Bills Digest No. 101 1998-99
Civil Aviation Amendment Bill 1998
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest does
not have any official legal status. Other sources should be consulted
to determine the subsequent official status of the Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage History
Purpose
Background
Main Provisions
Endnotes
Contact Officer and Copyright Details
Civil Aviation Amendment Bill 1998
Date Introduced: 9
December 1998
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Transport
and Regional Services
Commencement: On
Royal Assent except for amendments deleting the term 'commercial' from
the Act, or replacing the term 'domestic commercial flight' with 'regulated
domestic flight', which commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation
or not longer than six months after the date of Royal Assent. Similarly,
the provisions which permit CASA to retain or destroy seized property
commence on a date to be fixed by Proclamation or not later than six
months after the date of Royal Assent.
To amend the Civil Aviation
Act 1988 (the Principal Act) to ensure that it is consistent with
a proposed new civil aviation regulatory framework.
As a result of reviews of aviation regulation between
1988 and 1991, the Civil Aviation Authority began, in 1993, a program
of redrafting the legislative structure of safety regulations. Since
its establishment in 1995, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)
has continued the process of rewriting the entire safety regulations
and associated advisory documentation. This process currently also reflects
the Government's requirement, expressed in its policy statement Soaring
into tomorrow,(1) that aviation regulations should be simple,
straightforward and internationally harmonised.
Within CASA, this project has been entitled the Regulatory
Framework Program. The present legislative framework is being reviewed
with the objective of replacing the current Civil Aviation Regulations
and Civil Aviation Orders with new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.
The principles underlying the new regulations require that they:
- are harmonised internationally with the US Federal Aviation Regulations
(FARs) and the European Joint Aviation Regulations (JARs)
- are clear, concise and understandable
- have a safety outcome approach
- are enforceable
- avoid over-regulation, and
- are consistent with the role of CASA.
Various Technical Committees and Project Teams have
been tasked with identifying issues pertinent to civil aviation safety,
commenting upon working drafts of regulations prepared by CASA and,
in some instances, being involved with the development of regulatory
policy options. The operations of these groups ensure that both CASA
and the industry are involved in the formulation of the regulations.
It is envisaged that the various Parts of the new Civil
Aviation Safety Regulations will be phased in over the period 1999 to
2003. Each Part will initially be issued in the form of a Notice of
Proposed Rule Making to which interested parties may respond. A Regulation
Impact Statement will also be prepared prior to the commencement of
any Rule.
With the advent of these new regulations, the Principal
Act requires amendment to ensure it is consistent with the new regulatory
structure. A number of the provisions in the Civil Aviation Amendment
Bill 1998 are designed to give effect to this. Other amendments deal
with property which has been seized by CASA investigators for the purpose
of prosecuting alleged breaches of the Civil Aviation Act or regulations.
One amendment (item 28) allows regulations to be made giving
CASA broad powers to issue instruments in relation to safe navigation
and the maintenance and airworthiness of aircraft.
Items 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 11 of Schedule 1 replace
the specific term 'Civil Aviation Regulations' with the more general
term 'regulations'. This change will accommodate a proposal to replace
the current Civil Aviation Regulations with new regulations which may
be called Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.
Item 2 repeals the definition of a 'domestic
commercial flight' and substitutes at Item 6, a definition of
a 'regulated domestic flight'. The two definitions use the same words.
Items 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 and 23 are consequential amendments
which delete the word 'commercial' or replace the term 'domestic commercial
flight' with the term 'regulated domestic flight'.
The effect of item 10 will be to allow alternative
terms to be used in the proposed new regulations in order to describe
a 'certificate of airworthiness'.
Item 14 repeals the section which requires all
applicants for Air Operator Certificates (AOCs) for aircraft to provide
CASA with copies of flight manuals. In future CASA will use section
27AC(1) of the Principal Act to request flight manuals only where a
new type of aircraft is being introduced into Australia for the first
time.
Item 18 expands the list of 'key personnel'
in order to accommodate a proposal in the new regulations that certain
AOC holders be required to have a safety manager with responsibility
for monitoring and addressing safety issues for the company.
Items 24 and 25 deal with property seized by
CASA investigators. CASA and its officers have the power to monitor
compliance with the Civil Aviation Act 1988 and the regulations
and to investigate possible breaches of the Act and regulations. Section
32AH of the Principal Act gives a CASA investigator the power to seize
property which may be used as evidence in a prosecution. The property
may be kept for 60 days or, provided that the prosecution has commenced
within 60 days, until the completion of the proceedings.
Item 24 inserts a new provision which enables
an investigator to apply to a magistrate to allow property seized during
an investigation to be retained for a further period (not exceeding
90 days) if proceedings have not be commenced within the initial 60
day time limit.
Item 25 amends the Principal Act by inserting
a new provision which allows CASA to apply to a court for an order giving
authority to destroy seized goods where CASA is unable to return the
property or where the owner has refused to accept the goods. Item
25 also inserts a new section so as to ensure that CASA does not
breach the Constitutional prohibition on the Commonwealth acquiring
property on other than just terms.
The effect of item 26 is to introduce requirements
that fees prescribed by regulation are payable to CASA. Proposed sub-sections
97AA(3) and 97AA(4) enable regulations to be made imposing a time
limit on the payment of fees and penalties for late payments.
Item 28 will enable CASA to issue design rules
for unusual or atypical aircraft for which design standards are not
in place. The powers are broad ranging but instruments issued by CASA
under the proposed sub-section 98(5A) may be disallowed by Parliament.
1. Soaring into tomorrow: the Coalition's
aviation policy, 13 February 1996, (Liberal Party of Australia,
National Party of Australia, 1996.)
Rosemary Bell and Denis James
4 February 1999
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ISSN 1328-8091
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