Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Act 1988
Civil Aviation Order 100.5 Amendment Instrument 2012 (No. 3)
Purpose
The purpose of Civil Aviation Order 100.5 Amendment Instrument 2012 (No. 3) (the CAO amendment) is to modify some requirements for aircraft log books in order to protect their integrity as documents of record, and to make new rules for approval of alternatives to aircraft log books, including rules for electronic alternatives.
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 subregulation 50A (2) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988), CASA may issue written instructions on how aircraft log books are to be kept, and made available to CASA or persons engaged in maintenance on the aircraft.
Under subregulations 50B (1) and (2) of CAR 1988, CASA may approve, subject to conditions, an alternative to an aircraft log book.
Under subregulation 50B (3) of CAR 1988, if CASA approves an alternative to an aircraft log book, the holder of the certificate of registration for the aircraft must keep a record of the aircraft’s maintenance in accordance with the terms of the approval.
Under subregulations 50B (5) and (6) of CAR 1988, under pain of a strict liability offence, a person must not alter an entry in an alternative to an aircraft log book except as a line through words to be struck out, with the words struck out remaining legible.
Under regulation 5 of CAR 1988, CASA may, among other things, issue approvals or instructions in Civil Aviation Orders (CAOs).
Civil Aviation Order 100.5 (CAO 100.5) contains instructions on how aircraft log books are to be kept, and approval of an alternative to an aircraft log book subject to compliance with certain conditions.
Paragraph 3.2 of CAO 100.5 sets out the requirements for an aircraft log book. Thus, an aircraft log book must:
(a) identify the aircraft and the type and model of engine and propeller fitted to the aircraft and must state whether the aircraft is equipped for I.F.R. operations, V.F.R. (Day) operations or V.F.R. (Night) operations; and
(b) identify the aircraft’s maintenance program (including details of maintenance release inspections); and
(c) identify any approved variations or exemptions to the aircraft’s maintenance schedules; and
(d) have provision for the recording and certification of maintenance carried out on the aircraft; and
(e) have provision for the recording and certification of maintenance carried out on the aircraft’s engine and, if applicable, the propeller; and
(f) contain a record of when the engine and, if applicable, the propeller, was installed or removed and a record of the date and aircraft time‑in-service of the installation or removal; and
(g) contain a record of when any time-lifed components were installed or removed, including a record of the date and aircraft time‑in‑service of the installation or removal; and
(h) contain a record of compliance with all applicable airworthiness directives, including a record of the date and time-in-service of the compliance; and
(i) contain a summary of any changes to the empty weight of the aircraft; and
(j) have all log book sections incorporating certification pages bound and sequentially numbered.
Under paragraph 3.3 of CAO 100.5, an aircraft log book and documents referred to in it must be made available to CASA and to persons engaged in maintenance on the aircraft.
Under subsection 4 of CAO 100.5, alternatives to aircraft log books are approved, subject to the condition that the requirements set out in paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3 are complied with by the alternative.
CAO amendment
Protection from inadvertent misplacement, loss or removal
In order to improve the protection afforded to the integrity of aircraft log books as documents of record, while also allowing some flexibility, the CAO amendment modifies the requirement in subparagraph 3.2 (j) so that all log book sections incorporating certification pages must be sequentially numbered, and bound or held together “in a way that protects each page from inadvertent misplacement, loss or removal”. Thus, while binding in book-like form is no longer essential, the way in which the papers are numbered and held together must be such as to prevent inadvertent misplacement, loss or removal of pages.
Aircraft log book — no specific approval needed if it complies
The CAO amendment is also intended to make it clear that an aircraft log book that complies with the requirements of paragraph 3.2 does not have to be specifically approved by CASA.
Therefore, the Note to paragraph 3.3 is amended. It is explained that if an aircraft log book fully complies with the requirements of paragraph 3.2, there is no requirement that it be submitted to CASA for approval. It must, however, under paragraph 3.3, be made available to CASA on request. It must also be made available to each person engaged in maintenance on the aircraft. If a document does not fully comply with the requirements of paragraphs 3.2 and 3.3, subsection 4 (alternative to aircraft log book) may apply to it.
New subsection 4 — alternative to an aircraft log book, including electronic version
A new subsection 4 is designed to require separate CASA written approval of an alternative to an aircraft log book (alternative aircraft log), and also to modify the requirements for an alternative, including where the alternative is in an electronic form.
Thus (and as is currently the case), an alternative aircraft log must comply with the instructions set out in paragraph 3.2 (as set out above). However, under the CAO amendment, subparagraph 3.2 (j) specifically is modified so that, for an alternative aircraft log book, it is taken to provide that the alternative must:
(j) have all parts of the log book which incorporate certification pages or certification records managed in accordance with a secure system (which may be or include an electronic system), which sequentially or chronologically numbers or orders each page, and protects it from the following:
(i) any inadvertent misplacement, loss, or removal;
(ii) any inadvertent deletion, amendment, alteration or erasure;
(iii) any deletion, amendment, alteration or erasure:
(A) that is not immediately visible on the face of the document; or
(B) for an electronic system — that cannot be traced through the system to identify the user who made the deletion, amendment, alteration or erasure;
(iv) any deletion, amendment, alteration or erasure that renders the previous version illegible, or inaccessible in the system.
A Note explains that under subregulation 50B (5) of CAR 1988, it is a strict liability offence if a person engages in conduct that results in the alteration of any entry in an alternative to an aircraft log book (including electronic versions) if: (a) the alteration is not a single line through the words to be struck out; and (b) the words struck out do not remain visible.
Following written confirmation of approval from CASA, an approved alternative aircraft log must be made available in an easily accessible and usable form to each person engaged in maintenance on the aircraft and to CASA at any time on request.
Repeal of CAR 30B
Subsection 10 of the CAO 100.5 is repealed and a Note substituted to explain why. Thus, subsection 10, Notice of events, was made under regulation 30B of CAR 1988. However, Schedule 2 of the Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation Safety Amendment Regulations 2011 (No. 2) (SLI 2011 No. 77) repealed regulation 30B of CAR 1988, thereby also repealing subsection 10 of the CAO. The notification obligations of certificate of approval holders are now contained in Part 11 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (for example, regulations 11.070 to 11.074).
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. 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
On 18 July 2012, proposals for the CAO amendments were posted for public consultation on the CASA website along with a draft Civil Aviation Advisory Publication 50A/B-1(0) – Alternate Log Books and Alternate to Aircraft Log Books (the CAAP). Following closure of consultation on 15 August 2012, CASA considered feedback and suggestions made by several respondents. In response to the feedback, the CAO amendment and the CAAP were modified, including to deal more fully with electronic aircraft log books.
Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)
OBPR has assessed that the proposal will have only minor impacts and no further analysis, in the form of a Regulation Impact Statement, is required (OBPR id: 14181).
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
The following Statement is prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
The purpose of the CAO amendment is to tighten some of the requirements protecting the integrity of aircraft log books and alternatives to aircraft log books, and include protections for when operators use electronic alternatives. The amendment does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms and does not raise any human rights issues.
Therefore, the CAO amendment 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.
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 100.5 Amendment Instrument 2012 (No. 3)]