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CONTENTS
Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment Bill
1997
Date Introduced: 22 October 1997
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Transport and Regional
Development
Commencement: This Act commences upon receipt of
Royal Assent. However, Schedule 3 and Item 2 of Schedule 2 are
deemed to have commenced on 6 July 1995. Schedule 4 is deemed to
have commenced on 6 November 1995.
This Bill is intended to simplify the nation-wide administration
and enforcement of the requirement for all domestic and Australian
international carriers to have continuous passenger liability
insurance.The Bill also makes a number of minor formal and
typographical amendments to other aviation-related legislation.
The question of airline passenger liability insurance has always
been of concern to Parliamentarians.However, the relatively recent
Monarch and Seaview aircraft crashes highlighted both the
inadequacy of the amount of insurance cover and the difficulties
faced by the families of victims in receiving compensation.
Over the past three years, a number of initiatives have been
taken to address these issues.The passenger liability limit has
been increased, through Regulations, and the Principal Act has been
amended to require that all airline operators take out mandatory,
no-fault insurance.
Prior to 1994, the maximum liability limit in respect of death
or injury to aircraft passengers had been $180 000. In October
1994, under Regulations made pursuant to the Civil Aviation
(Carriers' Liability) Act 1959, the limit of passenger
liability was raised to $500 000 for domestic carriers.In
subsequent Regulations, a $500,000 limit was also imposed on
Australian international carriers and foreign carriers whose states
of registry were not parties to the Warsaw Convention.Australia
cannot, under the terms of its international obligations under that
Convention, legally impose higher liability limits in respect of
international carriers from countries which are party to the
Convention. However, such carriers were asked to voluntarily raise
their limit to $500,000.
Furthermore, the Transport Legislation Amendment Act (No. 2)
1995 introduced mandatory, no-fault insurance cover.No
operator is allowed to carry passengers for hire or reward without
appropriate insurance cover. The Act authorises the Minister for
Transport to require operators to provide evidence of compliance
with these insurance obligations.Curently, this authority is
delegated to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), which is
responsible for administering the carrier liability arrangements.As
a result of possible constitutional limits on the power of
Commonwealth to extend this legislation to intrastate aircraft
operations, the States agreed to implement complementary
legislation on a uniform basis within their jurisdictions.
The current Bill contains provisions to streamline the
administration of this regime and to strengthen
enforcement.Firstly, CASA would be authorised to directly
administer both the Commonwealth's carriers' liability legislation
and the complementary State legislation rather than doing so under
delegation from the Minister for Transport.Secondly, the Bill would
impose conditions upon Air Operator's Certificates (AOCs),
requiring that operators continuously hold the mandatory
non-voidable passenger liability insurance required under the
Carriers Liability Act.(1) CASA would be empowered to suspend or
cancel AOCs if this condition were breached.
The Bill would also permit the States to confer functions and
powers on Commonwealth officers under their own mandatory passenger
liability legislation.In particular, this would enable offences
against State legislation to be prosecuted as if they were offences
against the Commonwealth legislation.
Since passengers may be carried in aircraft operated by the
Commonwealth and the States, the current legislation would require
these governments to also take out commercial insurance.This Bill
would allow Australian governments to self-insure their risks under
the Carriers' Liability Act, just as they self-insure against many
other risks.However, governments must satisfy CASA that
arrangements have been put into place to cover passenger liability
in the event of an accident.
Clause 1 of the Bill repeals and replaces
section 7 of the Principal Act, with the effect of extending the
binding legislation to the governments of the Australian Capital
Territory, the Northern Territory and Norfolk Island.
Clause 5 would amend subsection 41(C)(1) of the
Principal Act to empower CASA, in place of the Minister, to require
a carrier to provide evidence of appropriate liability
insurance.The amendment also removes carriers owned or operated by
governments from the requirement to provide such evidence.However
other proposed amendments ensure that such governments implement
appropriate arrangements relating to compensation in the event of
an accident.
Clause 6 amends sections 41C, 41J and 41K to
empower officers of CASA to directly administer the passenger
liability insurance scheme, rather than under delegation from the
Minister for Transport.
Clause 7 inserts a new section 41CA into the
Principal Act.This requires governments which operate air services
to provide evidence to CASA, if requested, that appropriate
arrangements relating to compensation in the event of an accident
have been put in place.
Clause 12 inserts a new section 41N into the
Principal Act which will authorise the States to confer functions
and powers under their own mandatory insurance legislation on
officers of the Commonwealth.This will assist CASA to administer
the scheme on a nation-wide basis but would also permit the
Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute offences
against the State laws.
Schedules 2, 3 and 4 of the Bill include minor amendments to the
Civil Aviation Act 1988, the Civil Aviation
Legislation Amendment Act 1995 and the Competition Policy
Reform Act 1995 respectively.For the most part, these
amendments simply clarify meaning, correct typographical errors or
repeal anachronistic provisions.
However, item 3 of Schedule 2 amends paragraph
28BA(1)(a) of the Civil Aviation Act to ensure that failure by an
AOC holder to provide passenger liability insurance can result in
the AOC being cancelled or suspended by CASA.
The proposals in this Bill essentially only make mechanical
changes to the carriers' liability insurance arrangements.However,
they do have the effect of strengthening enforcement of the scheme
and streamlining its administration by the Civil Aviation Safety
Authority.
- AOCs are important instruments used by CASA to regulate safety
in the aviation industry. CASA issues an AOC only if it is of the
view that and aircraft's operations, maintenance and airworthiness
are of a standard that CASA considers necessary in the interests of
safe air navigation.
Denis James
4 November 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
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ISSN 1328-8091
© Commonwealth of Australia 1997
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
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Last updated: 12 November 1997
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