Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Civil Aviation Order 100.28 Amendment Instrument 2013 (No. 1)
Purpose
The purpose of Civil Aviation Order 100.28 Amendment Instrument 2013 (No. 1) (the CAO amendment) is to specify when an applicant for an aircraft weight control authority (an authority) will be taken to have met the training requirement for the issue of the authority, and to remove the reference to an exemption from the examination requirement for the issue of the authority.
Legislation
Section 98 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the Act and the safety of air navigation.
Under paragraph 33B (1) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may, in writing and in accordance with the Civil Aviation Orders (the CAOs), issue authorities to weigh aircraft and determine the centre of gravity of each aircraft for the purpose of determining requirements to control the centre of gravity during operation. Such authorities are known as aircraft weight control authorities.
Subsection 1 of CAO 100.28 sets out the requirements for the issue of an authority. Paragraph 1.1 of CAO 100.28 requires that applicants must provide satisfactory evidence that they have:
(a) been adequately trained for the purpose (the training requirement); and
(b) had adequate recent practical experience of the duties to be performed in relation to the authority (the experience requirement); and
(c) passed the required examination (the examination requirement). The syllabus for the examination is specified in Appendix I of CAO 100.28.
Background
Paragraph 1.2 of CAO 100.28 provided that an applicant who held recognised engineering qualifications, such as admitting to Graduate Membership of the Institution of Engineers (Australia), and met the training and experience requirements may be granted an exemption from the examination requirement.
It is CASA’s view that, in order to maintain an appropriate standard for the issue of an authority, it is more appropriate that an applicant’s qualifications should be taken to satisfy the training requirements rather than exempt the applicant from the examination requirement.
Furthermore, the occupational categories and grades of membership currently used by Engineers Australia, formerly known as the Institution of Engineers (Australia), would admit under the general description “Graduate Membership of the Institution of Engineers (Australia)” a lower standard of engineering qualifications than was intended by CASA or is considered appropriate for the issue of an authority.
CAO amendment
The CAO amendment updates the requirements for the issue of an authority to reflect the occupational categories and grades of membership currently used by Engineers Australia, and to limit the application of paragraph 1.2 of CAO 100.28 to the training requirement only.
Item 1 of Schedule 1 of the CAO amendment replaces paragraph 1.2 of CAO 100.28. The new paragraph 1.2 deems an applicant to have met the training requirement for the issue of an authority if the applicant has completed a tertiary qualification in a relevant engineering discipline and is eligible for Graduate Membership of Engineers Australia in the Professional Engineer occupational category. A relevant engineering discipline is one that adequately covers aircraft weight control, including the general theory elements of the syllabus in Appendix I of CAO 100.28.
The assessment for all applicants for the issue of an authority will continue to include the 3 elements specified in paragraph 1.1 of CAO 100.28, that is the training, experience and examination requirements. New paragraph 1.2 of CAO 100.28 provides an acceptable means of compliance with the training requirement, but it is not the only means of compliance. Each applicant’s training will be assessed for adequacy on a case by case basis, whether they hold a tertiary engineering qualification or not. The general theory elements of the syllabus in Appendix I of the CAO will be considered in the assessment.
The removal from paragraph 1.2 of CAO 100.28 of the mention of the possibility of an exemption from the examination requirement does not affect CASA’s ability to grant such an exemption under paragraph 11.160 (1) (b) of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 in appropriate cases.
Item 2 of Schedule 1 of the CAO amendment amends paragraph 2.1 of CAO 100.28. It removes the requirement for an application for an authority to be made to a CASA field office. The current practice is for applications to be made to CASA via CASA’s Permission Application Centre, rather than CASA’s Regional Offices.
Item 3 of Schedule 1 of the CAO amendment makes a consequential amendment to paragraph 3.1 of CAO 100.28 in light of the amendment in item 1. It removes the reference to an exemption granted in accordance with paragraph 1.2. New paragraph 1.2 does not mention an exemption from, and does not relate to, the examination requirement.
Item 4 of Schedule 1 of the CAO amendment amends the note to paragraph 3.2 to CAO 100.28. It removes the reference to examination results being notified by a CASA field office. Instead, the note now states the results will be notified to the candidate by CASA.
Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (LIA 2003)
Under subsections 98 (5) and 98 (5AAA) of the Act, where the regulations provide for certain instruments to be issued in the form of CAOs, such CAOs are legislative instruments. Regulation 33B of CAR 1988 empowers CASA to make CAOs relating to the issue of authorities. The CAO amendment is, therefore, a legislative instrument and it is subject to registration, and tabling and disallowance in the Parliament, under sections 24, and 38 and 42, of the LIA 2003.
Consultation
Consultation under section 17 of the LIA was undertaken as follows.
A draft instrument for the proposed amendments to paragraphs 1.2 and 3.1 of CAO 100.28 was published by CASA and by broadcast email, on 7 May 2013, inviting comments from the public and aviation industry generally by 7 June 2013. In addition to being available on the CASA website, it was made available via the joint CASA/industry Standards Consultative Committee (SCC) forum and the SCC Certification Standards Sub-committee forum.
CASA has considered the responses that it received on the draft instrument. CASA received 7 comments on the proposed amendment and those comments were generally supportive of the proposed amendment. The negative aspects of the comments expressed concerns about the adequacy of general tertiary engineering qualifications as training for an authority, and the misconception that the amendment would make a tertiary engineering qualification a requirement for the issue of an authority.
The amendments removing references to “field office” are minor and machinery administrative amendments and CASA believes that no consultation on those amendments is necessary or appropriate.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
A Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights is at Attachment 1.
Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)
OBPR assessed that the proposed amendments are minor in nature and that no further analysis in the form of a Regulation Impact Statement was required (OBPR ID: 15000).
Making and commencement
The CAO amendment has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 73 (2) of the Act.
The CAO amendment commences on the day after registration.
[Civil Aviation Order 100.28 Amendment Instrument 2013 (No. 1)]
Appendix 1
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Civil Aviation Order 100.28 Amendment Instrument 2013 (No. 1)
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 Civil Aviation Order 100.28 Amendment Instrument 2013 (No. 1) (the CAO amendment) is to amend Civil Aviation Order (CAO) 100.28 to specify when an applicant for an aircraft weight control authority will be taken to have met the training requirements for the issue of the authority, and to remove the reference to an exemption from the examination requirement for the issue of the authority.
The CAO amendment also makes other consequential and minor amendments to CAO 100.28.
Human rights implications
The 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