Notice
of Proposed Rule Making
NPRM
9807RP
Registration
of Aircraft
Civil
Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 47
Notice
of Proposed Rule Making
NPRM
9807RP
Registration
of Aircraft
Civil
Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) Part 47
In
June 1996, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority
(CASA) initiated the Regulatory Framework
Program which has, as its principal objective,
the complete review and revision of the
Australian aviation safety requirements
currently contained in the Civil Aviation
Regulations (CARs) and the Civil Aviation Orders
(CAOs). The
proposed new legislation will be called the
Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASRs).
The
CASRs will consolidate into one body of rules,
the safety requirements currently contained in
the CARs and CAOs, thereby reducing the number
of levels of legislation under the Civil
Aviation Act.
The development of the CASRs is a joint
industry and CASA initiative.
This
NPRM contains a proposal to introduce CASR Part
47 - Registration of Aircraft to replace the
requirements of the existing CAR Part Ill -
Division I- Aircraft Register, Division 1A -
Registration of Aircraft, Division 1B -
Notifying CASA of certain matters, Division 1C -
Expiry, suspension and cancellation of
registration, etc., and Division 1D -
Miscellaneous.
The
significant changes contained in the proposal
are that registration may be approved at the
request of the owner, by facsimile, telephone or
written means and the availability of
"dealer's" certificates of
registration and registration marks. The latter
replacing the "trade plate" system in
use prior to 1992.
These provisions introduce flexibility to
the registration process and generally harmonise
with the requirements of the US. Code of Federal
Regulations (FARs) Part 47. The proposals also seek to
implement practices which result in safety
resources being most effectively allocated to
ensure optimum safety and participation levels
in aviation.
You
are invited to respond to this proposal using
the response sheet in this NPRM. The closing date for comments
is 25th
September 1998. A summary of the responses will
be prepared subsequent to the closing date and
made available in conjunction with the making of
the final rule.
Finally,
I would like to thank you in advance for taking
the time to respond to this proposal, and wish
to stress that no action will be taken on this
proposal until all responses and submissions
have been considered.
Signed
Mick
Toller
Director
of Aviation Safety
4
August 1998
|
INTRODUCTION
................................................................. |
1 |
|
TABLE OF CONTENTS
........................................................ |
3 |
|
TERMINOLOGY
.................................................................. |
5 |
|
DEFINITIONS
..................................................................... |
6 |
|
THE PROPOSAL
................................................................. |
7 |
|
1.
Problem............................................................................... |
7 |
|
2.
Objective
............................................................................. |
7 |
|
3.
Options
............................................................................... |
8 |
|
4.
Impact analysis of
options.................................................... |
8 |
|
Persons
affected
............................................................... |
8 |
|
Effect
on existing regulation
............................................. |
9 |
|
Expected
impact (benefits or costs), distribution
effects and persons affected
........................................................ |
9 |
|
Effect
on the environment by implementing this
proposal.. |
10 |
|
Compliance
...................................................................... |
10 |
|
5.
Consultation
....................................................................... |
11 |
|
6.
How to submit comments on this NPRM
............................. |
11 |
|
7.
Disposition of comments received
....................................... |
11 |
|
RESPONSE SHEET
............................................................. |
13 |
|
ANNEX A
DRAFT REGULATIONS - CASR PART 47
.............. |
A1 |
|
ANNEX B
PROPOSED DRAFT AMENDMENTS AND
SAVING PROVISIONS
...................................................................... |
B1 |
|
ANNEX C
DRAFT ADVISORY CIRCULAR - AC
47.1(0) ......... |
C1 |
|
ANNEX D
CAR/CASR COMPARISON TABLE
....................... |
D1 |
AC
Advisory
Circular
AD
Airworthiness Directive
CAA
Civil Aviation Authority
CAAP
Civil Aviation Advisory Publication
CAO
Civil Aviation Order
CAR
Civil Aviation Regulation
CASA
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
CASR
Civil Aviation Safety Regulation
FAA
Federal Aviation Administration of the
USA
FAR
Federal Aviation Regulations of the USA
ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organisation
JAR
Joint Aviation Requirements of the
European Joint Aviation Authorities
NAA
National Airworthiness Authority
NPRM
Notice of Proposed Rule Making
SAR
Search and Rescue
US
United States of America
Definitions used in this NPRM have the following meanings:
approved:
means approved by CASA;
balloon:
means an unpowered, lighter-than-air aircraft;
certificate
of registration: in relation to an aircraft,
means the certificate given under regulation
47.11 or 47.13 in respect of the aircraft;
Civil
Aircraft Register: means the register
established and maintained under regulation
47.2;
class:
in relation to an aircraft— refer Appendix 3
of AC 47-1(0);
dealer’s
registration mark: means a registration mark
assigned to an aircraft manufacturer,
distributor or dealer under regulation 47.21;
glider:
means
an unpowered, heavier-than-air aircraft that
derives its lift in flight chiefly from
aerodynamic reactions on surfaces remaining
fixed under given conditions of flight;
heavier-than-air
aircraft:
is the generic term for aircraft that derive
their lift in flight chiefly from aerodynamic
forces;
kite:
means a glider normally moored
to the ground;
lighter-than-air
aircraft: is
the generic term for aircraft that are supported
chiefly by their buoyancy in the air;
manned balloon: means
a balloon that:
(a) is capable of carrying one
or more persons; and
(b) is equipped with controls
that enable control of the altitude of the
balloon;
owner:
in relation to an aircraft,
means the person who has possession and control
of the aircraft;
powered
aircraft: means an aircraft that is
propelled by one, or more than one, engine;
recreational
unmanned aircraft: means
an aircraft that:
(a) is not designed for, or
capable of, accommodating a person; and
(b)
is used only for sport and recreation;
registration
mark: means
a registration mark assigned to an aircraft
under regulation 47.4;
registered
operator: in
relation to an aircraft, means the person whose
name is entered in the Civil Aircraft Register
as that of the owner of the aircraft;
rotorcraft:
means
a heavier-than-air aircraft that depends
principally for its support in flight on the
lift generated by one or more than one rotor;
tethered:
in relation to a lighter-than-air aircraft,
means attached to the ground, or an object on
the ground, by flexible restraints that limit
movement;
unmanned
balloon *: means
a balloon other than a manned balloon;
unpowered
aircraft:
means an aircraft other than a powered aircraft.
*
Unmanned
free balloons are not classified as aircraft in
Australia, therefore the international standards
3.2.5, 4.1.2 and of Annex 7 to the Convention on
Civil Aviation, “Aircraft Nationality and
Registration Marks”
cannot be applied in Australia.
Accordingly, ICAO will be advised as a
“difference”.
Australia's
aviation safety requirements are currently
contained in the Civil Aviation Act 1988, Civil
Aviation Regulations (CARs) and Civil Aviation
Orders (CAOs).
Over
the years, the CARs and CAOs have been
continually amended. Concerns have been raised
that as the result of these changes, the
Australian regulations are at times ambiguous,
disjointed, not in conformance with worlds best
practice, and difficult to comply with and
enforce.
The
purpose of this Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM) is to:
·
simplify the aircraft
registration procedures
·
clearly identify the
person in possession of the aircraft as the
person responsible for airworthiness control of
the aircraft
·
remove the need to record
property interest details in the Civil Aircraft
Register
·
initiate formal public
consultation on the proposed CASR Part 47 -
Registration of Aircraft
·
replace the current CAR
Part Ill - Division 1 - Aircraft Register,
Division 1A - Registration of Aircraft,
Division 1B - Notifying CASA of certain
matters, Division 1C - Expiry , suspension and
cancellation of registration, etc. and Division
1D - Miscellaneous; and
·
put in place related
regulations necessary to enact the proposed
CASRs.
The
objective of this NPRM is to introduce a
simplified system for the registration of
aircraft that complies with:
a). the recommendations of
ICAO Annex 7 regarding the regulations and
practices for the registration of aircraft, including the requirements for
the:
·
application for
registration
·
exemption from
registration requirements
·
assignment of
registration marks
·
Certificate of
Registration document
·
duration of registration
·
notification of change of
registered particulars
·
replacement Certificate
of Registration
·
dealer’s Certificates
of Registration
·
dealer’s registration
marks: and
·
the use of dealer’s
registration marks.
b). legislation to address the
requirements for aircraft registration in a
manner consistent with the work being conducted
to revise all the Australian aviation safety
regulations under the auspices of CASA’s
Regulatory Framework Program.
Accordingly,
a number of regulatory criteria have been
identified to guide the development of the
CASRs.
These
are that the new legislation should:
·
focus on safety, adopting
a "safety systems" approach,
·
be clear, concise and
unambiguous;
·
be consistent with
Australia's international obligations;
·
be harmonised with
international standards, unless unique
Australian circumstances require otherwise;
·
be outcome-based, to the
extent practicable;
·
be cost effective; and
·
be enforceable.
CASA
has adopted a set of principles which it uses to
ensure consistency in its day-to-day activities.
One of these principles is the adoption
of international standards and practices as a
starting point for legislation and process
development, and modification only where the
unique Australian context warrants.
Consequently
in considering the development of the proposed
legislation, the Regulatory Framework Program
Aircraft Maintenance Technical Committee (TC7)
reviewed the ICAO Recommendations and practices,
under Annex 7, US FARs, JARs of the European
Joint Aviation Authorities, and the New Zealand
and Canadian Aviation Safety Regulations, prior
to making recommendations for regulatory change
in Australia.
The
introduction of the proposed CASR Part 47 will
allow CASA to process application for
registration of an aircraft in a more efficient
and flexible manner and will ensure
harmonisation principally with Part 47 of the
Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) of the
United States of America.
Adoption
of this proposal will simplify procedures by
removing unnecessary administrative legislation
identified in the existing CARs while at the
same time maintain Australia's high standards of
safety.
Industry
The
persons affected in industry are the owners and
registered operators of aircraft.
The distinction between the “owner”
and “registered operator” defined above is
that an applicant for registration of an
aircraft may be the owner, a group of owners or
a body corporate. Notwithstanding who the owner
is, once the aircraft details have been placed
on the Civil Aircraft Register, the regulations
refer to the owner as the
“registered operator”, replacing the
current terminology of “Certificate of
Registration” holder.
Note: Property interest details
currently recorded in the Civil Aircraft
Register will no longer be recorded under this
proposal.
CASA
Administration
As
the result of the simplification process, it is
proposed that aircraft registration will be
centralised within CASA Central Office, which
will release CASA Administrative Officers
employed in District Offices for other duties.
The
proposed areas of legislative change separate
the requirements for registration of an aircraft
under CASR Part 47 from CASR Part 45 which will
deal with the size and location of registration
marking on aircraft and the requirements for a
fireproof aircraft registration identification
plate. This information is currently covered in
Part III of CAR's and has in the past resulted
in difficulties of interpretation.
The
proposed draft Regulations for CASR Part 47 is
set out in Annex A to this NPRM.
As
the intention is to introduce CASR Part 47 into
the existing regulatory framework, cross
reference to existing CARs etc. will be
necessary until the CARs are totally replaced,
therefore this NPRM also contains a number of
consequential amendments necessary to bring into
effect CASR Part 47.
These include:
·
which CARs will be
repealed;
·
which legislation will be
"saved"; and
·
ensuring that the current
Certificates of Registration remain valid.
These
proposed consequential amendments are contained
in the Civil Aviation (Savings, Transition
and Amendment) Regulations which are
attached at Annex B to this NPRM.
A
draft copy of Advisory Circular AC 47.1(0) is
shown at Annex C to this NPRM.
For
ease of reference, a comparison table showing
the equivalence between CASR Part 47 and the
current CAR's is specified in Annex D of
this NPRM.
The
nature of the proposed change is geared to
simplifying aircraft registration through
implementation of a new set of regulations, CASR
Part 47. One
of the major changes is the provision that at
the request of the owner, by facsimile or
telephone, registration may be approved.
Another
innovation is the provision of
"dealer's" certificates of
registration and registration marks, replacing
the "trade plate" system in use prior
to 1992. This
provision reintroduces flexibility lost by the
current regulations.
Costs
to CASA
Based
on information supplied by the CASA Finance
Branch, the cost of registration transactions
over a two hundred and sixty six (266) day
period, July 1/1997 to March 23/1998,
shows that nationally CASA received
requests for:
1.
303
new aircraft registrations
2.
984
changes to the Certificate of Registration
3.
60
requests for changes to registration marks; and
4.
140
cancellations
of Certificate of Registration.
Allowing
for a time factor of 30 minutes per transaction
for items 1, 2, and 3 and 15 minutes for item 4,
at an average salary of $13.82 per hour,
(based on summation of hourly rates of
seventeen (17) registration offices —
$235 divided by 17)
this translates into:
·
1487
transactions;
·
708.5
hours; equating with
·
a
total cost of $9907.65.
It
is expected that by centralising registration
procedures, this intermediate processing cost
incurred in District Airworthiness offices and
any salary, where a person is specifically
employed to administrate aircraft registration
matters, could be saved.
Of
further consideration is the proposed CASA costs
covering the administrative cost of maintaining
the Civil Aircraft Register, as set out in the
CASA discussion paper on a
“
Fairer and more equitable charging system”.
Under the proposal, the costs, based on
the previous part hourly rate assumptions,
would be as follows:
|
1.
303 new aircraft registrations |
@ |
$90/2 |
$42.50 |
|
2.
984 changes to the Certificate of
Registration |
@ |
$40/2 |
$20.00 |
|
3.
60 requests for changes to
registration marks; and |
@ |
$30/2 |
$15.00 |
|
4.
140 cancellations of Certificate of
Registration |
@ |
$30/4 |
$0.70 |
|
Total |
$34,507.00 |
||
Should
full hourly transaction costs be implemented the
cost would
be: $71,190.00
It
is expected costs will be incurred in the
Aircraft Registration centre in processing the
raw data received from applicants.
It is not however expected to be
substantial on the basis that current procedures
involve electronic data transfer and validation
and the revised procedures should not result in
a significant additional workload.
Costs
to Industry
The
cost to industry will be restricted to facsimile
or postage costs in sending the application for
registration to the Aircraft Registration
centre. Use of facsimile transmission offers the
best option for transmission since it reduces
the chance of misinterpretation which can occur
during voice communication. A free-call facility
will be available for applicants seeking
registration by telephone.
This
removes a major industry problem area
where the applicant has met all the requirements
for issue of the Certificate of Airworthiness
but the certificate cannot be issued because a
Certificate of Registration has not been issued.
Another
additional cost saving will be the provision of
a “dealer’s registration” system to reduce
the unnecessary registration of aircraft prior
to sale. The costs of putting an
aircraft on the register then removing it in a
relatively short period following sale of the
aircraft (double handling) will no longer be
incurred. This
will result in a more efficient and effective
system offering positive benefits to industry.
The
proposed changes to the legislation will not
create any discernible change to, or impact on
the environment.
Compliance
with the proposed legislation will be monitored
and enforced through normal surveillance
activity.
The
Notice of Proposed Rule Making process is CASA’s
method of notifying
and seeking comment from industry with respect
to proposed changes to rules.
All submissions are evaluated and
assessed with a view to incorporating any
necessary changes to the draft regulations prior
to their formal promulgation as law.
To
date, considerable discussion has taken place
between the industry/ CASA Aircraft Maintenance
Technical Committee (TC7), the CASA
continuing airworthiness staff and the
CASA Office of Legal Counsel with respect to the
introduction of the proposed
CASR Part 47, resulting in the
formulation of this proposal.
CASA
now seeks comments on this proposal from the
aviation industry and the general public before
proceeding further.
In
order to simplify collation and summarising of
comments, responses should be made on the
response sheet provided (see page 13), or a copy
of the sheet, with additional comments attached
as necessary.
Written
comments quoting NPRM 9807RP should be forwarded
by 25th September 1998 to CASA's Regulatory
Framework Program, by one of the following
means:
Post
(no stamp required) Reply
Paid 744, NPRM Administration,
Regulatory
Framework Program Office, GPO Box 2005,
Canberra
ACT
2601
E-mail nprm_casr47@casa.gov.au
Fax
(free call) 1800
653 897
Additional
information is available from:
Ken Douglas
Regulatory Framework Program, Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Free Post: Reply Paid 744, GPO Box 2005, CANBERRA CITY ACT 2601
E-mail: douglas_k@casa.gov.au
Telephone: 02 6217 1841 or 131 757
Fax: 1800 653 897
Subsequent
to the closing date for comments, a summary of
responses will be prepared, and made publicly
available in conjunction with the making of the
final rule.
CASA
will not individually acknowledge or respond to
comments or submissions.