News

Kia ora koutou,
 
Welcome to the November update from the Civil Aviation Act 2023 implementation team.

In this update:

• Airport registration and Regulatory Airports Spatial Undertaking (RASU)
• Independent review of Director of Civil Aviation’s decisions
• Update on the Act implementation programme
• Civil Aviation rules
• Updated and new operational policies
• Certification and licensing transition arrangements
•  Exemptions

Airport registration and Regulatory Airports Spatial Undertaking (RASU)
Following the Ministry’s engagement with border agencies, airports and airlines in the past few months, we are finalising guidance documents and operational policies for the new airport operator registration and RASU regimes. These documents outline our approach to airport registration and RASUs under the Civil Aviation Act 2023 and provide key information on how to apply for registration and develop, maintain and review RASUs.

We intend to publish these documents on our website by early next year to allow sector participants as much time as possible to prepare for their regulatory compliance.

Please get in touch with us on airports@transport.govt.nz for further information.
  
Independent review of Director of Civil Aviation’s decisions
Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the scope of reviewable decisions under the new independent review function and the proposed application fees. We have considered your feedback and are providing advice to government so that regulations can be put in place to support the function.
 
Appointment of independent reviewers

The process to support the Minister of Transport to appoint independent reviewers is well underway.  There has been strong interest in the role and high calibre candidates.  We expect to confirm the appointees prior to the independent review function starting, around April next year. 
  
Update on the Act implementation programme
The Ministry’s Director of Aviation updated participants on progress in implementing the 2023 Act at the NZ Airports Hui 2024 earlier this month. The programme’s progress was well-received by the hui participants and we experienced an uptake of implementation related queries following the hui. 

Please get in touch with us at civilaviationact@transport.govt.nz if you have further queries on the Act implementation.
  
Civil Aviation Rules

In September CAA shared the draft realigned rules on our website to show you what changes are being made to ensure the rules line up with the 2023 Act. Feedback on errors and technical issues closed last month.

Draft rules under the 2023 Act (aviation.govt.nz) 

CAA received useful feedback, and we expect to have the draft rules with the Minister of Transport for signing before Christmas and to be able to publish the finalised pending rules early in the New Year. The draft rules will stay on the website until then.

There are no changes to the intent and meaning of the existing rules. Most of them needed minor changes (e.g., correcting typos and errors) to ensure accuracy, coherence, and alignment with changes in technology.

Civil Aviation (Offences) regulations

As part of the Civil Aviation rules realignment process, the Ministry has been working on updating Civil Aviation (Offences) regulations that relate to the realigned rules. These will replace the current regulations being revoked by the 2023 Act on 5 April 2025.

New regulations are currently being developed and on track to be in place by April next year.

Updated and new operational policies

All CAA’s operational policies are being updated to align with the 2023 Act and the amended policies will be published in the coming months. We have developed policies for new provisions in the 2023 Act which cover entry and inspection, searching, and the use of non-disturbance notices and improvement notices. These operational policies will be available on our website in the New Year.

While the 2023 Act provides some new powers and tools, in practice the way inspectors approach their jobs will remain much the same. 

CAA’s attitude to compliance remains the same: voluntary compliance is the key principle for the aviation sector. The provisions of the 2023 Act do not change our approach.

Certification and licensing transition arrangements

Participants’ expositions and operating specifications will remain in place until they’re due for renewal, or until an operator seeks an amendment for some other reason. That’s when they’ll need to be updated to reflect the 2023 Act. For details on the transition arrangements for certification and licensing, see CAA’s website:

Certification and licensing transition arrangements (aviation.govt.nz) 

Exemptions

The 2023 Act makes some changes to the requirements for granting exemptions - sections 322 and 323 of the Act set out the requirements. 

Exemptions granted under the Civil Aviation Act 1990 will continue to apply until they expire, are replaced or revoked. The 2023 Act applies a maximum five-year limit for an exemption.

Details are available on CAA’s website:

Criteria for granting exemptions (aviation.govt.nz)  

Kia ora koutou,
 
Welcome to the September update from the Civil Aviation Act 2023 implementation team.

In this update:

• Consultation on RASU and airport registration 
• Independent review of Director's decisions 
• Transition of documentation on 5 April 2025
• Civil Aviation rules
• Drug and Alcohol Management Plans

Consultation on RASU and airport registration
In July the Ministry of Transport consulted with airports on its draft operational policy and sector guidance documents for the Regulatory Airport Special Undertaking (RASU) requirement which forms part of the new airport regulatory regime coming into force from 5 April 2025.

Thank you to everyone who attended the online hui and provided feedback. We are currently considering the feedback and meeting with submitters. We’ll shortly be engaging with airlines on these draft documents. We are also currently seeking feedback from airports on the airport registration operational policy and guidance documents. Written feedback will close on 6 September.

Independent review of Director’s decisions
Public consultation has opened on the scope of the new independent review function which will allow people to seek reviews of civil aviation regulatory decisions that affect them. The consultation will be open for four weeks until 24 September.

For more information and to read the consultation document please go to:
Independent review function: Scope of reviewable decisions (transport.govt.nz) 

The Ministry is supporting the Minister of Transport to appoint up to two independent reviewers for this function. Applications for these roles recently opened and will remain open until 30 September 2024.

For more information or to express interest please go to: https://www.boardappointments.co.nz/Vacancies

Transition of documentation on 5 April 2025
When the Civil Aviation Act 2023 takes effect on 5 April 2025, participants’ expositions and operating specifications will remain in place. They won’t change until they’re due for renewal, or until an operator seeks an amendment for some other reason. That’s when they’ll need to be updated to reflect the new Act.

If a certificate or license renewal falls before 5 April 2025, it will be processed under the 1990 Act. Those received immediately after 5 April 2025 will be processed under the new Act, and the Civil Aviation Authority will take a pragmatic approach if some of the wording still refers to the 1990 Act.

Civil Aviation rules
All 50 existing Civil Aviation rule parts have been updated to make sure they align with the new Act, but the rules themselves are not being rewritten. There are no changes to the intent and meaning of the existing rules and - apart from some minor exceptions - existing rule part numbers stay the same. 

The draft rules, and summaries of the change are now available on the CAA website, so participants can see how they’re likely to look from 5 April 2025.

Draft rules under the 2023 Act (aviation.govt.nz) 

This will be useful for anyone preparing for an exposition renewal under the new Act. If you see anything that you think is a mistake, please let us know, before they are published in their final form.

Drug and Alcohol Management Plans
The biggest change for some document holders is the introduction of random drug and alcohol testing from 5 April 2027 through Drug and Alcohol Management Plans (DAMPs).  

A new Rule Part 99 - Drug and Alcohol Management Plans has been made to specify the requirements for DAMPs. An accompanying Advisory Circular and template will help participants work through the process. They are both available on CAA’s website: 

Drug and alcohol management (avaiation.govt.nz) 

Approximately 300 document holders who conduct operations involving safety-sensitive activities will need to develop DAMPs and have them approved by CAA, so they can be implemented in 2027.

Safety-sensitive activities are those that could significantly affect the safety of anybody on an aircraft; or an activity which, if not done safely, could cause or contribute to an aircraft accident. 

DAMPs will be submitted to CAA in two phases – the first by 30 September 2025, and the second by 30 June 2026. A table showing which operators will need to submit their DAMPs when, is available on CAA’s website.

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the February update from the Civil Aviation Act 2023 implementation team.

In this update:

• Drug and Alcohol Management Plan (DAMP) Rules - Consultation Underway
• Rules realignment to 2023 Act
• Act Comparison Guide.
• Independent review function
• Oher regulatory work underway.

Drug and Alcohol Management Plan (DAMP) Rules - Consultation Underway
Consultation on draft rules (through the NPRM process) and a detailed draft Advisory Circular is open until Friday, 10 May – see new Rule Part 99 – Drug and Alcohol Management Plans (DAMPs).

The new 2023 Act requires DAMP operators to have drug and alcohol management plans. A key function of the plan is to set out how the operator will do random drug and alcohol testing for workers undertaking safety-sensitive work.

The draft rules (which CAA is seeking feedback on) propose that a wide scope of certificated operators are DAMP operators.  Rules are also required to set the dates by which operators must submit their first plans (DAMPs) to CAA – a staggered process leading up to 5 April 2027, when it is intended that the plans are in place.

The draft Advisory Circular provides detailed information on the Act and draft rules including who is a DAMP operator, what must be in a DAMP, how to develop a DAMP and the review and approval process.

Further information is also available on the CAA website’s Civil Aviation Act 2023 Implementation pages.

Rules realignment to 2023 Act
All 50 Rule Parts are being redrafted to align with the 2023 Act when it comes into effect on 5 April 2025.

Updating all 50 Rule parts requires redrafting and Ministerial approval, but it is not a rewrite of the rules, as the aviation industry understands a ‘rewrite’.

Most of the changes are minor, to ensure that the wording is in line with the new Act and to improve clarity and intent. A more detailed explanation of what the process involves is available on the CAA website.


Act Comparison Guide
CAA has produced a quick reference guide to help industry participants easily identify where the sections you work with in the 1990 Act are now represented in the CA Act 2023.

The spreadsheet is not authoritative advice – rather, it is a working document designed to help navigate between the two Acts. If you see anything which you believe is incorrect or have a question, please let us know – CAACT2023@caa.govt.nz.

The Act comparison Guide can be found on the CAA website.

Independent review function
The new review function created by the 2023 Act aims to provide a faster and less costly route for independent reviews of the Director of Civil Aviation's decisions than appealing decisions through the courts. The function was created during the Transport and Infrastructure Committee's consideration of the Civil Aviation Bill, in response to stakeholder concerns about the lack of timely, practical and affordable alternatives to the court process.

The 2023 Act leaves the scope of which CAA decisions can be reviewed to be specified in regulations. The Ministry of Transport has been developing policy options for which decisions should be captured to ensure the function appropriately serves its intended purpose. We anticipate we will be seeking your feedback in coming months. Once the consultation is live, you'll be able to access material on the Ministry's website.

Other regulatory work underway
Work continues on the small updates that are required to be made to the Civil Aviation (Offences) Regulations to ensure they reflect the new Act and rules. As many of the other regulations made under the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and Airport Authorities Act 1966 automatically remain when the 2023 Act comes into force, we don't need to do anything to keep them in place. For more information about the rules work underway, visit the Ministry’s website

The Ministry is also working on new regulations that will give effect to the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Like for the new independent review function, the framework to reflect New Zealand's commitment to the International Civil Aviation Organisation's CORSIA is set in the Act, but some details are left to regulations.

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the February update from the Civil Aviation Act 2023 implementation team.

In this update:

• The new Act’s impact on the airline licensing regime
• Upcoming consultation on the Drug and alcohol management plans
• Rules realignment - Tell us how you use the rules web pages.

Simplified economic regulation of international air services

The new Act simplifies the airline licensing regime by eliminating the separate category of open aviation market licences.  From April 2025 the licensing process will distinguish between:

1. foreign international airlines, and New Zealand airlines operating in markets with no capacity, route, or traffic rights restrictions where the Secretary of Transport will be the licencing authority; and
2. New Zealand airlines operating in markets where there are capacity, route or traffic rights restrictions where the Minister of Transport will be the licencing authority.

New Zealand airlines will continue to be required to provide evidence to determine their eligibility to be a New Zealand airline, financial fitness and compliance with Civil Aviation Authority requirements.

The Ministry’s website will be updated with additional information on the new regime.

Another significant change is authorisation of non-scheduled international flights or hire for reward.

From April 2025, an international non-scheduled flight where the operator will not have had more than one landing and/or one take-off from New Zealand airports within a 28-day period will not require Ministry of Transport authorisation.  Operators will still need to obtain required authorisations from other government agencies, for example when operating to/from an airport without a customs and biosecurity presence.

Operators undertaking more than one landing and/or one take-off within a 28-day period will still require authorisation from the Ministry, as well as from the Civil Aviation Authority (either an air operator certificate or foreign air operator certificate as appropriate).

Upcoming consultation on the Drug and Alcohol Management Plans (DAMPs)

In March – April this year an Advisory circular and draft rules will be published for formal consultation. The Act requires DAMP operators to have drug and alcohol management plans, including random drug testing for employees undertaking safety sensitive work, approved and in place by 5 April 2027. Further information is on the CAA website.

Rules realignment - Tell us how you use the rules web pages

All 50 Rule Parts are being rewritten to align with the 2023 Act. Most of the changes are minor, to ensure that the wording is in line with the new Act and to improve clarity and intent. The draft rules will be available for the sector to see before they are finalised, later this year.

As a result of the changes, CAA’s website Civil Aviation Rules pages, will undergo a lot of changes and this provides an opportunity for us to revise how those pages function.

We’d like to hear how you use those pages so we can make sure they suit the needs of everyone accessing that information. Please take five minutes to complete an anonymous survey to help us determine how we develop them.

Complete the survey

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the November update from the Civil Aviation Act 2023 implementation team.

In this update:

• Airport Registration and Regulatory Airport Spatial Undertakings (RASU)
• Drug and Alcohol Management.

A new airport registration process will replace the Airport Authorities regime

Work is underway at Te Manatū Waka the Ministry of Transport to give effect to changes in the Civil Aviation Act 2023 that will replace the Airport Authorities Act 1966. In future, airport operators will be registered by the Secretary for Transport. Most airport operators have until 5 April 2030 to transition to the registration regime, at which time the Airport Authorities Act will be repealed.

We are in the early stages of developing the process and guidance airport operators will need to make a smooth transition to operate under the new Act.

The 2023 Act has provisions that preserve existing charges and bylaws when an airport authority is registered as an airport. We’ve published further information about changes for airport operators on our website and will engage with operators as our work to set up the new regime for airport operator registration and related requirements progresses.

Regulatory Airport Spatial Undertaking (RASU)

In addition to airport registration, there will be a new requirement for some airports to have an approved plan called a Regulatory Airport Spatial Undertaking (RASU). A RASU will set out how an airport operator will accommodate government agencies that operate at their airport.

A RASU is required if one or more government agencies routinely operate at an airport and have a statutory ability to require space to carry out their agency’s functions. When consulted on a RASU, government agencies must make reasonable efforts to co-ordinate their response. With this new requirement, the government aims to promote operational alignment when airports work to accommodate agencies' needs.
The Ministry will be working with affected airport operators and government agencies to develop and document the RASU process.
 

Drug and Alcohol Management 

The CAA and the Ministry are working on the provisions in the Act which require some operators to have drug and alcohol management plans, including mandating random drug testing for workers undertaking safety-sensitive activities. It requires new civil aviation rules to be developed to describe who is affected, as well as guidance on what goes into a DAMP. The guidance includes what random testing will look like, what are safety- sensitive activities and who are safety-sensitive workers.

Rules are also required to set up a process for the approval of drug and alcohol management plans during the transition period from 5 April 2025 to 5 April 2027. The Act powers and requirements would come into effect after approval of the plans. CAA staff have undertaken targeted engagement with some sector operators, focusing on those already undertaking random drug and alcohol testing. The aim was to understand likely issues and test a plan template. Draft rules and guidance are now being prepared and we expect formal consultation on these to occur between March and May 2024.

For more information, or if you have a question, you can go to the CAA website.

Kia ora koutou,

Welcome to the September update from the Civil Aviation Act 2023 implementation team.

In this update:

• Act implementation date
• The Authority's approach to implementation and workstreams – Liam Brennan
• Updates from the Ministry

Implementation date

The Civil Aviation Act 2023 comes into effect on 5 April 2025. For operators in the system, nothing changes until then. You will continue to operate as you currently do, under the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and Airport Authorities Act 1966, while the implementation work is underway. Once these Acts are repealed, and the new Act comes into force in 2025, that’s when you may be required to meet any new requirements.

There is a lot of work involved for the implementation teams in the Ministry of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority to ensure the Act is effectively translated into rules and regulations and any changes are communicated and discussed with the sector by the 5 April 2025 deadline. But for operators, there will be no change till then.

The Authority's approach to implementation – Liam Brennan, Programme Director, CAA

Since the last newsletter we have completed putting the core programme team together and started several streams of work to meet the April 2025 deadline.

While the Act will introduce some welcome changes to help the CAA and sector keep better pace with our operating environment, it also recognises that our fundamental regulatory underpinnings are sound.  For the most part the new Act continues or improves existing functions – but even where the change is minimal this still requires a considerable amount of implementation to make sure that we are all good to go on day one – for example re-certifying aviation rules, making sure staff are properly delegated, and changes to practices and processes. In other cases, there are some more significant changes to be implemented – for example new rules for drug and alcohol management plans and new powers to respond to drones being flown in a dangerous way.

In the CAA we have five workstreams underway and I’ll give you a quick rundown of each:

• Civil Aviation Rules Realignment (joint workstream with the Ministry): This involves realigning all existing aviation rules with the new Act. The new Act provides for this to be done by way of a certification process.

• Legislative and Governance: Implementing many of the smaller legislative and governance changes, input into Director decisions, spatial plans, CAA records and legal process changes and corporate administrative arrangements.
• Drug and Alcohol Management: This includes the introduction of Drug and Alcohol Management Plans (DAMPs) for some operators and requires new civil aviation rules to be developed to describe who is affected, as well as guidance on what goes into a DAMP and what random testing will look like. We’re expecting formal consultation on draft rules and guidance to occur between March and May 2024, with a transition period between 5 April 2025 and 5 April 2027.
• Regulatory Security: This involves identifying the operational security changes required to implement the Act, including changes to tools, processes and powers relating to security areas, searching, security checks, appointments and delegations.
• Regulatory Safety: This is working on identifying and implementing changes to aviation documents, certification and exemption processes, monitoring, inspection and investigation tools and powers, drone intervention powers and changes to appointments and delegations.

As I said, now we have the team in place, we are now getting more into the detail of the work involved.  You can expect to hear much more from us – and we look forward to hearing from you.

Updates from the Ministry

Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport is in the process of setting up a programme team to manage and coordinate delivery of what we’ve planned to date. In addition to the joint Civil Aviation Rules Realignment work, we are set up to deliver the following workstreams:

• Ministry operations: We will deliver systems and processes needed to support Regulatory Airport Spatial Undertakings (RASUs), the airport operator registration regime, airport spatial plans and bylaw consultations, airline alliance authorisations, the international airline licensing regime, administration of the independent review function and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).
• Establishment of the Independent Review Function: The Act creates an independent review function which will enable individuals to seek reviews of civil aviation regulatory decisions that affect them. We are leading policy work to set out in regulations which decisions will be reviewable by this function, and work to support the Minister to appoint suitable reviewers. This new function is in addition to the existing specialist medical convener process for decisions made on a medical basis.
• Offences and Penalties: The 2023 Act repeals the Civil Aviation (Offences) Regulations 2006. We will lead work to carry the current settings over making any necessary changes as a result of the Civil Aviation Rules Realignment.
• Orders and Notices: We will lead delivery of policy work to carry over the settings that currently apply to the provision of Airways and aviation security services.

We’re in the process of updating the Ministry’s website to provide you with up-to-date information on these workstreams as we progress implementation.

Welcome to the June update from the Civil Aviation Act implementation team.

In this update:

1. An introduction to the implementation teams
2. What we’ve been up to since April
3. What’s coming up
4. Where you can get more information

An introduction to the implementation teams

Te Manatū Waka and the Civil Aviation Authority are working together on the implementation of the new Act.

The finer details of the implementation plan are being finalised now. Here is a glimpse of the kind of projects each organisation will lead:

Te Manatū Waka will lead:

• new or updated functions for the Secretary for Transport (such as airport registration) and associated Ministry governance arrangements
• establishment of the new independent review function (IRF)
• work to ensure the regulations and Gazette notices are aligned with the new laws.

The Authority will lead:

• Drug and alcohol management plans, regulatory security and safety
• Authority governance arrangements

We will co-lead:

• Work to realign the Civil Aviation Rules (CARs) with the new law
• Governance arrangements for the implementation programme

In the Ministry, Eve Tucker is leading the programme, and Liam Brennan is leading the programme for the Authority.

Senior leaders from the Ministry and Authority are overseeing the implementation through a Steering Group.

What we’ve been up to since April

Since the Act was passed, the implementation teams have been very busy, acquiring the necessary resource for implementation and getting the foundations of the programme set.

What’s coming up?

There is a lot to implement in the Act, but we don’t have to do it all at once. We’ll be focusing on keeping the fundamentals of the system in place to ensure safety and business continuity in the sector.

To start with, in the next few months the implementation teams will be progressing

• scoping and developing the drug and alcohol management plan regime
• in-depth policy work for the independent review function
• initial process design for airport registration and other Secretary functions
• drafting of the minor adjustments necessary to realign existing CARs with the new law.

Your input will be an important part of the implementation journey over the next 24 months or so. The aviation sector’s knowledge, skills and experience will play an important role, particularly in ensuring new systems, such as DAMP, IRF and airport registration, are fit for purpose. As our work progresses, we will be getting in touch with various people within the sector.

From time-to-time we may also need to consult on specific changes or updates. Where this is needed, we will be letting you know with plenty of time so you can provide input.

In the meantime, for operators in the system, nothing changes immediately. You will continue to operate as you currently do, under the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and Airport Authorities Act 1966, while the implementation work is underway.

Where can you get more information?

We will be providing general updates like this, every two months.

We will be also updating our website, which you can find at www.transport.govt.nz/civil-aviation/

If you have any questions, thoughts or concerns, you can contact us at any time, by emailing info@transport.govt.nz.

Significant modernisation of aviation in Aotearoa is a step closer, with the passage of the Civil Aviation Bill.

The legislation represents a comprehensive rewrite and modernisation of the statutes that govern civil aviation, which haven’t been substantially changed since 1990.

We have a safe and secure aviation system, and the new legislation ensures that this remains the case.

There’s a range of changes that will be brought in during the 24-month implementation period, including:

• Development of rules and guidance for drug and alcohol management plans that some operators will be required to prepare. These future Plans will include providing random testing of those working in safety sensitive activities.
• A new registration regime for airports, including a requirement for airports to consult on their spatial plans.
• For Tier 1 airports, we’ll be bringing in the Regulatory Airport Spatial Undertakings outlined in the Bill
• Setting up the new independent review process for decisions made by the Director of Civil Aviation.
• We will also be working to realign the Civil Aviation Rules with the new legislation and make regulations necessary to support the civil aviation regulatory system.

For operators in the system, nothing changes immediately. You will continue to operate as you currently do, under the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and Airport Authorities Act 1966, while the implementation work is underway. Once these Acts are repealed, and the Bill comes into force, you may be required to meet some of the new requirements.

Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport will work closely with the Civil Aviation Authority and system users to make sure everyone knows exactly what is changing and when.

You can keep up to date with progress on the Te Manatū Waka website.

If you have any questions, email info@transport.govt.nz.