Civil Aviation Act 1990

Medical certification

27O: Delegation of Director's power under this Part to medical examiners who are not employees of Authority

You could also call this:

"The Director can let special doctors check if pilots are healthy enough to fly"

The Director can give some of their powers to medical examiners who don't work for the Authority. These powers are about checking if people are healthy enough to fly planes. The Director can't give away the power to take away medical certificates, though.

The Director must let these outside medical examiners give medical certificates to people who qualify for them. This includes people who meet the standard health rules.

When the Director gives these powers to someone, it must be written down. The medical examiners can use these powers just like the Director would, unless the Director tells them to do something different.

The Director can give these powers to one medical examiner, a group of them, or to someone in a specific job. These powers are only given for a certain amount of time, and the Director can take them back whenever they want.

Even when the Director gives these powers to someone else, they can still use the powers themselves. The Director is still responsible for what the medical examiners do with these powers.

These powers stay in place until they run out or are taken back, even if the Director who gave them leaves their job. If someone asks, the medical examiners should show proof that they have these powers.

The Director can't give away their powers to check if someone is fit to fly after an accident or if they think someone might not be healthy enough to fly safely.

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This page was last updated on 15 April 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM216326.

Topics:

Transport and travel > Air travel

27N: Delegation of Director's powers under this Part to medical practitioners who are employees of Authority, or

"The Director can let doctors who work for the Authority check if pilots are healthy enough to fly"

27P: Right of appeal to District Court, or

"You can go to court if you disagree with some health-related decisions about your flying licence"

Part 2AMedical certification

27ODelegation of Director's power under this Part to medical examiners who are not employees of Authority

The Director may, either generally or particularly, delegate to any suitably qualified medical examiner who is not an employee of the Authority any of the Director's functions and powers under this Part or under the rules relating to medical certification other than the power under this Part to revoke medical certificates.
Despite subsection (1), the Director must delegate to suitably qualified medical examiners who are not employees of the Authority the power to issue medical certificates to any person who qualifies for a medical certificate under section 27B(1) or who otherwise meets the criteria for a standard medical assessment as prescribed in the rules or by the Minister under section 27Q(3).
Every delegation under this section must be in writing.
Subject to any general or special directions given or conditions imposed by the Director, any medical examiner to whom any functions or powers are delegated under this section may exercise those functions and powers in the same manner and with the same effect as if they had been conferred or imposed on that person directly by this Act and not by delegation.
Any delegation under this section may be made to a specified medical examiner or a specified class of medical examiner or to the holder or holders of a specified office.
Every delegation under this section must be given for a specified period but in any event must be revocable at will.
No delegation under this section may—
affect or prevent the exercise of any function or power by the Director; or
affect the responsibility of the Director for the actions of any person acting under the delegation.

Every delegation under this section continues in force until it is revoked or it expires, whether or not the person who made the delegation ceases to hold office.
Every person purporting to act under any delegation under this section may, when reasonably requested to do so, produce evidence of his or her authority to so act.
The Director may not delegate under this section any of his or her functions or powers under section 27L or section 27M.

Notes

Section 27O: inserted, on 1 April 2002, by section 5 of the Civil Aviation (Medical Certification) Amendment Act 2001 (2001 No 87).