EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO.
CIVIL AVIATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
(ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OP THE MINISTER FOR SHIPPING AND AVIATION SUPPORT)
Authority
Subsection 98(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides in part that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Act and in relation to the safety of air navigation.
Previous situation
Before the amendments made by these amending regulations, the combined effect of regulations 22, 24 and 133 of the Civil Aviation Regulations (the Regulations) was to require each Australian aircraft to be of a type that had been examined by the Authority and found to be suitable for aeronautical purposes.
Regulation 22 of the Regulations empowered the Civil Aviation Authority (the Authority) to issue a certificate of type approval in respect of a type of aircraft (or aircraft component) if the Authority was satisfied that the type conformed with certain design standards and was suitable for aeronautical purposes.
Regulation 24 of the Regulations empowered the Authority to issue certificates of airworthiness in respect of individual aircraft. Subregulation 24(2) provided that a certificate of airworthiness could not be issued unless the Authority was satisfied that the aircraft conformed with certain design requirements. If the aircraft was of a type in relation to which a certificate of type approval was in force, the aircraft had to conform with the drawings and specifications approved in the course of issue of the certificate. In any other case, the aircraft had to conform with any relevant design standard in force under regulation 21.
Regulation 133 of the Regulations (which has not been amended by the amending regulations) prohibits flight by an Australian aircraft unless a certificate of airworthiness issued under regulation 24 is in force in respect of the aircraft.
Aircraft manufactured in a country other than Australia and which were imported into, and registered in, Australia were subject to these requirements (in particular the requirements of regulation 22) although the aircraft type might already have been examined and approved by a foreign aviation authority. In the case of a foreign authority of internationally recognised competence, the further examination of the type of aircraft by the Authority has been perceived by the Australian aviation industry as an unnecessary duplication.
Amendments made
A report on the appropriateness of previous policies and practices for airworthiness certification of imported aircraft types was prepared for the Authority by Mr R J Yates. The main recommendation of his report was that the Authority should accept the airworthiness certification of a new type of aircraft made by a foreign regulatory authority of recognised competence as sufficient to allow the type of aircraft to operate in Australia. The purpose of the amending regulations is to give effect to this recommendation.
The amending regulations amend the Regulations by establishing, as an alternative to the procedures for obtaining a certificate of type approval under regulation 22, procedures for the “automatic” issue of a certificate of type approval if a foreign authority of recognised competence has certified that the type of aircraft is airworthy (see new regulation 22A).
Certificates of type approval will no longer be issued to anyone. The amending regulations make appropriate amendments of regulation 22 and new regulation 22A is drafted accordingly.
The amending regulations commenced on the date of their notification in the Gazette. Details of the amending regulations are attached.
ATTACHMENT
DETAILS OF STATUTORY RULES NO. CIVIL AVIATION REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Regulation 1
This regulation provides that for the purposes of the amending regulations, “Principal Regulations” means the Civil Aviation Regulations.
Regulation 2
This regulation inserts a definition in subregulation 2(1) of the Principal Regulations. “Certificate of type approval” is defined to mean a certificate issued under regulation 22 or 22A.
Regulation 3
This regulation inserts into Division 1 of Part IV proposed new regulations 20A and 20B which deal with recognised authorities.
Regulation 20A provides that an authority is a recognised authority in relation to a country only if there is a declaration to that effect in force under regulation 20B.
Regulation 20B empowers the Authority to declare that a foreign aviation authority is a recognised authority in relation to a particular country or countries. The declaration may be expressed so that documents issued by the foreign authority before the making of the declaration are taken to have been issued by a recognised authority.
Regulation 4
This regulation amends regulation 22 by:
omitting subregulation (1) and substituting new subregulations (1) and (1A);
omitting words requiring the issue of a certificate of type approval to the applicant; and
omitting subregulations (3) and (4);
New subregulations 22(1) and (1A) provide that an application may be made for the issue of a certificate of type approval under regulation 22 unless the type of aircraft for which the certificate is sought was manufactured in a country (other than Australia) in relation to which there is a recognised authority.
The amendment of paragraph 22(2)(d) means that certificates of type approval are not issued to anyone. It is not necessary to be able to identify anyone as the holder of a certificate of type approval (i.e. the person to whom the certificate was issued).
Subregulation 22(3) has been omitted because it is no longer necessary. The subregulation applied to the holder of a certificate of type approval. The amendment of paragraph 22(2)(d) means there will no longer be a holder of a certificate of type approval. Paragraph 22(4)(a) has also been omitted for the same reason.
The rest of subregulation 22(4) has been relocated as new subregulation 22D(1) - a provision that applies to certificates of type approval, whether issued under regulation 22 or new regulation 22A.
Regulation 5
This regulation inserts after regulation 22 new regulations 22A, 22B, 22C, 22D, 22E and 22F.
Regulation 22A provides that applications may be made for the issue of certificates of type approval under the regulation provided that the type of aircraft concerned was manufactured in a country other than Australia and a type certificate, issued by a recognised authority, is in force in relation to the type of aircraft. Subject to regulation 22E, the Authority must automatically grant a certificate of type approval under this regulation unless the applicant fails to supply the appropriate documentation.
Regulation 22B gives the Authority a limited power to impose conditions on certificates of type approval issued under regulation 22A. The Authority may impose a particular condition only if a recognised authority has already imposed a condition to substantially the same effect in relation to that type of aircraft.
Regulation 22C requires the holder of a certificate of type approval issued under regulation 22A to advise the Authority if the relevant foreign type certificate is suspended or cancelled.
Regulation 22D empowers the Authority to suspend or cancel a certificate of type approval because of the presence of a defect in the design of the aircraft (or aircraft component) concerned. This restates old subregulation 22(4) which has been omitted by regulation 4 of the amending regulations. Regulation 22D also empowers the Authority to suspend or cancel a certificate of type approval issued under regulation 22A if the relevant foreign type certificate is suspended or cancelled.
Regulation 22E requires the Authority to deal with an application under regulation 22A for a certificate of type approval as though it were an application under regulation 22 if the Authority is satisfied that the relevant foreign type certificate does not provide a
reliable guide to the suitability for aeronautical purposes of aircraft of the type concerned. The Authority must give the applicant written notice that the application will be dealt with under regulation 22.
Regulation 22F requires the Authority to publish in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette notice of the issue, suspension or cancellation of a certificate of type approval.
Regulation 6
This regulation makes a consequential amendment to regulation 23 to remove the reference to a certificate of type approval issued under regulation 22, so that regulation 23 applies in relation to a certificate of type approval issued under either regulation 22 or 22A.
Regulation 7
This regulation makes a consequential amendment to paragraph 24(2)(c) of the Principal Regulations. That paragraph sets out the matters of which the Authority must be satisfied before a certificate of airworthiness is issued for an aircraft. The regulation deletes subparagraphs (2)(c)(i) and (ii) and replaces them with new subparagraphs (2)(c)(i), (ii) and (iii). New subparagraphs (2)(c)(i) and (iii) restate old subparagraphs (2)(c)(i) and (ii) respectively. New subparagraph (2)(c)(ii) introduces an equivalent requirement for aircraft in relation to which a certificate of type approval under regulation 22A is in force. Such an aircraft may not be issued with a certificate of airworthiness unless it is in accordance with the documentation that was provided with the application under regulation 22A.
Regulation 8
This regulation amends regulation 25 by inserting new subregulation (1A) which provides that a condition set out in a certificate of type approval issued under regulation 22A is also a condition of any certificate of airworthiness issued, renewed or validated in respect of an aircraft of the type concerned. This allows the Authority to exercise its power under subregulation 26(3) to suspend or cancel an aircraft’s certificate of airworthiness if the aircraft does not comply with a condition imposed on the relevant certificate of type approval.
Regulation 9
This regulation makes a consequential amendment to regulation 35 (which empowers the Authority to approve the design of a modification or repair of aircraft included in a type of aircraft). The regulation amends regulation 35 by extending the range of design standards to which modifications or repairs may have to conform to include foreign design standards identified in certificates of type approval under regulation 22A.
Regulation 10
This regulation is a transitional provision which allows the Authority to treat documents relating to a type of aircraft manufactured in a country other than Australia, being documents that were issued before the amending regulations came into force, as if they were certificates of type approval issued under regulation 22.