The Civil Aviation Act 2023 introduces drug and alcohol management plans (DAMPs) for some aviation sector participants and sets up a transition period, for these to be in place by 5 April 2027.

The Act sets up a consistent system for testing drug and alcohol use in the aviation sector. This includes:

  • Introducing drug and alcohol management plans (DAMPs), which involve random testing for workers doing safety-sensitive activities.
  • Setting requirements for DAMP operators around what should be in their DAMPs, random testing and reporting to CAA.
  • Requiring new aviation rules to clarify who will be DAMP operators.
  • Requirements if a test is not negative, tampering is suspected, or a worker refuses to be tested.
  • Giving the CAA the authority to carry out unannounced testing ('Director testing').

Pending Rule, Transport Instrument and AC online

Giving effect to the Act requires a new Rule Part (Part 99). The pending rule is now online, along with a Transport Instrument, and an Advisory Circular (AC).

Part 99, Initial issue - Drug and Alcohol Management Plans (DAMPs) [PDF 328 KB]

Civil Aviation Transport Instrument CATI 99.19 DAMP reporting to Director [PDF 170 KB]

AC99-1 Drug and Alcohol Management Plans

The AC explains Part 99 and outlines what you need to do. This includes:

  • Which document holders are involved and what their responsibilities would be.
  • What substances, besides alcohol, should be tested – using the existing Australian/New Zealand standards for urine and saliva testing.
  • How often and in what form random testing should be carried out.
  • The Act requirements if a test shows the presence of alcohol or drugs.
  • Use of terms such as 'non-negative' test – meaning anything other than a negative test.

The AC provides a template for participants to use, and the Transport Instrument outlines reporting requirements.

DAMP template [DOCX 38 KB]

What is operator random testing?

Random testing is testing of a safety-sensitive worker in a way that's not predictable or discriminatory. It's done without giving any advance notice. An organisation (the DAMP operator), or their agent, would conduct the random testing.

Safety-sensitive activity is an activity carried out by a person that could seriously impact the safety of anyone on an aircraft. AC guidance will help clarify the Act definition. For example, activities like being a pilot, would fall under this definition.

How to test and the response plan

The specific drugs to be tested for, permitted levels, and how the testing is done will be outlined by the DAMP operators in their DAMPs. The DAMPs also need to include a response plan which covers what will happen if a worker tests non-negative, refuses to be tested, or tampering is suspected (for example, sending them home, doing follow-up testing, and deciding when it's safe for them to return to work).

Industry impact

Our aim at the CAA is to create processes that reduce the administrative workload (and costs) for both the aviation industry and us. Here's how we are doing it:

  • By offering a template plan and guidance to help operators get started.
  • By streamlining the application and approval process as much as possible, and making approvals desk based, so no site visits are required.
  • DAMPs will be assessed as a separate process only once. After 5 April 2027 DAMPs will become part of your exposition and, therefore, part of the normal exposition review process.

Director testing

The Act allows the Director of Civil Aviation to carry out unannounced drug and alcohol testing (Director testing).

Director testing will be an important element in maintaining oversight of the DAMP system. It will not commence until operator drug and alcohol plans are in place – after 5 April 2027.

When the CAA conducts Director testing, it will follow the same scope and standards outlined in the operator's DAMP.

Where there is a non-negative test result, refusal to test or suspected tampering, the responsibility would then shift to the operator who would follow the response plan they had outlined in their DAMP.

Timeline

Transition period from 5 April 2025 to 5 April 2027

The Act has a built-in transition period for the development of DAMPs from 5 April 2025 to 4 April 2027.

During the transition period:

  • DAMP operators will develop or complete their DAMPs and submit them to the CAA for approval (see table below).

To make the process more manageable for both the sector and for CAA, the schedule for operators to submit their plans has been split into two groups. Rule 99.9 lists the groups, so that those required to be DAMP operators will have to submit their drug and alcohol management plans to CAA by either:

  • 30 September 2025 (Group 1); or
  • 30 June 2026 (Group 2)

Here are the groups:

Group 1- 30 September 2025

Group 2 - 30 June 2026

Part 115 Adventure Aviation

Part 119 Air Operators: 121 & 125 airline air operators

Part 145 Aircraft Maintenance Organisations - supporting 121 and 125 air operators

Part 139 Aerodromes that are Tier 1 security designated

Parts 171 & 172 Aeronautical Telecommunication Services, and Air Traffic Service Organisations

Parts 173 & 175 Instrument Flight Procedure Service Organisations and Aeronautical Information Service Organisations

Part 119 Air Operators: 135 airline air operators and general aviation air operators.

Part 137 Agriculture Aircraft Operations

Part 139 Aerodromes (not Tier 1 designated)

Part 145 Aircraft Maintenance Organisations supporting other than 121 and 125 air operators

Part 141 Aviation Training Organisations

Part 146 Aircraft Design Organisations

Part 147 Maintenance Training Organisations

Part 148 Aircraft Manufacturing Organisations

Part 174 Aviation Meteorological Services

5 April 2027 onwards – DAMP regime in place

The Act’s drug and alcohol provisions will be in place from 5 April 2027.  This will include:

  • Operator random testing – DAMP operators will undertake random testing of workers involved in safety-sensitive activities as a normal part of their operations and as set out in their DAMPs.
  • The provisions in the Act for notifying CAA and responding to non-negatives tests apply.
  • New applicants for certification who meet the conditions of being a DAMP operator will be required to include a drug and alcohol management plan in their expositions.

Frequently asked questions

Under the Act, a DAMP operator must conduct an operation involving safety-sensitive activities and hold an aviation document listed in the rules. Rule 99.5 sets out the certification rule parts affected. The relevant certificates are:

  1. an adventure aviation operator certificate issued under rule 115.9:
  2. an airline air operator certificate issued under rule 119.11(a):
  3. a general aviation air operator certificate issued under rule 119.11(b):
  4. an agricultural aircraft operator certificate issued under rule 137.153:
  5. an aerodrome operator certificate granted under rule 139.9:
  6. a qualifying aerodrome operator certificate granted under rule 139.9:
  7. an aviation security service certificate issued under rule 140.9:
  8. a standard aviation training organisation certificate granted under rule 41.5(a):
  9. a maintenance organisation certificate issued under rule 145.9:
  10. an aircraft design organisation certificate granted under rule 146.9:
  11. a maintenance training organisation certificate granted under rule 147.35:
  12. a manufacturing organisation certificate granted under rule 148.9:
  13. an aeronautical telecommunication service certificate issued under rule 171.9:
  14. an air traffic service certificate granted under rule 172.9:
  15. an instrument flight procedure service certificate granted under rule 173.9:
  16. a meteorological service certificate granted under rule 174.9:
  17. an aeronautical information service certificate issued under rule 175.7.

Advisory Circular AC99.1 provides advice on the scope of ‘safety sensitive activities’ and affected workers, in Section 4.

No, a DAMP will only need to be submitted once, and will subsequently become part of your exposition. It will, however, need to cover all safety sensitive activities covered by all certificates held by your organisation.

Not until 5 April 2027. The Act prescribes a two-year transition period to prepare for the introduction of its drug and alcohol provisions. During the transition period, drug and alcohol management plans will be prepared by operators and approved by the CAA.

The Act broadly defines ‘safety-sensitive workers’ as anyone undertaking a ‘safety-sensitive activity’ – something which could significantly affect the safety of anybody on an aircraft; or an activity which, if not performed safely, could contribute to, or cause, an accident involving an aircraft. Safety-sensitive workers performing roles for DAMP operators can be tested. The criteria are outlined in Advisory Circular AC 99.1.

The Civil Aviation Act 1990, which the 2023 Act replaces, does not contain any provisions relating to drug and alcohol testing.

However, Civil Aviation Rules require adventure aviation (Part 115) operators to establish a programme for monitoring and managing risks associated with drug and alcohol use.

Separately, there is a general requirement that any crew members are not impaired due to alcohol and drugs (current Rule 19.7, which will be moved to 91.118).

Pilots and Air Traffic Controllers are also required to hold medical certificates and drug and alcohol use is part of the medical assessment required to hold a licence.

Holders of aviation documents for adventure aviation activities have been required to have a drug and alcohol management programme since late 2012, as set out in rule 115.62 Drug and alcohol programme. That won’t change and compliance with the current rule may mean that future DAMP requirements are mostly met.

A DAMP can loosely be described as a sub-set of the Part 115 drug and alcohol programme requirements, particularly as the DAMP just covers random drug and alcohol testing. Rule 115.62 (b) will be amended to specifically allow for the required DAMP to be part of the Part 115 drug and alcohol programme documentation. But it is important that all the things that need to be in the DAMP are easy to identify.

Individual licence holders will not be DAMP operators. But, if an individual is employed by, or directly contracted to, a company that is a DAMP Operator (e.g., a Part 119 air operator), they are likely to be considered 'safety-sensitive workers' – hence potentially subject to alcohol and drug testing.

CAA has been conscious of the ability of small organisations and companies to develop DAMPs and undertake random testing. This is one of the reasons that the advisory circular includes a template and provides advice on random testing for a range of organisation sizes.

There is potential for small operators to join together to organise a joint approach to developing their DAMPs and organising testing. For example, operators could club together to pay a third-party to create their DAMPs and/or do the drug and alcohol testing. But it is important that each operator has its own DAMP that reflects its operations and that the Chief Executive of each operator is familiar with and responsible for their DAMP.

Operators will only have to produce a DAMP once. It will then become part of their exposition and considered as part of certificate renewal, updated as needed.

CAA approval of the DAMP will be charged for as normal, on an hourly basis. However, we believe approval will be a relatively straightforward process. Assisted by the Advisory Circular guidance, it will be desk based and not involve a site visit. Following the AC guidance, using the template provided, and getting questions answered before submitting your DAMP for approval, will also help keep processing costs down.

The cost of random drug and alcohol testing will depend on the process undertaken. However, saliva testing has become much more reliable, cost effective and quicker, and would be adequate drug test in most instances.

It will be up to DAMP operators as to whether they use third-party testing agencies or undertake the testing themselves. This needs to be set out in the DAMP and will be one of the matters for CAA to consider when it approves a DAMP operator’s plan.

Operators could club together to pay a third-party to do the drug and alcohol testing. This must be set out in the operator’s DAMP and the Chief Executive of each operator must be familiar with and responsible for their own DAMP.

Yes, a template is part of the Advisory Circular package which is available here:

DAMP template [DOCX 38 KB]

CAA is doing some work on how notifications will work under the Act, and we’re focusing on making it as simple and practical as possible. We will provide further information as we complete this work.

For the most part, CAA will only hold depersonalised information about a worker’s test result. It is for the DAMP operator to manage the situation. CAA will just need to know a non-negative test result has occurred. The exception, however, is when the worker being tested holds a medical certificate – a certified pilot or air traffic controller. In that situation, test information is relevant to the individual’s licence to do their job and CAA may follow up.

The assumption behind the Act is that existing provisions already adequately mitigate the risk of drug and alcohol use in the recreation and private sector. For example, it is an offence to operate an aircraft in a careless or dangerous manner and it is an offence for a crew member to be intoxicated or impaired by drugs.

Guidance documents for uncrewed aircraft advise that 'Operators should never operate an unmanned aircraft when impaired by drugs or alcohol'.

Initiating a testing regime for drone operators would, however, be a significant undertaking.

The current uncrewed aircraft rules (for both recreational and commercial use) require a more general review before adding random testing.

Under the 2023 Act CAA is not a DAMP operator. However, CAA is mindful of its role as a regulator and finding ways of holding itself to an equivalent standard to that which applies to those who are required to have a DAMP. The CAA will work through those issues over the coming period.

Director testing

The 2023 Act (specifically section 116) allows for inspectors appointed by the CAA Director to undertake drug and alcohol testing of those workers covered by participants’ drug and alcohol management plans. This testing does not need to be random.

Director testing provides oversight of the DAMP operator regime and allows CAA to respond to specific issues, and to gain assurance.

Once the Act is in force, CAA will consider how it will implement Director testing, alongside DAMPs, from 5 April 2027.

When the CAA conducts Director testing, it will follow the same scope and standards outlined in the operator's DAMP.

Where there is a non-negative test result, refusal to test or suspected tampering, the responsibility would then shift to the operator who would follow the response plan they had outlined in their DAMP.

The new Act was not designed to create a punitive system, nor criminalise drug and alcohol use.

However, existing offences still apply – for example, for operating an aircraft in a careless or dangerous manner, and any crew member being intoxicated or impaired by drugs.

Guidance is included in Advisory Circular AC99.1.

 

If you have any additional questions, contact us.