Regulatory Requirements That Impact on the Safe Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems, Unmanned Aerial Systems and As
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The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee Current and future regulatory requirements that impact on the safe commercial and recreational use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and associated systems July 2018 © Commonwealth of Australia 2018 ISBN 978-1-76010-808-3 This document was prepared by the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport and printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Department of the Senate, Parliament House, Canberra. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. Membership of the committee Members Senator Glenn Sterle, Chair Western Australia, ALP Senator Barry O'Sullivan, Deputy Chair Queensland, NATS Senator Chris Back (to 22 June 2017) Western Australia, LP Senator Slade Brockman (from 17 August 2017) Western Australia, LP Senator David Bushby (from 22 June 2017 to 17 August 2017) Tasmania, LP Senator Anthony Chisholm Queensland, ALP Senator Malarndirri McCarthy Northern Territory, ALP Senator Janet Rice Victoria, AG Other Senators participating in this inquiry Senator David Fawcett South Australia, LP Senator Rex Patrick South Australia, CA iii Secretariat Dr Jane Thomson, Secretary Ms Sarah Redden, Principal Research Officer Ms Trish Carling, Senior Research Officer Ms Erin Pynor, Senior Research Officer (to 6 October 2017) Ms Lillian Tern, Senior Research Officer (from 23 October 2017) Ms Leonie Lam, Research Officer (to 1 June 2017, from 25 August 2017 to 10 November 2017) Ms Helen Ulcoq, Research Officer (from 3 July 2017 to 27 July 2018) Mr Michael Fisher, Administrative Officer PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Ph: 02 6277 3511 Fax: 02 6277 5811 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.aph.gov.au/senate_rrat iv Table of contents Membership of the committee ......................................................................... iii Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... ix List of recommendations ................................................................................ xiii Part I ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1.............................................................................................................. 1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Referral and terms of reference .............................................................................. 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 2 Terminology ........................................................................................................... 2 Structure of the report ............................................................................................. 3 Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. 3 192 ways to use RPAS .......................................................................................... 4 Opportunities and challenges ................................................................................. 6 Chapter 2............................................................................................................ 11 RPAS laws in Australia .......................................................................................... 11 The Chicago Convention and the International Civil Aviation Organization ...... 11 Australia's legal framework .................................................................................. 13 Concerns raised in evidence regarding the regulations ........................................ 20 Chapter 3............................................................................................................ 29 'Anything in the air is a risk': RPAS and aviation safety ................................... 29 RPAS in aviation incidents worldwide ................................................................ 29 RPAS incidents and encounters in Australia ........................................................ 31 International regulatory responses to RPAS ........................................................ 33 Australian research ............................................................................................... 38 Part II ................................................................................................................. 43 Chapter 4............................................................................................................ 43 Safer Skies: Registration and education .............................................................. 43 Identifying all RPAS operators ............................................................................ 43 Educating all RPAS operators .............................................................................. 51 Chapter 5............................................................................................................ 65 Enforcement measures ........................................................................................... 65 Vulnerable airspace .............................................................................................. 65 Airspace around public buildings ......................................................................... 69 Local government initiatives ................................................................................ 72 Delegation of enforcement powers ....................................................................... 73 Chapter 6............................................................................................................ 77 Technological compliance ...................................................................................... 77 Technology-based solutions ................................................................................. 77 Airworthiness ....................................................................................................... 83 Air traffic control .................................................................................................. 87 Part III................................................................................................................ 91 Chapter 7............................................................................................................ 91 A comprehensive approach to RPAS safety ......................................................... 91 Whole of government approach ........................................................................... 91 Consultation beyond the aviation sector .............................................................. 93 Cost-effective solutions ........................................................................................ 94 Regulatory consistency ......................................................................................... 96 Chapter 8.......................................................................................................... 101 Committee view and recommendations.............................................................. 101 Evidence-based regulatory reform ..................................................................... 102 vi Mandatory registration regime ........................................................................... 103 Tiered education program ................................................................................... 105 Vulnerable airspace ............................................................................................ 106 Airworthiness standards ..................................................................................... 107 Whole of government approach ......................................................................... 109 Addressing other policy challenges .................................................................... 111 Concluding comments ........................................................................................ 113 Appendix 1 ....................................................................................................... 115 Submissions received ............................................................................................ 115 Appendix 2 ....................................................................................................... 119 Public hearings and witnesses ............................................................................. 119 vii List of abbreviations AAUS Australian Association for Unmanned Systems Act Civil Aviation Act 1988 ADS-B Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast AGL Above Ground Level AIN Aviation Infringement Notice ASAP Aviation Safety Advisory Panel ASTRA Australian Strategic Air Traffic Management Group ATCO Air Traffic Control Operators ATM Air traffic management ATSB Australian Transport and Safety Bureau AusALPA Australian Airline Pilots' Association BVLOS Beyond visual line of sight CAR Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 CASA Civil Aviation Safety Authority CASR Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998 CEO Chief Executive Officer CIRRIS Corporate Integrated Reporting and Risk Information