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Exemptions and relief measures: COVID-19

We put a range of relief measures in place to provide support throughout the pandemic and provided alternative means of ensuring safety. With these short term measures concluding in March 2021, we are looking to support your return to more normal safety assurance activities.

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Aircraft operators (AOC holders, flight training operators, balloons and aerial application)

General exemptions are in place for a number of CASA authorisations including proficiency checks, dangerous goods, drug and alcohol management procedures and emergency procedures.

We extended the transition to the new fatigue rules by 12 months, meaning that most operators will need to comply with the new fatigue rules from 1 July 2021. Read the announcement.

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Aircraft maintenance engineers

We put in place measures to give temporary relief to candidates who are part-way through a training and examination program.

We have extended the:

  • end date of the CASA Basics to 30 June 2021
  • 10-year timeframe to undertake module exams by an additional 12 months
  • aircraft type training theory (usually five years) and practical (usually three years) timeframe requirements by an additional 12 months
  • five-year qualification timeframe by an additional 12 months
  • CASA EX97/20: Aircraft Engineer Licence and Rating Training and Qualification (Extension of Time Due to COVID-19) Exemption 2020 – will not be extended and will expire on 22 March 2021 as previously advised. If your ability to undertake training continues to be, or has been impacted by COVID at the time of application for a Part 66 licence, please email at ame.licensing@casa.gov.au
  • Visit the becoming a Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (LAME) page for more details on the use of CASA Basics
  • To book an exam, visit Aspeq exams.
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Air traffic control and flight service licence holders

Air traffic control and flight service licence holders can exercise the privileges of their licence for up to 12 months after the expiration of their medical certificate. The conditions on medical certificates will continue to apply. The exemption only applies if you are unable to complete your medicals due to COVID-19 circumstances.

You are exempt from the recency and currency provisions in Part 65 of CASR to give you more time to comply.

This includes:

  • the requirement for you to have five hours of recent experience within the previous 21 days - extended to 30 days.
  • the requirement to have passed an assessment (check of proficiency) within the previous six months - extended to nine months.
  • if you are being supervised the currency and recency exemptions apply to you and a person conducting the supervision if that is applicable.
  • CASA EX57/20 Exemptions Instrument 2020
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Airworthiness

General exemptions for the airworthiness of aircraft are in place. This includes Part 42.G certificate holders (CAMO), Part 145, Part 147, Part 21 and CAR 30 organisations.

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Flight crew

Flight crew include pilots, instructors, examiners,and flight engineers.

General exemptions and extensions are in place for number of licencing authorisations including medical certificates, flight reviews and proficiency checks.

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Remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificate holders

All ReOC certificates in force before 2 April 2020 were extended for six months, unless you were subject to CASA enforcement (show cause notice).

Certificates were not reissued or amended.

We have updated our records to reflect your new expiry period. We encourage you to log into the myCASA portal to check that your organisational details are correct and to review your updated certificate details.
You must insert a copy of the instrument that extends your certificate into your operations manual.

CASA 17/20 - ReOC holders (extensions of time due to COVID-19) certificate amendment instrument 2020 (pdf 140.21 KB)

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RePL Training Courses – transitional arrangements

We amended Part 101 MOS with a transitional provision. This allows for students who commenced a RePL course between 3 April 2020 and 10 October 2020 to have until 30 April 2021 to fully complete all aspects of the course and its examinations and assessments, under the relevant syllabi. Any course commenced on or from 10 October 2020 must be completed against the new relevant syllabi. Only training organisations that have been approved by CASA against the new MOS training requirements may use this transitional provision.

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RePL Training Instructors

We extended the effective date for Part 101 MOS paragraph 2.30 (2) (c) in Division 2.7 RePL training course instructors. This extension provides RePL training instructors an additional 18 months, to the start of 10 April 2022, to obtain instructor qualifications. These are in addition to the existing technical and licence requirements.

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