Pre-Application Consultation for SORA

In plain language

If you plan to use the SORA risk assessment method for a complex drone operation, the CAA recommends downloading their official workbook and emailing their Certification team for advice before submitting your application.

Requirement as structured

The authority recommends that applicants using the SORA methodology download the Part 102 SORA assessment workbook from the CAA website and consult with the Certification team via email before submitting their application.

Original regulatory text

This AC includes advice about risk management based on ISO 31000:2018, a widely-used standard, and the Australasian version, AS/NZS ISO 31000:2018, outlined in more detail in Appendix I. There are other materials in the Further Resources section to help operators planning lower complexity operations to develop a good understanding of risk management. While operators working on new or complex operations may find this AC a useful introduction, higher complexity operations are likely to need a more detailed risk assessment. The SORA, which was developed by the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking in Unmanned Aviation Systems (JARUS), is one risk assessment method that CAA recognises for more complex operations. While the SORA is not the only way to meet requirements, it is the one that CAA inspectors are most familiar with and is also widely accepted by other NAAs. Appendix II of this AC summarises SORA requirements. If using a SORA, CAA strongly recommends that applicants check the JARUS website for the latest SORA revision and read the supporting documents. Applicants can also: • check the ‘Forms’ section of the CAA website, for a Part 102 SORA assessment workbook, using the ‘Part 102’ filter or searching under ‘SORA’ and 6 In this AC, CAA has tried to use the term ‘organisation’ where CAA is referring to the business entity/ hierarchy as a whole and ‘operation’ where

Applies when

operation

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