Pending rules under the 2023 Act

The Minister of Transport has signed the realigned rules under the Civil Aviation Act 2023.

These are now available on this website as Pending Rules.

The Minister signed the realigned Rules following feedback from the sector on the drafts which were previously published on this page.

Thank you to those participants who provided feedback. It led to to minor but important amendments, such as - moving the definitions of AIC and Operational Area into Part 1; correcting incorporation by reference titles; and correcting some cross references.

Anything raised which was outside the scope of the realignment project will be  reviewed in line with our standard policy assessment process for rules issues.

We have also made a few more small editorial changes to improve readability and correct typos and formatting errors we picked up on final review.

The remade rules also include the rules made for the Assorted Issues Rules Project. These amendments affect seven rules (out of 50) and are relatively minor in nature.

For example, they formalise some existing general exemptions, require pilots to be trained in Night Vision Imaging Systems, and clarify how many take-offs or landings foreign aircraft operators may complete within New Zealand before they require a Foreign Air Operators Certificate. When published, the Summary of Submissions for the Assorted Issues will provide specific detail on the changes made.”

Changes to the rules for realignment

Overview of rules realignment for Civil Aviation Act 2023 [PDF 313 KB]

The overview document explains the types of changes made to the rules for realignment. Most rules have just minor changes to support accuracy, coherency and changes in technology (i.e. typos, errors and other minor changes that don’t require policy thinking).  

In practice, this means that:

• The current rule numbering is retained in both rule parts and sub-parts.
• Each rule is updated to refer to the appropriate part of the 2023 Act instead of the 1990 Act.
• Language is being updated and modernised to improve ease of use, particularly for people who are not legally trained, e.g. the outdated term ‘forthwith’ will be replaced with ‘as soon as possible’.
• Definitions are referenced back to the 2023 Act.
• The word ‘shall’ is replaced by one of ‘must’, ‘may’ or ‘will’ so the intent is clear, definite, and commonly understood.
• To improve ease of use, acronyms are defined in the rules.
• References to specific CAA forms are replaced with ‘the approved CAA form’ to future proof the rules against changes to forms.
• Other changes to the rules are to align them with 2023 Act provisions, such as changes to aviation security, terminology, and technology.

Making other rule changes

There has been a moratorium on remaking rules while the realignment occurs. However, the policy work required to remake rules continues. We will be in a position to progress a number of rule changes shortly after 5 April 2025.

As well, the team working on the rules realignment has captured issues outside the realignment scope, so they can also be progressed once the process is completed.