Explanatory Statement
Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998
Manual of Standards Part 172 Amendment (No. 1) 2006
Section 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 the interests of the safety of air navigation.
Some of these regulations are contained in the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR 1998). Part 172 of CASR 1998 deals with Air Traffic Service (ATS) Providers. Under subregulation 172.022 (1), CASA may issue a Manual of Standards (MOS) for Part 172 setting out the standards for an ATS provider, its facilities and equipment, and its training and checking. CASA has issued MOS Part 172 (MOS) for this purpose.
Airservices Australia (AA) proposes to deploy Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) services across Australia in a project known as the Upper Airspace Program (UAP).
ADS-B is a new technology that enhances air traffic management with radar-like air traffic control and enhances situational awareness on the flight deck. Its use increases aircraft safety and makes more efficient use of airspace through enhanced airspace surveillance. Enhanced airspace surveillance is possible because ADS-B costs less to install compared to traditional radar systems and has less stringent siting requirements in terms of building infrastructure and power. Therefore, in many parts of the world, ADS-B can be provided in areas previously deemed either not cost-efficient or not physically possible to install radar. In areas across Australia not covered by radar, the AA project intends to introduce high performance surveillance coverage.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is considering the future application of ADS-B in air traffic management. ICAO’s Separation and Airspace Safety Panel (SASP) has agreed on separation standards and general operating procedures. However, the requirements for worldwide consultation and acceptance means that it will be at least 2 years before ADS-B is officially promulgated in ICAO Standards.
To permit expeditious implementation of the UAP, in Manual of Standards Part 172 Amendment (No. 1) 2006 (the MOS Amendment), CASA is introducing operating standards in advance of ICAO. The intention is to ensure the safety of air navigation when ADS-B is used in the provision of air traffic services. The standards are based on the outcomes of an ADS-B trial conducted in the Bundaberg area, Queensland and on the US experience with the Capstone Project in Alaska. The standards in the MOS Amendment are also consistent with the latest drafts of the proposed ICAO standards and will, therefore, comply as far as possible with the future international standards.
For consultation purposes, on 25 October 2005 CASA published Notice of Proposed Change NPC 172/02, Proposed Amendments to Manual of Standards Part 172 – Air Traffic Service Providers. The period for public comment on the proposal closed on 5 December 2005. CASA received 1 response to the NPC. This was in the form of comments and suggestions from AA all of which were considered by CASA and many of which were adopted in the form of modified wording during the drafting of the MOS Amendment.
The MOS Amendment provides definitions for new expressions and abbreviations relating to ADS-B, in particular providing a more generic definition for ATS surveillance systems. By appropriate substitution of newly defined expressions, the MOS Amendment enables existing regulatory arrangements within the MOS to apply also to ADS-B. New provisions set out the conditions for the use of ADS-B, the separation minima to be applied between aircraft under ADS-B surveillance, the requirements for verifying any aircraft vertical position information provided by ADS-B, and the methods that must be used to identify aircraft using ADS-B and transfer such identification between control sectors. Some provisions are renumbered to produce a more logical arrangement and the wording of some provisions is revised to make the meaning clearer without altering the original intent.
A consequential amendment, with which AA has agreed, is made to make the separation minima for leaving a level using ADS-C, as set out in subsection 10.7.7.3, consistent with the corresponding separation minima in new section 10.2.4A.2 for SSR and ADS-B. (For publication, the latter will be renumbered as 10.2.4.2.)
Legislative Instruments Act
Under subsections 98 (5A) and (5B) of the Act, MOS Part 172 was declared to be a disallowable instrument. 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 is, therefore, a legislative instrument and it 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 taken place in the usual way under the Notice of Proposed Change process referred to above. Submissions received within the time limit for comment were taken into account.
Although it will represent a significant safety enhancement, the changes made by the MOS Amendment are legislatively minor or machinery in nature and will not substantially alter existing arrangements. For these reasons, the Office of Regulation Review does not require a Regulation Impact Statement.
The instrument commences on the day after it is registered.
The instrument has been made by the Director of Aviation Safety, on behalf of CASA, in accordance with subsection 84A (2) of the Act.
[Manual of Standards Part 172 Amendment (No. 1) 2006]