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Fees

Cost recovery for services

In line with Australian Government policy, CASA is required to recover costs for providing regulatory services to the aviation industry.  Fees currently apply to 262 regulatory services including licences and ratings, examinations, medicals, aircraft registration, certificates, permits, exemptions, approvals and authorities.  Fees are charged at hourly rates of $100, $130, $160 and $190 per hour or as fixed fees starting from $25.

Civil Aviation (Fees) Regulations 1995

Changes to fees relating to maintenance suite of new CASR Parts

Parts 42, 66, 145 and 147 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) 1998 became effective on 27 June 2011. CASA has amended its regulatory service fees to accommodate these changes in the maintenance regulations.  Some additional fee items that were missed in 2007 and which have been charged to date using miscellaneous fee items have also been added.

All new fees remain at the current level and industry participants will not be charged for transitioning to the new maintenance regulations on a 'like for like' basis.  All existing maintenance related fee items remain valid during the transitional period up to June 2015.

CASA considered industry feedback on the proposed fee changes. As part of this consultation process, CASA prepared a Cost Recovery Impact Statement (CRIS), explaining the proposed fee changes and their rationale:

While cost recovery is a government policy, the new fees are consistent with Government policy in the 2009 Aviation White Paper to address the burden of regulatory charges on industry, in that CASA's regulatory fees are capped at $15m. CASA continues to look for ways to improve the timeliness and efficiency of services delivered to the aviation industry and is working hard to keep costs to a minimum.

Current fees for CASA regulatory services

When you make an application for a service provided by CASA, you will be provided with an estimate of costs to provide that service. The estimate will be based on either a fixed fee or hourly rate and will include an amount to process and issue any permission or authority associated with the service.

At the time of providing the estimate you will also be advised of any documents required to support your application.

Should you wish to proceed with the service you will be required to:

  • Pay the amount identified in the estimate; and
  • Submit the list of supporting documents (if requested).

Please note that assessment of your application will only commence when CASA has received your payment and supporting documents.

It is important that you familiarise yourself with what CASA does and your role in the assessment process for the service you have requested.

Estimates

A CASA estimate is calculated in good faith, on the basis that the applicant has reasonable knowledge of the Civil Aviation Act, Civil Aviation Regulations, Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, Civil Aviation Orders and Manual of Standards applicable to the nature of the operation that is requested, and that the applicant will provide a reasonable standard of documentation necessary to support the application. CASA is required by law to charge for the hours it spends assessing your application.

An estimate is valid for 30 days from the date the estimate is sent. If we have not received your payment and any supporting documents required within 30 days, your job may be closed and your application returned to you.

Where payment of the estimate is made outside the 30 day limit, CASA will review the estimate to ensure its continued validity.

Schedule of fees for regulatory services

Hourly Rate (HR)

The hourly rates are $100, $130, $160 and $190. The two lowest rates apply to services that are predominantly administrative in nature or require only a small degree of technical skill to provide them. The top two hourly rates apply where specialist technical expertise is required.

$160 or $190 per hour?

If any hourly rate service is requested for or in relation to a high capacity Air Operators Certificate (AOC) aircraft, in the 'interests of the safety of air navigation' the service must be provided by a senior CASA officer, or by a CASA officer with particular experience or qualifications as per Sub-regulation 4 (2) (b), the $190 hourly rate will be charged, including all chargeable administration time.

'Provided by' means that a senior CASA officer, or a CASA officer with particular experience or qualifications must provide, or directly oversee the provision of, the service.

'High capacity aircraft', is defined in Civil Aviation Order 82.2, as an AOC aircraft: 'that is, certified as having a maximum seating capacity exceeding 38 seats or a maximum payload exceeding 4,200 kilograms'.

Therefore, except for some specific $130 and $100 fee items, any regulatory service item, provided for or in relation to a high capacity AOC aircraft, and marked HR in the Fees Regulations, must be charged at the $190 per hour rate. This rate is to also apply to all chargeable administration support.

In addition to the above information, it has been determined that the HR of $190 per hour be charged for the services of an Air Transport (AT) Flying Operations Inspector (FOI) for items 13.1, 13.2, 13.4 and 13 .5 of Schedule 1 (Civil Aviation (Fees) Regulations 1995).

The determination of the $190 fee is based on the safety policy position adopted by CASA in relation to the operations of high capacity AOC aircraft.

The $160 hourly rate is to be charged in all instances where the service does not fall under one of the items for which the $100 per hour or $130 per hour rates apply or the service is not in relation to a high capacity AOC aircraft or does not require a senior CASA officer as described above.

Travel charges

There is no separate charge for domestic costs such as flights or accommodation where travel is required to perform a regulatory service.

However the time it takes CASA officers to travel to perform a regulatory service will be charged at the relevant hourly rate. CASA employees are instructed to schedule regulatory and surveillance activities wherever possible in the same area to keep these costs to a minimum. Travel time will then be pro-rated across all planned activities according to the time spent on each activity.

Where a CASA officer is required to travel outside Australia to deliver a regulatory service all travel costs – including flights and accommodation – are recoverable.

More information

If you have any questions about CASA fees email costrecovery@casa.gov.au or ring the CASA Permission Application Centre on 136 773.