An accredited medical conclusion determines whether, despite not meeting the medical standards, an applicant's condition is not likely to jeopardise aviation safety.
You will pay the medical examiner a fee for the initial medical examination and assessment. If an AMC is then required, the medical examiner will charge the CAA for their time in assessing and completing your AMC process. The CAA will pay this charge and on-charge all time spent on your AMC (the CAA, medical examiner, and specialist time) to you that is in excess of two hours at the CAA standard rate.
No. Only the total time spent by medical practitioners (the CAA, external medical examiners, and specialists) in excess of two hours for each AMC will be charged to the participant.
The CAA will charge all time spent by medical professionals (the CAA, external medical examiners, and specialists) in excess of two hours at the CAA standard charge out rate of $284 (inc. GST) per hour.
The rate charged by the CAA is the rate that is set in legislation. This rate covers the cost of establishing and administering the aviation safety system, including the fees payable to medical professionals who worked on your AMC.
No, you will be charged an hourly rate of $284 (inc. GST) per hour by the CAA irrespective of the medical examiner’s hourly rate.
The CAA will invoice you at monthly intervals for the chargeable time (in excess of two hours for each AMC). Each invoice will charge for all time incurred in the previous month.
No. The CAA will invoice you for your AMC in monthly intervals so that you are aware of the costs you have incurred on your AMC thus far.
You are at liberty to choose not to proceed with your application if your medical examiner indicates that flexibility needs to be applied. You can also withdraw your application for a medical certificate simply by writing to the Director of Civil Aviation at any time during the process. You will however be charged for the time incurred up to closure that is in excess of two hours regardless of the outcome of the AMC.
Due to the different levels of complexity for each individual case, the CAA is not able to provide an estimate for the AMC.
No, the CAA is not able to contact you after a certain number of hours. We will continue with your AMC process until a conclusion is reached or you advise us to stop.
Yes. You will be required to pay for the time incurred on your AMC that is in excess of two hours.
No. The application fee covers the cost of operating the CAA’s medical unit and processing your application. The AMC payments cover the cost that has already been incurred in processing your AMC.
The application fee reflects the cost of operating the CAA’s medical unit. The AMC cost is the cost directly related your AMC which is over and above the cost of operating the CAA’s medical unit.
The time taken to complete an AMC varies from case to case. An AMC can range from relatively simple to very complex cases. A simple AMC can be reached very promptly. However complicated AMCs can take significantly longer, usually because further tests or specialist reports are required. The CAA’s experience is that delays in providing the requested information are often the principal cause for a prolonged process.
An apparently stable condition may in fact have progressed. From time to time, the Director may find it appropriate to have a more in-depth review of a case. If a previous in-house AMC has been completed, the CAA will often already have the relevant documentation. Thus these cases may not necessarily take much time to process.
You may be asked to provide the results of tests deemed relevant and necessary for the AMC process. If a disqualification has recently been lifted, there is a good chance that much of the necessary information is already available. More recent information may be needed however.
When conducted in-house (by the CAA's medical officers), the CAA will send the AMC document to your medical examiner who will in turn forward this document to you together with their assessment and certificates as applicable.
The Director identifies one or more medical experts for the case concerned. This decision is made after multiple factors have been considered. These include case complexity and relevant experience and expertise of the experts considered.
If you have any questions about this topic, use our contact form, or email med@caa.govt.nz
