Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Regulations 1988
Civil Aviation Order 40.0 Amendment Order (No 1) 2009
Regulation 303 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988) states that wherever CASA is empowered under these Regulations to grant or issue a licence or certificate upon or subject to conditions, CASA may specify and notify in Civil Aviation Orders (the CAOs) any such conditions that are to be of general application to a specified class of licences or certificates.
Subregulation 5.09 (1) of CAR 1988 states that CASA may only issue a flight crew licence to an applicant if the applicant possesses a knowledge of the English language that is sufficient to enable him or her to exercise safely the authority given by the licence.
Subregulation 5.11 (1) of CAR 1988 states that CASA may issue a flight crew licence subject to any condition that is necessary for the safety of air navigation. Subregulation 5.11 (2) permits a condition to be set out in the CAOs under regulation 303 of CAR 1988.
From 5 March 2008, new English language proficiency requirements applied to all pilots and flight engineers. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has set standards on English language proficiency for flight crew. ICAO has defined 6 levels of English language proficiency from level 1 (pre-elementary) to level 6 (expert). Only levels 4 (operational), level 5 (extended) and level 6 (expert) are acceptable for operational flying.
CASA adopted the new ICAO standards and applied them to all pilots or flight engineers operating on Australian-issued licences with effect from 5 March 2008. CASA has also adopted a set of minimum criteria for the issue of a student pilot licence. This will ensure that all student pilots have the minimum required English language proficiency to enable them to safely conduct flying training in Australian airspace.
Civil Aviation Order 40.0 Amendment Order (No 1) 2009 (the Amendment Order) provides that CASA may approve an English language course as a General English Language Course if specified requirements are met. The opportunity has also been taken to correct minor typographical errors.
Legislative Instruments Act
Under subsection 98 (4A) of the Act, CAOs made for section 28BA of the Act are declared to be disallowable instruments. 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 under legislation in force before the commencement of the LIA. The Amendment Order is 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 been undertaken through the Standards Consultative Committee (SCC). There were no comments or suggestions.
Regulation Impact Statement
The Office of Best Practice Regulation does not require a Regulation Impact Statement because a preliminary assessment of the Business Compliance Costs indicates that the amendment will have only a low impact on business.
The Amendment Order came into effect on the day after it was registered.
The Amendment Order has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Act.
[Civil Aviation Order 40.0 Amendment Order (No 1) 2009]