On Jan. 26, the Aeronautical Repair Station Association delivered resources and instructions to Australian holders of U.S. repair station certificates for seeking a single, nationwide waiver from the FAA’s new rule imposing drug and alcohol testing requirements outside the United States.
Based on its decades of experience with testing requirements and analysis of the final rule issued in December 2024, ARSA drafted a waiver application based on the equivalency of Australian drug and alcohol testing regulations to American standards. After coordinating with government officials in both countries, the association provided a method for repair stations to push Australia to seek the blanket waiver on behalf of all of its FAA-certificated repair stations.
“We offer the draft waiver … that [the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia] can use to obtain acknowledgement that your country’s drug and alcohol testing regime is equivalent to that being imposed by the United States on ‘foreign’ repair stations under CASA’s jurisdiction,” ARSA said in its first outreach to the Australian Government in December – the exchange led to the direct repair station outreach. “We are also hopeful that the draft waiver can serve as an example of the care and detail that the American regulations require to establish a country-wide waiver.”
Repair stations located outside the United States must comply with new testing requirements by the end of 2027. Given the extreme complexity of compliance, ARSA urges governments and international stakeholders to take action now to plan program management.
To read the ARSA letter to the Australian Government that began this effort, click here.
To review ARSA’s matrix analyzing CASA’s drug and alcohol testing requirements against those of the 14 CFR part 120, click here.
For background on American drug and alcohol testing rules for maintenance providers and ARSA’s engagement, click here.