Between 15 December 2021 and 21 February 2022, we invited public comment on proposed amendments to the drone rules following a regulatory post-implementation review (PIR) of Part 101 of CASR and its MOS.
The aim of the PIR is to recognise what:
In addition to Part 101 of CASR and its MOS, CASA also administers several legal instruments in the form of:
The proposed amendments seek to streamline these instruments to create a set of regulations and standards, with built-in flexibility, and provide clarity and consistency for industry.
We asked you to comment on:
Supporting documentation and links were:
We received 255 responses to the consultation:
We thank respondents for their contributions and acknowledge their feedback is beneficial.
Responses to the consultation were positive. Most respondents agreed to the proposed changes, or agreed with changes and specified those suggested changes.
We considered all feedback provided and incorporated or further clarified the proposed amendments.
The amendments to the Part 101 MOS and CASA55/20 reflect CASAs intent to continue to streamline these instruments to create a set of regulations and standards, with built-in flexibility, and provide clarity and consistency for industry.
Further amendments to CASR Part 101 and its MOS will be made throughout 2022.
Part 101 of CASR and MOS – Proposed Amendments
View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.
The drone industry is rapidly expanding. To keep pace with growth and demand in the sector, laws governing drones must be regularly reviewed to provide effective and efficient safety regulations for all airspace users and the community.
In 2016, major amendments were made to the:
We have now commenced a regulatory post-implementation review (PIR) of Part 101 of CASR and its MOS.
The aim of the PIR is to recognise what:
In addition to Part 101 of CASR and its MOS, CASA also administers several legal instruments in the form of:
The proposed amendments seek to streamline these instruments to create a set of regulations and standards, with built-in flexibility, and provide clarity and consistency for industry.
Improvements have been identified through several sources, including:
The proposed new rule set/standards
The proposed amendments will affect all types of aircraft and rocket operators under Part 101 of CASR.
The proposed changes will:
Benefits include:
The rationale for change is set out in the Policy Proposal document.
Amendments have been set out to help you find the information you’re looking for, noting the interdependencies between several CASR and MOS amendments.
CASA receives formal and informal feedback on drone-related issues and pain points from stakeholders including operators, industry bodies and the public. Feedback is collated and reviewed by subject matter experts (SMEs) and forms part of the consultative, policy development and regulatory review process.
Through the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), a formal technical working group (TWG) was established comprising representatives from various areas of the drone industry. This was done to ensure representation of all stakeholders affected by these proposed policies and amendments.
Participants met over video conference on 14, 15 and 20 July 2021 to consider the policies and amendments. The TWG was attended by representatives from:
The TWG reached general consensus in support of the proposed policies and amendments and recommended that CASA proceed with public consultation. This consultation draft sets out the full policy proposals for Part 101 of CASR and its MOS for public consideration and comment.
We are consulting on these proposed policies and amendments to seek feedback on whether what is proposed meets industry’s needs, and to identify any unforeseen consequences.
We want to ensure the changes are fit for purpose, easing pain-points by reducing red tape (and subsequently reducing cost and administrative burden), while maintaining a high level of safety. Some amendments introduce new administrative requirements, such as the proposed introduction of a Chief RePL Instructor position but ease current requirements in other areas to ensure balance of the overall requirements for training organisations.
Documents for review
All documents related to this consultation are attached in the ‘related’ section at the bottom of the page. They are:
Note: The MS Word document is not to be used as an emailed submission, unless there are extenuating circumstances, and this form of submission has been agreed to by the consultation project lead.
Links:
It is important that you read the Policy Proposal (2107US) consultation document before providing your feedback in the online survey.
The survey has been designed to give you the option to provide feedback on the proposed amendments in their entirety or to provide feedback on the policy topics applicable to you.
Comments on the Proposed Policy (2107US) should be submitted through the online response form.
What happens next
At the end of the consultation period, we will review each comment and submission received.
Feedback that improves the proposed amendments and is consistent with the civil aviation legislation and CASA policy will be incorporated prior to legislative drafting with the Office of Parliamentary Counsel.
We will make all submissions publicly available on the CASA website, unless you request that your submission remain confidential. We will also publish a summary of consultation, summarising the feedback received, any intended changes, and our plans for the proposed amendments.
CASA anticipates making of the proposed rules from September 2022, some of which will come into effect shortly after. The feedback we receive from this consultation will also assist CASA in developing adequate implementation and transition timeframes.
CASA proposes a transition period for some of the proposed CASR and MOS amendments to ensure that industry has sufficient time to adapt to the new requirements. Timeframes may change depending on the date the draft rules are signed, registered and implemented by CASA.
Post-implementation review
CASA will monitor and review the new rules during the transition phase and on an ongoing basis. We will also continue work on further proposed changes to the Part 101 of CASR regulations and MOS to support unmanned aircraft operations.
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