The Civil Aviation Act 2023 comes into effect on 5 April 2025. Nothing changes until then and the aviation sector will continue to operate as it currently does, under the Civil Aviation Act 1990 and Airport Authorities Act 1966.
This page provides you with more information on the implementation programmes the CAA and Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport are undertaking.
The new Act updates provisions, and includes new functions, necessary to keep pace with a rapidly changing aviation environment.
Our primary goal remains focused on ensuring that New Zealand maintains a safe and secure civil aviation system. The Act also includes some new objectives that recognise broader economic, environmental, social, and national security factors.
While we will consider these additional objectives in our work, our foremost priority is still very much about keeping aviation safe and secure. This remains at the heart of all that we do.
While the Act introduces some changes to help the sector keep pace with our operating environment, it also recognises that the CAA’s fundamental regulatory underpinnings are sound.
Participants will notice little change on 5 April 2025. In most cases, the Act either continues or improves existing functions.
CAA and Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport both have responsibility for implementation. CAA is undertaking work to implement a seamless transition including:
CAA’s workstreams are summarised below.
All the Civil Aviation Rules have been updated to align with the 2023 Act, without changing the intent or impacting certificated participants’ compliance.
The drafts of the 50 rule parts are now on our website to give aviation participants visibility of them prior to them being finalised.
See the draft rules, and learn more about the process
The criteria for granting an exemption under the CA Act 2023 are slightly different from those under the 1990 Act, although we expect the outcomes will be similar.
Learn more about the criteria for granting an exemption under the CA Act 2023
The Act requires some aviation sector participants to produce drug and alcohol management plans (DAMPs) which introduce random drug testing for safety sensitive workers.
Those participants have until 5 April 2027 to develop DAMPs and have them approved by the CAA. We have set timeframes for submitting DAMPS for approval, to ensure CAA can approve DAMPs by then.
CAA has produced a new Aviation Rule Part (Part 99), Transport Instrument, Advisory Circular, and a template to provide participants with the tools to develop their DAMPs.
The Act also allows the CAA Director to conduct drug and alcohol testing, and CAA is working through how this may be introduced after 5 April 2027.
Learn more about drug and alcohol management
The Act introduces new provisions to meet the changing face of aviation. It updates the powers of inspectors and it makes changes to exemptions, including adding new types of exemptions and adjusting the criteria for granting them.
It also offers some protections from enforcement actions for individuals who voluntarily report incidents.
CAA is developing policies and procedures to implement the Act’s provisions and will publish more detail on the changes closer to 5 April 2025.
Generally speaking, the Act modernises the provisions for aviation safety, rather than making any drastic changes.
The Act introduces several measures to improve security arrangements. These include:
Learn more about aviation security
There are some smaller legislative and governance changes that need to be made to reflect the new Act. These include updating and re-issuing Director delegations and authorisations; updating and re-issuing Director notices for security searching and CAA notices, CAA records and legal process changes, and corporate administrative arrangements.
CAA has produced a quick reference guide to help industry participants easily identify where the sections you work with in the 1990 Act are now represented in the CA Act 2023.
1990-2023 Civil Aviation Act comparison guide
The Ministry of Transport leads several workstreams:
The Act introduces a modern registration system for airports, replacing the current Airport Authorities process. This includes a requirement called a regulatory airport spatial undertaking (RASU) for some airports.
The Ministry is responsible for:
The Act introduces a process for aviation participants to seek independent review of Director of Civil Aviation decisions. The Ministry will deliver the regulations to set out reviewable decisions and ensure at least one reviewer has been appointed by the Minister of Transport when the Act commences.
Under the new Act, the Civil Aviation (Offences) Regulations 2006 will be remade with necessary changes to align with the new Civil Aviation Rules.
The Ministry is leading policy work to carry over the settings that currently apply to the provision of Airways and aviation security services.
CAA and the Ministry jointly publish newsletters from time to time, providing updates on the implementation programme. The Ministry administers the sign-ups for the joint newsletter. You can sign up by emailing info@transport.govt.nz.
Ask your question about the implementation of the Civil Aviation Act 2023
If you're unsure whether your question should be directed to the CAA or Te Manatū Waka Ministry of Transport, don't worry; we'll make sure it reaches the right place for a prompt response.
Civil Aviation Act 2023(external link)
Civil Aviation Act 1990(external link)
