Air Law is one of the 7 CASA CPL/PPL theory subjects under CASR Part 61 MOS Schedule 3.
Every topic below is drawn from the same syllabus registry that drives Aero Academic's Knowledge
Deficiency Report — including which regulatory citations are confirmed against the published MOS
text and which are still awaiting review.
Topics covered in depth
Supplemental Oxygen — Unpressurised Aircraft
When flight crew and passengers in an unpressurised aircraft must be provided with, and use, supplemental oxygen, by cabin pressure altitude and duration of exposure.
CASR Part 61 MOS Schedule 3 (FR) — no dedicated oxygen clause; see Part 91 MOS below and (HF) 2.12–2.13 for physiology — Air Law — supplemental oxygen requirementsNeeds review
CASR Part 91 MOS Chapter 26 (Equipment) — Operating rule: supplemental oxygen — requirement to provide and useNeeds review
Common exam mistakes
The rule is written in terms of cabin pressure altitude. In an unpressurised aircraft that equals your actual altitude, but cabin-altitude wording is what the exam tests.
Flight-crew oxygen requirements begin at a lower altitude than passenger requirements — never apply the passenger figure to the pilot.
There is a continuous-use requirement above the upper threshold and a time-limited allowance in the band below it. Confusing which band carries the time allowance is the classic error.
Being "provided with" oxygen and being required to "use" it are separate tests — available is not the same as mandatory.
Determining the fuel required for a flight: trip fuel, contingency, alternate, final reserve and taxi, and the operational minima that must be met before departure.
CASR Part 61 MOS Schedule 3 (FR) — no dedicated fuel-rule clause; planning is exercised in (FP) 2.1.1 / (OP) 2.9.6 — Air Law — fuel requirements and planning minimaNeeds review
CASR Part 91 MOS Chapter 19 (s19.02, Table 19.02(2)) — Operating rule: fuel requirements — final reserve, contingency, alternateNeeds review
Common exam mistakes
Fixed final reserve is a set time (typically 45 minutes for piston aeroplanes, 30 minutes for turbine) — it is never a percentage of trip fuel and is never planned to be used.
Contingency fuel and final reserve are different line items: contingency absorbs plan inaccuracy, reserve is the untouchable minimum.
Alternate fuel is only carried when an alternate is required — but final reserve is required on every flight.
Fuel sufficiency is a pre-start legal test: you must be satisfied before departure, and dipping into final reserve in flight is a reportable event.
Overwater Equipment & Life Rafts
Life jacket and life raft carriage requirements for flights over water, based on distance from land suitable for a forced landing and the aircraft’s glide performance.
CASR Part 61 MOS Schedule 3 (FR) 2.4.1 (p.445) — Air Law — rules applying to flights over waterVerified“Apply the relevant rules that relate to the following: (a) a pilot’s responsibilities before flight; (b) aerodrome meteorological minima; (c) flights over water; (d) carriage of: (i) cargo; (ii) sick and handicapped persons; (iii) parachutists; (iv) dangerous goods; (v) animals; (vi) flotation and survival equipment.”
CASR Part 91 MOS Chapter 26 (Equipment) — Operating rule: life jackets, life rafts and survival equipment for flights over waterNeeds review
Common exam mistakes
The trigger is distance from land suitable for a safe forced landing — measured as gliding distance for a single-engine aircraft — not distance from the coastline.
Life-jacket and life-raft requirements have different distance thresholds; carrying jackets does not remove the raft requirement.
Gliding distance grows with height, so a higher cruise moves the "within gliding distance" boundary further offshore.
Large inland lakes can count as water for these rules — it is not only the ocean.
VMC Criteria by Airspace Class
Minimum visual meteorological conditions — flight visibility and distance from cloud — for VFR flight, by airspace class and altitude band.
CASR Part 61 MOS Schedule 3 (FR) 2.6.2 (p.454) — Air Law — airspace classification and designated airspace limits (companion to VMC)Verified“With respect to the following terms listed in (a) to (g), explain each term and, if applicable, identify airspace boundaries on appropriate charts, and extract vertical limits of designated airspace from charts or ERSA: (a) flight information service FIR, FIA, OCTA; (b) controlled/uncontrolled airspace.”
CASR Part 91 MOS Division 2.4 (VMC) — Operating rule: VMC criteria — visibility and distance from cloudNeeds review
Common exam mistakes
VMC minima change with both airspace class and altitude band — there is no single "VFR visibility" number.
The Class G low-level concession (clear of cloud) does not carry into Class E or above, where you must stay 1,500 m horizontally and 1,000 ft vertically from cloud.
Helicopters get a lower visibility concession than aeroplanes at low level in Class G — do not apply the aeroplane figure to a helicopter question.
VMC is only the test for staying legal as VFR; it is separate from whether the flight needs an alternate.
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