Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Act 1988
Civil Aviation Order 104.0 Amendment Order (No. 1) 2011
Purpose
The purpose of Civil Aviation Order 104.0 Amendment Order (No. 1) 2011 (the CAO amendment) is to take account of the enactment of Part 66 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998).
Legislative background
Regulation 30 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) describes in detail how a person (a CAR 30 organisation) engaged in the maintenance of aircraft must hold CASA’s certificate of approval for the activity.
Under Subregulation 30 (3), CASA may, for safety purposes, include in such a certificate of approval an endorsement that the certificate is granted subject to conditions specified in the Civil Aviation Orders (CAOs).
CAO 104.0 was made under subregulation 30 (3) of CAR 1988. Subparagraphs 4.3 (a) and 4.4 (a) of CAO 104.0 provided that the holder of both an airline licence and a certificate of approval could grant authority to those of the holder’s employees who held an aircraft maintenance engineer licence with certain relevant category ratings to certify completion of certain CASA-approved maintenance.
Paragraph 3.4 of CAO 104.0 provides that an applicant for a form of unrestricted certificate of approval must meet the requirements of Appendix II of CAO 104.0. Paragraph 4 (g) of Appendix II provided that such an applicant must have a system for exercising surveillance over the complete range of activities relevant to the proposed certificate. The system must be established in such a manner as to ensure that the total system for maintaining airworthiness within the CAR 30 organisation functions as intended, with the desired standard of airworthiness achieved, and with any apparent deficiencies brought to the attention of, and corrected by, the responsible personnel.
A Note explains that it is desirable that a person performing surveillance activities on an aircraft hold an aircraft maintenance engineer licence in the category that applies to the activity performed.
Background
Amendments made to CAR 1988 and CASR 1998 by the Civil Aviation and Civil Aviation Safety Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 1) (registered on 14 December 2010) made Part 66 of CASR 1998 which changes licence nomenclature and licence categories. Thus, references in subparagraphs 4.3 (a) and 4.4 (a) of CAO 104.0 to the old aircraft maintenance engineer licence and its categories are obsolete and the subparagraphs are repealed.
Further, the mention in the Note in paragraph 4 (g) of Appendix II of CAO 104.0 to the desirability of a person performing surveillance activities on an aircraft holding an aircraft maintenance engineer licence in the category that applies to the activity performed is also obsolete. It is replaced by reference to the desirability of a person performing surveillance activities on an aircraft holding an “engineer licence in the category or subcategory” that applies to the activity.
Legislative Instruments Act 2003 (the LIA)
Under paragraph 98 (5A) (a) of the Act, the regulations may empower CASA to issue instruments in relation to matters affecting the maintenance of aircraft. Under subsection 98 (5AA) of the Act, an instrument issued under paragraph 98 (5A) (a) is a legislative instrument subject to the LIA (other than Part 6 concerning sunsetting) if it is expressed to apply in relation to a class of persons, aircraft or aeronautical products.
Under subsection 98 (5AB) of the Act, an instrument issued under paragraph 98 (5A) (a) is not a legislative instrument if it is expressed to apply in relation to a particular person, aircraft or aeronautical product.
Under subregulation 30 (3) of CAR 1988, CASA may make CAOs in relation to endorsements appearing on certificates of approval, to the effect that the approval is issued subject to conditions mentioned in the CAOs.
Made under subregulation 30 (3) of CAR 1988, the CAO amendment is an instrument affecting the maintenance of aircraft and of general application. It is, therefore, a legislative instrument subject to registration, tabling and disallowance in the Parliament under sections 24, 38 and 42 of the LIA.
Consultation
For section 17 of the LIA, extensive industry and public consultations were conducted on the maintenance suite of regulations (Parts 42, 66, 145 and 147 of CASR 1998). Advance notice of the consequential amendments was posted on the Standards Consultative Committee (SCC) discussion forum. No comments were received as a result of the posting.
Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)
The instrument has only a low to nil impact on business. OBPR does not require a regulatory impact statement for the CAO amendment because a preliminary assessment of business compliance costs indicates that the amendment will have only a nil to low impact on business.
Commencement and making
The CAO amendment commences on 27 June 2011.
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.
[Civil Aviation Order 104.0 Amendment Order (No. 1) 2011]