Announcement date
25 September 2024
Link to announcement
https://www.casa.gov.au/rules/regulatory-framework/casr/part-43-casr-maintenance-aircraft-private-and-aerial-work-operations#Non-legislativeinstruments
Problem being addressed
Maintenance requirements for general aviation aircraft (private and aerial work operations) were first developed in 1947 and last reviewed over 30 years ago as part of the development of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1988 (CASR 1988).
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has recently reviewed the maintenance requirements applying to aircraft operating in the general aviation sector to ensure an appropriate and efficient regulatory environment that facilitates the lowest possible maintenance costs of aircraft while preserving appropriate levels of safety. The review was undertaken against the background of significant industry feedback that the existing regulatory requirements apply an unnecessary burden given the safety risks involved in private and aerial work operations and many argued for Australia to adopt the US Federal Aviation Administration (US FAA) maintenance requirements.
Proposal
Analysis of the accident data by CASA indicates that the primary causes of incidents and accidents for general aviation aircraft in Australia are related to aircraft operation, not maintenance or technical issues. Feedback from CASA audits of maintenance organisations and audits of aircraft maintenance also supported the view that there are no significant problems with the quality of maintenance carried out on general aviation aircraft. There are no widespread adverse safety findings, or major regulatory/safety breaches.
The Impact Analysis (IA) therefore considers two options.
- Option 1: Status quo (no regulatory change);
- Option 2: Implementing an new CASR Part 43 based on the US FAA maintenance regulations (with some minor amendments) and selected other changes to reduce regulatory burden.
The IA considers that Option 2 would meet the regulatory objectivise in that the safety record of general aviation in the US over a number of years is comparable, or slightly better, than the Australian safety record and the option would reduce certain administrative requirements for industry.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Good Practice
Assessment comments
The IA addressed the seven IA questions and followed an appropriate policy development process commensurate with the significance of the problem and magnitude of the proposed intervention. In particular, the IA does well in outlining how consultation has informed the design of the policy and associated analysis. While the IA provides a high level evaluation plan, more detail on the evaluation plan would have improved the overall quality of the IA.
Regulatory burden
CASA estimates Option 2 would reduce the annual regulatory burden by $1.0 million, representing less than 1 per cent of the total annual general aviation maintenance cost of $147 million in the private and aerial work operations sector.