Recommendation 1
8.10 The committee recommends that the Civil Aviation
Safety Authority draw on the growing body of international empirical research
and collision testing on remotely piloted aircraft systems below 2kg to
immediately reform Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998.
Recommendation 2
8.20 The committee recommends that the Australian
Government introduce a mandatory registration regime for all remotely piloted
aircraft systems (RPAS) weighing more than 250 grams. As part of registration
requirements, RPAS operators should be required to successfully complete a
basic competence test regarding the safe use of RPAS, and demonstrate an
understanding of the penalties for non-compliance with the rules.
Recommendation 3
8.26 The committee recommends that the Australian
Government develop a tiered education program whereby remotely piloted aircraft
system (RPAS) users progressively unlock RPAS capabilities upon completion of
each level of training. Three tiers are proposed as follows:
-
purchase of the RPAS – mandatory registration requires user to
demonstrate knowledge the basic rules for flying RPAS, and the penalties for
non-compliance (as described in Recommendation 2);
-
recreational use of RPAS – second tier requires user to
demonstrate an advanced understanding of aviation rules and safety before
unlocking additional capabilities; and
-
commercial use of RPAS – final tier requires user to demonstrate
comprehensive aviation knowledge before obtaining commercial operator licence
and unlocking full RPAS capability.
Recommendation 4
8.29 The committee recommends that the Civil Aviation
Safety Authority, in cooperation with the Australian Federal Police and other
relevant authorities, prohibit the use of remotely piloted aircraft systems in
the airspace above significant public buildings, critical infrastructure and
other vulnerable areas.
Recommendation 5
8.31 The committee recommends that the Department of
Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, in cooperation with the Civil
Aviation Safety Authority, work with manufacturers of remotely piloted aircraft
systems (RPAS) to develop future solutions to RPAS safety, including the
implementation of technical restrictions on altitude and distance for
'off-the-shelf' RPAS.
Recommendation 6
8.37 The committee recommends that the Department of
Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, in cooperation with the Civil
Aviation Safety Authority, develop appropriate airworthiness standards for
remotely piloted aircraft of all sizes and operations. At a minimum, fail-safe
functions such as 'return to home' and safe landing functionality, and forced
flight termination, should be mandated.
Recommendation 7
8.38 The committee recommends that the Australian
Government develop import controls to enforce airworthiness standards for
foreign manufactured remotely piloted aircraft systems.
Recommendation 8
8.44 The committee recommends that the Department of
Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, in collaboration with the
Civil Aviation Safety Authority, develop a whole of government policy for
remotely piloted aircraft safety in Australia, and establish appropriate
coordination and implementation mechanisms with relevant departments and
agencies to implement the policy.
8.45 As part of a whole of government policy approach,
the committee further recommends that the Australian Government explore cost‑effective
models to develop and administer new regulatory initiatives for remotely
piloted aircraft systems, including a mandatory registration regime and tiered
education program. The harmonisation of state and territory privacy laws should
also be considered.
Recommendation 9
8.50 The committee recommends that, as part of a whole of
government approach to remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) safety, the
Civil Aviation Safety Authority work with Airservices Australia and other relevant
agencies to implement a comprehensive research and data gathering regime.
Information should be collated and centralised in a way that allows for the
examination of RPAS registrations, operations, trends and incidents, to provide
an evidence base on which to assess the efficacy of current regulations, and to
inform the development of future policy and regulations.
Recommendation 10
8.64 The committee recommends that, following the
development of a whole of government policy approach to RPAS safety, including
the establishment of a national registration system, the Civil Aviation Safety
Authority (CASA) work with state and territory enforcement bodies to implement
a nationally consistent enforcement regime for remotely piloted aircraft
systems. Under this regime, enforcement bodies would be delegated powers to
provide on-the-spot fines and report infringements of the regulations directly
to CASA.
Navigation: Previous Page | Contents | Next Page