EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Statutory Rules 1990 No. 334
Civil Aviation Regulations (Amendment)
(Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Shipping and Aviation Support)
Subsection 98(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act and in relation to the safety of air navigation.
The Civil Aviation Regulations have been amended by inserting a new regulation 256A to provide for the manner in which live animals may be carried on aircraft. The purpose of regulation 256A is to prescribe conditions on the carriage of animals in aircraft to ensure that the safety of air navigation is not endangered. The onus is on the operator of an aircraft to ensure that animals are carried in the aircraft in accordance with these conditions.
Under regulation 256A an animal must be kept in a secure container while in an aircraft, and must be restrained within the container if this is necessary to prevent any dangerous alteration in the distribution of the load of the aircraft which might be caused by the movement of the animal. Two or more animals may be kept in the same container only if it would not adversely affect the safety of the aircraft. A container with an animal in it must not be kept in the passenger cabin of an aircraft except with the written permission of the Authority. Guide dogs are excepted from these requirements in certain circumstances.
Regulation 256A also requires that, in normal flight conditions, water and excreta should not be able to escape from an animal’s container. This is necessary to prevent corrosion.
The safety of an aircraft might also be endangered if the presence of an animal could adversely affect the passengers or crew. For example, the smell emanating from the animal could cause the aircraft’s crew to become nauseous and impair their ability to pilot the aircraft. Accordingly, regulation 256A prohibits the carriage of any animal that is likely to affect a person on an aircraft in a way which might endanger the safety of the aircraft.
The Regulation came into effect on the date of its notification in the Gazette.