The CASA IREX Exam Information

Find out what you need when sitting your instrument rating exam (IREX) including permitted materials and pass rates.

You have 3.5 hours to complete the exam.

To pass, you will need to get at least 70% of the marks.

These exams cost $198.12 each ($133.12 invigilator fee and $65 CASA fee).

Pre-qualifications and syllabus

You need to have one of the following to sit the exam:

• hold an Australian PPLA or PPLH licence of higher grade of licence
• passed the PPL or CPL flight test
• have an Instrument Rating on an existing foreign licence
• a Certificate of Validation (CoV)
• ‘UAV Controller’s certificate’ for UAV controllers
• Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) for RPAS operators wanting to conduct BVLOS operations.

The exam will test your knowledge on the syllabus in Part 61 Manual of Standards (MOS) schedule 3.

The AIP SUP is an important part of the AIP complete and will also be included in the exam.

Permitted materials

You may use either the Airservices or Jeppesen list of permitted materials.

You cannot use a combination of materials from both the Airservices list and the Jeppesen list.

Your invigilator will give you some things before the exam, which you must hand back at the end. These include:

• pen
• pencil
• ruler
• eraser
• VH-OZY aircraft data sheet
• scribble pad.

Instrument information

Preparing for these exams takes time.

You don’t need to consider unscheduled documents including NOTAMs while preparing.

If you think a question has been affected by NOTAM, note it down in the scribble pad. At the end of the exam tell the invigilator.

In the exam, instrument approach procedures for an aerodrome could be in the DAP chart as:

• ILS RWY 18
• RWY 18 ILS
• NDB-A and VOR-A
• NDB and VOR.

You will be provided with a copy of VH-OZY aircraft data sheet in the exam and you need to know the equipment and requirements for this aircraft.

Pass rates

You can see how candidates in 2020 performed in their IREX exam.

Year	0 – 54%	55 – 59%	60 – 64%	65 – 69%	70 – 74%	75 – 79%	80+%	Pass rate
2020	3.53	2.57	4.78	9.39	12.50	15.73	51.50	79.72%
2021	4.67	4.20	5.98	10.46	12.70	16.53	45.47	74.70%

Check the results of candidates from previous years.

Fuel policy in IREX exams

CASA’s Flight Crew Licence exams reference policies related to fuel usage and reserves.

The fuel reserves will be carried in accordance with either:

• CASR Part 91 MOS, Chapter 19, table 19.02 (2), Item 3 for aeroplanes with MTOW less than 5,700 kg (piston engine or turboprop) under IFR, or
• CASR Part 135 MOS, Chapter 7.

Each question will clearly state whether the flight is conducted as a Part 91 or Part 135 operation.

We recommend you avoid rounding off at intermediate stages of your workings when you are calculating your fuel requirements in your exam.

Common errors

The following areas have been weak areas for candidates:

• determination of fuel required
• DAPS procedures and navigation aid requirements
• visual approach requirements
• identification of reporting points
• planning for alternate aerodrome based on available radio navigation aids at the destination aerodrome
• planning for alternate aerodrome based on forecast weather conditions at destination aerodrome
• radar and transponder requirements and procedures
• selection of cruise level considering FZL and LSALT
• interpreting operational requirements from TAF3 forecasts.