption from sunsetting does not affect parliamentary oversight of this instrument.
Consultation
Consultation under section 17 of the LA has not been undertaken specifically in relation to this instrument. The instrument continues previous arrangements that were requested by industry and are beneficial to industry by providing more flexibility to use maintenance organisations approved by EASA and the FAA. No adverse feedback has been received in relation to previous exemptions addressing the issue. CASA has consulted extensively with technical working groups (which include representatives of industry) and others in industry on the underpinning policy relating to this issue during the development of continuing airworthiness policies for Part 42 and proposed Part 43 of CASR. In these circumstances, CASA is satisfied that no further consultation is appropriate or necessary for this instrument for section 17 of the LA.
Sector risk, economic and cost impact
Subsection 9A(1) of the Act states that, in exercising its powers and performing its functions, CASA must regard the safety of air navigation as the most important consideration. Subsection 9A(3) of the Act states that, subject to subsection (1), in developing and promulgating aviation safety standards under paragraph 9(1)(c), CASA must:
(a) consider the economic and cost impact on individuals, businesses and the community of the standards; and
(b) take into account the differing risks associated with different industry sectors.
The cost impact of a standard refers to the direct cost (in the sense of price or expense) which a standard would cause individuals, businesses and the community to incur. The economic impact of a standard refers to the impact a standard would have on the production, distribution and use of wealth across the economy, at the level of the individual, relevant businesses in the aviation sector, and the community more broadly. The economic impact of a standard could also include the general financial impact of that standard on different industry sectors.
The instrument makes only a minor or machinery change to an existing instrument and there will be no change to the economic or cost impact on individuals, businesses or the community. Indeed, the exemption is beneficial from an economic and cost aspect. It permits the aviation industry to conduct business in accordance with current practice relating to the maintenance of aircraft components.
CASA has assessed that the economic and cost impact of the instrument is not significant because it does not have a significant impact on existing practices. As there is no significant economic or cost impact on individuals or businesses, there will be no community impacts.
Impact on categories of operations
The instrument will have a beneficial effect on aircraft operators and maintenance providers by enabling maintenance of aircraft and aeronautical products using aircraft components manufactured or maintained by competent organisations based in countries other than the USA or an EASA member State.
Impact on regional and remote communities
The instrument will have a beneficial effect on regional and remote communities where maintenance of aircraft is carried out for the same reasons identified regarding its impact on categories of operations, and no adverse impact on other regional or remote communities.
Office of Impact Analysis (OIA)
An Impact Analysis (IA) is not required in this case, as the instrument is covered by a standing agreement between CASA and OIA under which an IA is not required for exemptions (OIA23-06252).
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
The Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights at Attachment 1 has been prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
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.
The instrument commences on 1 December 2024 and is repealed at the end of 31 October 2027.
Attachment 1
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
CASA EX83/24 — Authorised Release Certificate (FAA or EASA Approved Components) Exemption 2024
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 permit the installation in aircraft of aircraft components manufactured or maintained by organisations that are approved by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), or the United States Federal Aviation Administration, where the manufacturing or maintenance of the aircraft components does not take place in an EASA member country or the United States of America.
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