Air Regulation in Australia

The general regulatory control for the safety of air navigation comes under the authority of the Civil Aviation Act (1998); the Act describes CASA’s role in enforcing the regulations.

There are two sets of regulations under the Act, they are the Civil Aviation regulations 1988 (CARs) and the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASRs). The CASRs are in transition authority from the earlier regulations.

The CASR’s empower CASA to issue �Manuals of Standards’ (MOS) which supports CASRs by providing detailed technical material (About CASA, 2008)

CASRs are divided into a number of parts, each parts may have:

(1) Manual of Standards (MOS) – specification or standards prescribed by CASA for the safety of air navigation.

(2) Advisory Circulars (ACs) – intended to provide recommendations and guidance, they may not be the only method to ensure compliance but may be viewed as best practice.

(3) Airworthiness Directives – authorised under CASR Pt. 39 (which is now aligned with FAA Pt. 39) – these are an urgent notification of a known safety deficiency with a type of aircraft, engine or equipment attached to or for the purpose of testing.

The AD will be distributed from CASA and may originate with the manufacturer or as a result of a national or international accident/incident investigation. (About CASA, 2008)

CASA is an independent statutory authority (s.8 Civil Aviation Act, 1988) separate from the Commonwealth. The prime role of CASA is safety and its regulation of civil air operations in Australia and the operations of Australian aircraft overseas

Another role is to co-operate with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) and administer certain parts of Part iv (A) of the Civil Aviation Act (1959). This part of the Act relates to Carriers Liability Insurance, to ensure all carriers carry applicable and current liability insurance to cover the carried passengers.

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (that includes the Australia Transport Safety Bureau) and Air services Australia constitute a tripartite structure working together as an integrated system.

Within this Department, the primary role of the Aviation and Airports Division is to advise the Government on policy and regulatory framework for Australian and aviation and the airports industries.

Charged with managing the relationship between the government, CASA, Air services Australia and the airlines of Australia, the department also manages Australia’s participation with ICAO and provides the secretariat for the International Air Services Commission (Aviation Policy & Regulation, 2008)

The role of the Air Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is the investigation of aviation, marine and rail transport incidents. This Bureau was the result of an amalgamation of the Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) and the Maritime Incident Unit.

Air services Australia manages Australian airspace. Under their control comes air traffic control, air navigation support and aviation rescue fire services. This is all provided under the auspices of the annexes of the Chicago convention. CASA oversees the activities of Air services Australia and it is funded via a user-pay service.

The International Air Services Commission (IASC) is responsible for the allocation of rights under bilateral agreements. These agreements are between governments and specify frequency, carrier specific allocation – single or multiple and origin/destination points.

The IASC is also responsible for issuing specific route licenses for Australian carriers.

(IASC, 2008)

State governments are responsible for route licensing of purely intrastate travel.

Article 26 of the Chicago convention calls for �a signatory member state to provide an investigative service to report on the findings of an accident to the country of origin of the involved aircraft.’

Whilst Article 37 calls for the �highest practicable degree of uniformity in regulations, standards, procedures and organisation in relation to aircraft personnel, airway and ancillary services in all matters to improve air navigation.’

In article 38, ICAO Standard and recommended practices (SARPs) are discussed. A standard practice is a necessary practice relating to the safety of a flight. A recommended practice is a desirable practice relating to the safety of a flight. (Aviation Policy & Regulation, 2008)

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