Australia: Regulations on alcohol and drug testing

New regulations requiring random alcohol and drug testing of Australia’s 120,000 aviation workers comes into force today.

The new regulations give aviation organizations, such as airlines and maintenance companies, six months to put in place detailed drug and alcohol management plans covering pre-employment testing, reasonable suspicion testing and post-accident testing, as well as education, training and rehabilitation.

The regulations cover pilots, engineers, cabin crew, flight instructors, re-fuelers, dispatchers, load controllers, baggage handlers, air traffic controllers and even Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) staff that perform duties airside.

Under the new regime, it is an offence for people working in aviation safety roles to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

CASA will administer the new program, with the aim of starting random testing before the end of the year.

(aviation-safety.net)
Fonte: Flight Safety Information 30/09/2008.