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CIVIL AVIATION SAFETY AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2003 (NO. 1) 2003 NO. 297
Issued under the authority of the Minister for Transport and Regional Services
Subsection 98(1) of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act, and regulations in relation to safety of air navigation, being regulations with respect to any other matter with respect to which the Parliament has power to make laws.
The Regulations rectify a number of deficiencies covering the manufacturing of aircraft parts found during the implementation of Part 21 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR), which deals with the certification and airworthiness requirements for aircraft and parts.
The Regulations:
• give CASA the power to issue production certificates for manufacture of aircraft components for which a certificate of type approval (CTA) was in force prior to the commencement of CASR Part 21and for the manufacture of aircraft parts on a one-off basis in Australia;
• require a wider range of aircraft parts to be marked with identification information;
• give adequate legislative power for some practices used for the issue of an Australian Parts Manufacturer Approval (APMA); and
• set a time period for a holder of an Australian Technical Standard Order (ATSO) authorisation to give manufacturing records to CASA once it stops manufacturing.
Part 21 of the CASR was introduced in October 1998 as part of CASA's Regulatory Reform Programme. CASR Part 21 covers the requirements for certification and manufacture of aircraft and parts, and replaces the similar provisions previously contained in the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (CAR 1988).
Issue of a production certificate
Before the introduction of Part 21, any person could apply for a certificate of approval under regulation 30 of CAR 1988 to manufacture aircraft parts to approved designs. These designs include a certificate of type approval (CTA) issued under regulation 22 of CAR 1988, or a design of a modification or repair approved under regulation 35 of CAR 1988.
The transitional provision of regulation 318 of CAR 1988 specifies that all certificates of approval for the manufacture of aircraft, aircraft components or aircraft material under regulation 30 of CAR 1988 will expire on 1 December 2003. Persons holding such approvals have to apply for a manufacturing approval under Part 21 before that date.
However, some holders of these certificates of approval have not been able to apply for a manufacturing approval under Part 21 because they do not meet the eligibility criteria established for regulation 21.133 of the CASR.
The Regulations expand the eligibility criteria for a production certificate issued under Subpart 21.G so that CASA can issue a production certificate for manufacture of:
• an aircraft component, for which a certificate of type approval (CTA) is in force, to a person who is entitled to manufacture the component; and
• parts on a one-off basis to design data approved by CASA or an authorised person for supply to approved maintenance organisations or owners/operators for maintenance of their aircraft.
The provision for a production certificate for manufacture of parts on a one-off basis will not replace the current provision for manufacture of parts in the course of maintenance by a maintenance organisation under paragraph 21.303(2)(a) or under the proposed CASR Part 145 'Maintenance Organisations' currently being developed by CASA under the Regulatory Reform Programme for making later this year.
Identification of aircraft parts
Subpart 21.Q currently only requires Australian Parts Manufacturer Approval (APMA) parts and critical parts to be marked with identification information. This creates a difficulty for the airworthiness control of other aircraft parts, as they are not easily identified.
The Regulations require the identification of other aircraft parts in addition to APMA parts and critical parts. These parts include parts covered by a CTA, parts manufactured on a one-off basis, and parts manufactured in the course of maintenance or by owners/operators. These parts must be marked with the trademark or name of the manufacturer, and the part number.
A part will be exempted from this requirement if it is impractical to mark on the part the required information because of the shape, size or nature of the part. If the part is manufactured under a production certificate, the required information must be included in an authorised release certificate accompanying the part.
Issue of an Australian Parts Manufacturer Approval (APMA)
CASA currently uses some practices for the issue of an APMA under Subpart 21.K, which are not explicitly supported by the regulations. These practices are used worldwide and are well accepted by the aviation industry.
The Regulations amend Subpart 21.K to provide a legislative basis for:
• the applicant for an APMA to provide documentation of the Fabrication Inspection System (FIS);
• CASA or an authorised person to approve design data for an APMA;
• the holder of an APMA to notify CASA of changes in the FIS;
• an APMA to be issued with conditions in the interests of aviation safety; and
• an APMA to be amended at the request of the holder.
Time periods to provide records
The Minister for Transport and Regional Services made an undertaking to the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances to amend sub-regulation 21.613 (3) to provide for a time period in which a holder of an Australian Technical Standard Order (ATSO) authorisation can give records to CASA once it stops manufacturing. The Regulations amend sub-regulation 21.613 (3) to set the time period as 30 days.
The Office of Regulation Review (ORR) has assessed that the Regulations do not have a direct or significant indirect impact on business and do not restrict competition and that the preparation of a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) is not mandatory.
Details of the Regulations are attached.
The Regulations commenced on gazettal.
ATTACHMENT
DETAILS OF THE AMENDING REGULATIONS
Regulation 1 - Name of Regulations
Regulation 1 names the amending Regulations as the Civil Aviation Safety Amendment Regulations 2003 (No. 1).
Regulation 2 - Commencement
Regulation 2 provides that the Regulations commence on gazettal.
Regulation 3 - Amendment of Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998
Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998.
Schedule 1 Amendments
Item 1 - After sub-regulation 21.133 (2)
Item 1 adds sub-regulation (2A) to regulation 21.133 to allow a person to apply for a production certificate to manufacture an aircraft component for which a certificate of type approval (CTA) is in force if the person is entitled to manufacture the component.
Item 1 also adds sub-regulation (2B) to regulation 21.133 to allow a person to apply for a production certificate to manufacture parts on a one-off basis for supply to approved maintenance organisations or owners/operators for maintenance of their aircraft.
Item 2 - Paragraph 21.143 (1A) (d)
Item 2 adds to paragraph 21.143 (1A) (d), the words 'for a product other than a Class II or Class III product referred to in sub-regulation 21.133 (2B)' to exclude an applicant for a production certificate to manufacture parts on a one-off basis from the requirement for providing an outline of the material review system in the quality procedures manual.
Item 3 - Sub-regulation 21.145 (1)
Item 3 adds to sub-regulation 21.145 (1) the words 'other than for a production certificate referred to in sub-regulation 21.133 (2B)' to exclude the holder of a production certificate to manufacture parts on a one-off basis from the requirement for a material review board.
Item 4 - Paragraph 21.151 (b)
Item 4 adds to paragraph 21.151 (b) the words 'other than a Class II or Class III product referred to in sub-regulation 21.133 (2B)' to exclude a production limitation record of a production certificate to manufacture parts on a one-off basis from the requirement to specify the product design.
Item 4 also adds new paragraph 21.151(c) to require a production limitation record of a production certificate to manufacture parts on a one-off basis to set out the description of each part authorised to be manufactured under the production certificate.
Item 5 - Sub-regulation 21.303 (1), at the foot
Item 5 amends sub-regulation 21.303 (1) by inserting a penalty provision of 50 penalty units at the foot of the sub-regulation. Prior to its amendment by Statutory Rules No.268 of 2002, sub-regulation 21.303 (1) was a criminal offence which attracted a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units. However, when the provision was harmonised with the Criminal Code Act by Statutory Rules No.268 of 2002, the penalty provision at the foot of the sub-regulation was inadvertently missed out. Item 5 corrects this accidental omission.
Item 6 - Paragraph 21.303 (2) (d)
Item 6 amends paragraph 21.303 (2) (d) by deleting the references to parts manufactured under a technical standard order authorisation or a parts manufacturer approval (PMA) issued under Part 21 of the Federal Aviation Regulations as these parts are imported parts, and hence are already exempted from the requirement for an APMA.
Item 7 - Paragraph 21.303 (3) (d)
Item 7 makes an editorial change by replacing a full stop at the end of paragraph 21.303 (3) (d) by a semicolon to allow the addition of a new paragraph as explained in Item 8.
Item 8 - After paragraph 21.303 (3) (d)
Item 8 adds new paragraph 21.303 (3) (e) to require an applicant for an APMA to provide a copy of the fabrication inspection system the applicant proposes to use to comply with sub-regulation 21.303 (11).
Item 9 - After sub-regulation 21.303 (3)
Item 9 adds new sub-regulation 21.303 (3A) to exempt an applicant for an APMA from the requirement to provide a copy of the fabrication inspection system introduced in Item 8 if the applicant has previously given CASA a copy of the same version of the system.
Item 10 - Sub-regulation 21.303 (4)
Item 10 adds the words 'or on the basis of design data for the design approved by CASA or an authorised person' to paragraph 21.303 (4) (a) to allow CASA to be satisfied that the design for a part meets the airworthiness requirements on the basis of design data approved by CASA or an authorised person. These words will also allow CASA to approve design data for an APMA or to authorise industry persons to approve design data.
Item 10 also amends paragraph 21.303 (4) (b) to clarify that an applicant is entitled to an APMA if the applicant will be able to comply with the requirements of sub-regulation 21.303(11).
Item 11 - Sub-regulation 21.303 (11)
Item 11 adds the words 'be documented and' to sub-regulation 21.303 (11) to require that the fabrication inspection system must be documented.
Item 12 - After sub-regulation 21.303 (13)
Item 12 adds a new sub-regulation 21.303 (13A) to require the holder of an APMA to advise CASA in writing within 2 days of any change to the fabrication inspection system that may affect the inspection, conformation to design data or airworthiness of a part produced under the APMA.
Item 13 - Before regulation 21.305
Item 13 adds new regulation 21.304 to allow CASA to issue an APMA subject to any conditions that CASA considers necessary in the interests of the safety of air navigation.
Regulation 21.304 also prohibits the holder of an APMA to contravene a condition applied to his or her APMA.
This regulation prescribes a penalty of 50 penalty units.
An offence under this regulation is an offence of strict liability. Strict liability has been applied to this offence to be consistent with other CASA regulations where the offence is of a nature such as to endanger the safety of flight.
Item 13 also adds new regulation 21.304A, entitled 'Changes to an APMA' to allow the holder of an APMA to apply for CASA's approval of any changes to the APMA, and CASA to approve the change.
Item 14 - Sub-regulation 21.605 (4)
Item 14 omits the word 'duplicate' from sub-regulation 21.605 (4) to clarify that the first article produced must also comply with the Australian Technical Standard Order (ATSO).
Item 15 - Sub-regulation 21.613 (3)
Item 15 adds the words 'within 30 days after ceasing that manufacture' to set the time period in which a holder of an Australian Technical Standard Order (ATSO) authorisation can give records to CASA once it stops manufacturing.
Item 16 - Part 21, Division 21.Q.4, heading
Item 16 changes the heading of Division 21.Q.4 from 'Replacement or modification of parts' to 'Aircraft parts' to correctly specify the subject covered by the Division.
Item 17 - Regulation 21.860, except the note
Item 17 adds a new paragraph (b) to regulation 21.860 so that the requirements for identification of parts in Division 21.Q.4 will also apply to parts manufactured in the course of maintenance referred to in paragraph 21.303 (2) (a) and parts produced by an owner or operator referred to in paragraph 21.303 (2) (c) if these parts are produced after 30 November 2003.
Item 17 also adds a new paragraph (c) to regulation 21.860 so that the requirements for identification of parts in Division 21.Q.4 will also apply to parts produced under a production certificate with a CTA or on a one-off basis introduced by new sub-regulation 21.133(2A) or sub-regulation 21.133(2B) identified in Item 1.
Item 18 - Regulation 21.865, heading
Item 18 adds the words 'produced under an APMA' to the heading of regulation 21.865 to specify that the regulation only covers the identification of parts produced under an APMA.
Item 19 - Regulation 21.870, heading
Item 19 adds the words 'produced under an APMA' to the heading of regulation 21.870 to specify that the regulation only covers the identification of parts produced under an APMA if marking is impossible.
Item 20 - After regulation 21.870
Item 20 adds new regulation 21.875 to require the manufacturers of parts mentioned in paragraphs 21.860 (b) or (c) introduced by Item 17 to mark these parts with the trademark or name of the manufacturer, and the part number.
This regulation prescribes a penalty of 20 penalty units.
An offence under this regulation is an offence of strict liability. Strict liability has been applied to this offence to be consistent with other CASA regulations where the offence is of a nature such as to endanger the safety of flight.
Item 20 also adds new regulation 21.880 to exempt a part from the requirement of regulation 21.875 if it is impractical to mark on the part the required information because of the shape, size or nature of the part. Regulation 21.880 also requires that the required information be included in an authorised release certificate supplied with the part or the container of the part if the part is manufactured under a production certificate.