What are delegates and authorised persons?

CASA has been given specific regulatory powers. These include powers to:

• approve activities
• issue permissions
• conduct activities which would otherwise be prohibited and issue exemptions against regulatory requirements.

As CASA is a statutory authority, these powers need to be exercised by individual officers in CASA. However, the legislation also recognises that in certain circumstances it may be appropriate for industry personnel to exercise some of these powers.

The Director may delegate CASA’s powers and functions under the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to any person, including a person who is not employed by CASA.

In addition, the Director, or his delegate, may appoint a person, including a person who is not employed by CASA, to be an ‘authorised person’.

Authorised persons – how they differ from delegates

An authorisation is a legal mechanism that allows an individual to do something for the purposes of the legislation that he/she would not otherwise be able to legally do. The Director, or his delegate, can appoint people as an authorised person for the purposes of the Regulations. Specific regulations make provision for persons to be authorised to do certain things.

An authorisation is just that – an authorisation to perform a specific task or function. It is not the same as a delegation. A delegation vests a person with CASA’s power whereas an authorisation relates only to a specific task associated with the exercise of a power.

Related links

For legislative references relating to delegations, go to the Civil Aviation Act 1988 on the ComLaw website.