A Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) asks for comments on the proposed rule changes during a consultation period where anyone can make a submission.
Public consultation on proposed rules is required under the Civil Aviation Act. The CAA drafts civil aviation rules and carries out public consultation on draft rules on behalf of the Minister of Transport.
Submissions received on draft rules are summarised and analysed. The results are published as a summary of public submissions, with a copy of the NPRM, under:
The proposed rules will be reconsidered to take into account the submissions received. If necessary, we undertake further consultation with key groups before submitting proposed rules to government.
Electronic (form below, or PDF) submissions are preferred to assist in compiling, but submissions can still be sent by post, or delivered in person.
Submitters should note that subject to the Official Information Act 1982, any information attached to submissions will become part of the docket file and will be available to the public for examination at the CAA offices in the Asteron Centre, 55 Featherston Street, Wellington.
Submitters should state clearly if there is any information in their submission that is commercially sensitive, or for some other reason the submitter does not want the information to be released to other interested parties. The CAA will consider this in making a decision in respect of any Official Information Act requests. It should be noted that the CAA cannot guarantee confidentiality in respect of any specific submissions.
Download: NPRM 24-02 - Drug and Alcohol Management Plans and Testing [PDF 989 KB]
The purpose of this rule-making proposal is to develop rules to support, and give effect to, the provisions in the Civil Aviation Act 2023 (2023 Act) for drug and alcohol management plans and testing.
To give certainty to aviation participants, the rules will be in place well before 5 April 2025 - the date of the 2023 Act’s commencement and the beginning of a two-year transitional period during which DAMPs are developed and approved.
The 2023 Act provides for a narrowing of the scope of DAMP operators through the civil aviation rules that specify which “class of persons” must have a drug and alcohol plan.
Closing date is Friday 10 May 2024.
A new Part 99 - Drug and Alcohol Management Plans (DAMPs) is proposed.
Draft rule 99.5 specifies the certificates, the holding of which is one of the requirements that identifies a DAMP operator.
Draft rule 99.9 would affect certificate holders who meet the definition of DAMP operator on 5 April 2025 (meaning they are 'current DAMP operators'). The proposal is that they submit their first drug and alcohol management plans to CAA in a staggered way – Group 1 before 1 October 2025 and Group 2 before 1 July 2026.
Administrative matters:
Draft rules also propose the use of transport instruments (a new mechanism under the 2023 Act, similar to CAA notices), to allow the Director to:
For this last proposal a draft transport instrument is included in the NPRM.
Consequential changes are proposed to 15 certification rule parts [see annex to rule 99.23]:
To assist understanding of the 2023 Act provisions and the effect of the proposed rules, a draft advisory circular has been developed. As well as providing answers to questions you may have on the drug and alcohol regime being introduced, it contains a draft DAMP template, designed to reduce the administrative cost to participants.
You can review this draft here:
Advisory Circulars open for consultation
If you require more information about a current NPRM, please contact the CAA representative listed in the NPRM.
For general enquiries about our consultation process, contact us.
