CAA - New Zealand

About Us

The Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand was established in 1992 as a crown entity under the Civil Aviation Act 1990.

We are responsible to the Minister of Transport, and governed by the ‘Authority’, a five-member board appointed by the Minister to represent the public interest in civil aviation. The Authority is sometimes referred to as the Board.

There are two parts to the CAA:

• The agency that oversees aviation safety and the rules underpinning it, led by the Director of Civil Aviation. This agency is based in Wellington with small teams in Auckland and Christchurch, and Aviation Safety Advisers travelling the country. Most staff are technical specialists responsible for certificating and monitoring aviation ‘participants’ – that is, people and organisations holding an aviation document, for example, a licence to fly.

The Aviation Security Service, known as Avsec, led by the General Manager of Aviation Security. Avsec is also based in Wellington but you will see most of its staff working in airports throughout New Zealand. They screen passengers and their carry-on baggage, screen checked baggage, and they control access to airports. Avsec also screens airport workers and manages the identity card scheme for people wanting access to restricted areas.