Hi compressor stall,
At this stage we have had no indication of it being retrospective, however CASA last year sent out threatening letters to people who have previously passed an OCVA. So this still remains to be seen.
As the ACVA currently reads it seems you can sit the ACVA as soon as you get a medical, then once you get the ATPL hours you can apply to have those restrictions removed. It doesn't even seem this test is yet available it just seems it's been written.
So many questions remain on this. For example could one instruct at night to gather experience seeing as students aren't technically passengers. Has this been an oversight that a new CPL cannot operate in a Barron or equivalent up in Darwin under IFR?
Don't totally agree with the PAPI test comment. I flew GA at night in Chieftains and various other things into regional ports with no PAPI indications safely. Now I have access to advanced EFIS with VNAV guidance and simple 1 in 10 rule checks. I understand colour normal pilots relying heavier on PAPI as that's all they've ever known however most CVD pilots can see PAPI the majority of the time and just use the above tools as cross checks. It's not as simple as the candidate can or can't see the PAPI. Colour normal pilots have trouble seeing the PAPI on bright and hazy days. It's a lot like that for CVD pilots just the point at which they become hard to distinguish happens sooner.