New Zealand was among the 52 States that signed the Chicago Convention on 7 December 1944, bringing the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO) into being.
The formal existence of the Organization was confirmed 4 April 1947, once the Convention had been ratified by 26 States, including New Zealand. The Civil Aviation Act 1948 formalised New Zealand’s acceptance of the Convention on International Civil Aviation.
ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, formed to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world. It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security, efficiency and regularity, as well as for aviation environmental protection. The Organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 193 member States.
See the ICAO Convention on International Civil Aviation (Doc 7300)(external link)
The table below shows New Zealand’s compliance with, and differences from, the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, and also comprises the list of differences from ICAO Standards, Recommended Practices and Procedures referred to in AIPNZ GEN 1.7.
New Zealand’s compliance with, and differences from, the Annexes to the Convention on International Civil Aviation – update is in progress
| Annex 1 [PDF 947 KB] |
Personnel Licensing |
| Annex 2 [PDF 332 KB] |
Rules of the Air |
| Annex 3 [PDF 485 KB] |
Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation |
| Annex 4 [PDF 706 KB] |
Aeronautical Charts |
| Annex 5 [PDF 144 KB] |
Units of Measurement to be Used in Air and Ground Operations |
| Annex 6 Part 1 [PDF 776 KB] |
International Commercial Air Transport - Aeroplanes |
| Annex 6 Part 2 [PDF 627 KB] |
International General Aviation - Aeroplanes Note: The term 'General Aviation' in the ICAO sense is not GA as we know it in New Zealand. Their definition of a GA operation is “An aircraft operation other than a commercial air transport operation or an aerial work operation.” |
| Annex 6 Part 3 [PDF 797 KB] |
International Operations - Helicopters |
| Annex 7 [PDF 142 KB] |
Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks |
| Annex 8 [PDF 1.4 MB] |
Airworthiness of Aircraft |
| Annex 9 [PDF 529 KB] |
Note: Annex 9 is administered by the Ministry of Transport. |
| Annex 10 Volume 1 [PDF 843 KB] |
Radio Navigation Aids |
| Annex 10 Volume 2 [PDF 749 KB] |
Communications Procedures |
| Annex 10 Volume 3 [PDF 1.2 MB] |
Communications Systems |
| Annex 10 Volume 4 [PDF 1 MB] |
Surveillance Radar and Collision Avoidance Systems |
| Annex 10 Volume 5 [PDF 245 KB] |
Aeronautical Radio Frequency Spectrum Utilization |
| Annex 10 Volume 6 [PDF 195 KB] | Communication Systems and Procedures Relating to Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems C2 Link |
| Annex 11 [PDF 587 KB] |
Air Traffic Services |
| Annex 12 [PDF 212 KB] |
Search and Rescue |
| Annex 13 [PDF 301 KB] |
Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation |
| Annex 14 Volume 1 [PDF 1.3 MB] |
Aerodrome Design and Construction |
| Annex 14 Volume 2 [PDF 525 KB] |
Heliports |
| Annex 15 [PDF 378 KB] |
Aeronautical Information Services |
| Annex 16 Volume 1 [PDF 434 KB] |
Environmental Protection - Aircraft Noise |
| Annex 16 Volume 2 [PDF 234 KB] |
Environmental Protection - Aircraft Engine Emissions |
| Annex 16 Volume 3 [PDF 176 KB] | Environmental Protection - Aircraft CO2 Emissions |
| Annex 16 Volume 4 [PDF 286 KB] | Environmental Protection - VOLUME IV Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) Note: Annex 16 Volume 4 is administered by the Ministry of Transport. |
| Annex 18 [PDF 204 KB] |
The Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air |
| Annex 19 [PDF 220 KB] |
Safety Management |
| Document 4444 Differences [PDF 57 KB] |
Air Traffic Management (PANS-ATM) |
The objective of the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) is to promote global aviation safety by auditing contracting States on a regular basis to determine the States' capability for safety oversight. The measure of a State’s effective implementation (EI) of its safety oversight system is expressed as a percentage – New Zealand’s EI currently stands at 85.63 per cent.
The current continuous monitoring approach (CMA) to auditing began in 2013, and enables States to update their compliance status, audit self-assessment, and corrective actions progress electronically. This enables ICAO to monitor States’ activity, and allocate its audit resources appropriately.
An audit consists of three phases:
The information provided by the State is reviewed to analyse the type of organisation for safety oversight; the implementation of Annex provisions; and the differences from standards and recommended practices (SARPs) identified by the States. This allows ICAO to tailor the audit activity according to the level and complexity of aviation activities in the State.
The State is visited by an ICAO audit team to validate the information provided and conduct an on-site audit of the State’s system and overall capability for safety oversight.
All the activities following the on-site audit, including the preparation of the audit interim report, the development by the State of its corrective action plan, and the completion of the audit final report.
ICAO, with the consent of the contracting State, releases relevant information on safety oversight audits so the travelling public can make informed decisions when using air transportation.
New Zealand was audited in 2006, and was to be audited again in December 2016. As a result of the CAA office closure following the November 2016 earthquake, the audit was confined to the AIG (accident and incident investigation) area.
