AEB 17/1583-Approval-Means of Compliance with Transport Canada Airworthiness Directive (AD) CF-2011-24-Wing to Fuselage Attachment Joints-Barrel Nut Cracking [F2017L00368]-Advice only [2017] AUSStaCSDLM 154 (5 October 2017)

• Advice only

---

Advice only

The committee draws the following matters to the attention of relevant ministers or instrument-makers on an advice only basis.

Instrument	AEB 17/1583 - Approval – Means of Compliance with Transport Canada Airworthiness Directive (AD) CF-2011-24 - Wing to Fuselage Attachment Joints - Barrel Nut Cracking [F2017L00368]
Purpose	Provides an alternate means of compliance with Transport Canada Airworthiness Directive CF-2011-24
Authorising legislation	Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998
Department	Infrastructure and Regional Development
Disallowance	15 sitting days after tabling (tabled Senate 9 May 2017) Notice of motion to disallow must be given by 16 August 2017
Scrutiny principle	Standing Order 23(3)(a)

Access to incorporated documents

Paragraph 15J(2)(c) of the Legislation Act 2003 requires the ES for a legislative instrument that incorporates a document to contain a description of that document and indicate how it may be obtained.

The committee's expectations where a legislative instrument incorporates a document generally accord with the approach of the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, which has consistently drawn attention to legislation that incorporates documents not readily and freely available (i.e. without cost) to the public. Generally, the committee will be concerned where incorporated documents are not publicly and freely available, because persons interested in or affected by

the law may have inadequate access to its terms.

With reference to the above, the committee notes that AEB 17/1583 - Approval – Means of Compliance with Transport Canada Airworthiness Directive (AD) CF-2011-24 - Wing to Fuselage Attachment Joints - Barrel Nut Cracking [F2017L00368] (the instrument) incorporates Bombardier Service bulletin 84-57-26 and Bombardier modification summary packages 4-123841, 4-113769 and 4-113768, as in force at the date of the instrument. However, the ES to the instrument states:

The service bulletins and ModSum [modification summary packages] are available from Bombardier for a fee. The operators of the relevant aircraft in Australia have a subscription with Bombardier to access these documents.

The committee acknowledges that anticipated users of the instrument would be in possession of the incorporated documents. However, in addition to access for operators of the relevant aircraft in Australia, the committee is interested in the broader issue of access for other parties who might be affected by, or are otherwise interested in, the law.

The issue of access to material incorporated into the law by reference to external documents, such as Australian and international standards, has been an issue of ongoing concern to Australian parliamentary scrutiny committees. Most recently,

the Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation of the Western Australian Parliament has published a detailed report on this issue.^[1] This report comprehensively outlines the significant scrutiny concerns associated with the incorporation of material by reference, particularly where the incorporated material is not freely available.

The committee's expectations in this regard are set out in the guideline on incorporation contained in Appendix 1.

The committee draws the above to the minister's attention.

---

[1] Thirty-Ninth Parliament, Report 84, Joint Standing Committee on Delegated Legislation, Access to Australian Standards Adopted in Delegated Legislation (June 2016) http://www .parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/commit.nsf/all/6BCDA79F24A4225648257E3C001DB33F?opendocument&tab=tab3 (accessed 2 March 2017).