Remotely Piloted Drone Amendments to CTH Legislation: Industry Changes
Monday 11 April 2016 @ 12.42 p.m. | Legal Research
On 29 March 2016, the Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (Part 101) Regulation 2016 was notified on the Federal Register of Legislation. This regulation, according to The Conversation, "define new low-risk commercial remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) operations, which will allow operators of sub-2kg craft to fly without the need for an approval or licence."
Background to the Regulation
According to the explanatory statement, this regulation amends the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 (Cth), Civil Aviation (Fees) Regulations 1995 (Cth), Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 (Cth) and Transport Safety Investigation Act 2003 (Cth) to align with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) terminology and key outcomes introduced by the Regulation include simplified regulatory requirements for lower risk RPA operations and an allowance for more detailed operational matters to be dealt with in a Manual of Standards, providing greater flexibility and responsiveness in a rapidly evolving area.
More specifically, the Regulation establishes a set of standard operating conditions for RPA, categorisations for RPA according to weight or, in the case of airships, envelope capacity, and introduces the concept of 'excluded RPA' to represent RPA operations considered to be lower risk, as determined by RPA category and operational use. Excluded RPA have reduced regulatory requirements, such as not needing an operator's certificate or a remote pilot licence.
The Regulation permits private landowners to carry out some commercial-like operations on their own land under the 'standard RPA operating conditions' without requiring them to hold an Unmanned Aircraft Operator's Certificate, if using an RPA weighing up to 25 kg provided that none of the parties involved receive remuneration. For RPA weighing between 25 kg to 150 kg, the operator needs to hold a remote pilot licence in the category of aircraft being flown.
The Regulation requires a person operating, or conducting operations using, a very small RPA for hire or reward to notify CASA. The Regulation makes it an offence for a person to operate a very small RPA for hire or reward without notifying CASA and also allows CASA to establish and maintain a database of information that relates to these notifications.
Autonomous flight is prohibited under the amendments until such time as suitable regulations can be developed by CASA. However there is scope for autonomous flight to be approved by CASA on a case-by-case basis in the meantime.
Reaction to the Regulations
Mark Skidmore, CASA’s Director of Aviation Safety, according to Delimiter, said the changes to the regulations “maintain appropriate safety standards while cutting red tape."
“While safety must always come first, CASA’s aim is to lighten the regulatory requirements where we can...The amended regulations recognise the different safety risks posed by different types of remotely piloted aircraft."
However, as The Conversation points out, the amended regulations do not address concerns posed by the rapidly growing number of hobby drone users:
"There is growing concern over the risks hobby users pose to other aircraft and to members of the public. Some of these hobby users are not aware of the potential danger their drone may pose.
There have been numerous near misses of small drones with passenger aircraft in recent years. As the rate of these incidents increases, there is real concern that a drone will eventually be ingested into an aircraft engine causing catastrophic damage – or worse, an airline crash."
The Regulation amendments are due to commence on 29 September 2016.
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Sources:
Civil Aviation Legislation Amendment (Part 101) Regulation 2016 and secondary materials as published on TimeBase LawOne
