Proposed flight operations miscellaneous amendments - Tranche 1 - (CD 2605OS)

Current requirements

Regulations 119.205, 131.195, 141.260 and 142.340 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (CASR), require an operator’s exposition or operations manual (as applicable to the relevant CASR Part) to include the name of any person authorised to carry out the responsibilities of a key personnel position. This applies when the position holder is absent or otherwise unable to perform their duties. Some stakeholders interpreted these provisions as obliging operators to appoint a pre‑authorised alternate for every key personnel role. This interpretation was not the intended policy outcome.

The decision to nominate alternate key personnel is voluntary and rests with each Australian air transport operator, balloon transport operator, Part 141 operator, and Part 142 operator. CASA’s guidance material explains the operational implications for operators who choose not to appoint alternates, particularly in situations where the primary key personnel member unexpectedly becomes unavailable.

The exemptions contained in the relevant legal instrument sections (listed in the fact bank below), temporarily corrected these issues.

The relevant Part 138 regulation was already amended in 2020.

Proposed amendments

The relevant exemptions and directions listed in the fact bank below will be incorporated into regulations 119.205, 131.195, 141.260, and 142.340 of CASR. This will remove the need to continue relying on these temporary exemptions. Although each exemption relates to a different CASR Part, they all address the same underlying issue.