I still dont understand what i did either!
CASAs mandate is aviation safety. Let me be very clear and CASA will not refute this statement. There have not been any allegations of any safety breaches, safety concerns, safety compromises at all, at any time. This is not a safety matter, and I urge CASA to refute that statement.
There have been no allegations of regulatory breaches., No rules have been breached or compromised.
A quick recap for those that are having trouble following.
CASA introduced a regulatory change called Part 61/141/142. It was finally introduced over 10 years behind schedule.
CASA set a date for all schools to "Transition" to the new regulatory environment of September 1st 2017.
Of Australia's 350 schools, only 5% had achieved Part 142 status by the deadline. Importantly, APTA was amongst the 5%. CASA delayed the date 12 months.
That delay cost me many hundreds of thousands of dollars.
If I rewind the clock
As the new legislation was presented to Industry, it became obvious that I was going to lose access to 90% of my revenue, as I would not be permitted to continue delivering the 150 hour CPL. The lead up to the introduction will clearly show that this significant "twist" was inserted by CASA right at the end of the program. It effectively made my business unsaleable, as it was to lose 90 % of its revenue unless I became what was known as a Part 142 school.
I studied the project and it was enormous. I discussed a concept similar to the medical industry or even in retail i.e. IGA where members come together and share a strong pool of resources in a central office. I spent two years working side by side with CASA developing APTA. The concept was multi bases under a central head office. We attended to over 600 CASA requirements with each of those requirements assessed by a person from CASA. We were already operating in this format with both MFT and TVSA under APTA when we Transitioned by the original CASA date of September 2017. Later to be postponed due to the fact that CASA did not have the resources to complete the task by the nominated date.
CASA then added more bases under our system, including AVIA and Learn to Fly. Then in November 2017. CASA audited us and our bases, and raised no concerns about the structure that they had helped me design, and they had approved. I made further significant investment in our IT oversight systems. The model worked well. It provided direct operational control, clearly removed the commercial pressure from the safety and compliance pressures. It improved safety through the provision of a highly resourced central safety department. It created jobs, protected my business and others. CASA personnel actually recommended the product to struggling aero clubs. I provided highly subsidised rates to aero clubs as an altruistic gesture to ensure their continued survival. Ballarat Aero Club is an example of the spectacular success that could be achieved under APTA.
Then CASA notified me of a change of CMT. (A CASA oversighting team). I went from CMT 2 to a team referred to as CMT 3 and headed up by a gentleman by the name of Will Nutatll.
The new team contained a CASA staff member who I feared may try to bring harm to me and my business. Importantly, I immediately made two written and documented requests for a one on one ON THE RECORD meeting which was facilitated. My concerns were raised, and professionally brushed off.
My management and staff will concur that CMT 3 adopted a very combative stance in all dealings, and shortly after and without any warning at all, in any shape or form, Brad Lacy the Subject Matter Expert from within my CMT initiated he issuance of paperwork attached in post 44.
I called up the signatory, Mr David Jones, (Regional Manager). He explained that he wasn't all over it and would have to meet with his team.
I expressed alarm that he would sign such a substantive document if he wasn't all over it.
Then the CASA culture kicked in, and my woes began.
Please note that when I refer to someone by name, I make no insinuations about them as a person outside of their work role. I have no knowledge of those matters. I also cannot make comments on them with their dealings with other operators because I also have no knowledge of those matters. I genuinely believe that my concerns are significant, they do impact on aviation safety, they are the truth, I encourage any opportunity presented by CASA to defend my assertions, and they are very much in the public interest.