A classic example is a certain council concerned with "Clean Energy". It costs well north of $1500.00 per year to be a "member", much more if you take into account the cost of accruing "the points" required for renewal. This mob police rooftop solar amongst other things. You can't claim "carbon credits" on an installation if you are not a member. You must install in accordance with the Australian Standards which are actually pretty easy to understand.
To anyone who cares to research, rooftop solar is pretty much a waste of time and money, the systems reliable life of about 5 years does not pay back the cost involved in fitting it. A single breakdown will eat 5 years of cost benefit. The single biggest complaint Consumer Affairs hear about in both Australia and the USA is faulty rooftop solar and lack of warranty support. The quality of most installations does not meet the standards and is often a rush job done by a hurried and underpaid contractor. So much for the council who "police" and "licence" the industry. They themselves are a leech mob that feeds off another with no real benefit to the host. Like most of these councils, boards and licensing authorities including what Okihara describes.
Back to aviation .... The cost of a flight review has ballooned since Part 61, VFR multi pilots need 3 instead of 1. Most working commercial pilots don't even need to do 1. A simple check with a CP would suffice. The cost of maintaining an IFR rating is exorbitant. The industry is over controlled over regulated and overburdened.
Australia and Australians love bureaucracy and thrive on it. You only need to read some comments on this thread to realise it is so. A great percentage of our workforce do nothing more meaningful than looking at what others are doing and licensing them, then charging them for the privilege. They cite "shoddy practices" and "maintaining standards" as their justification when in fact their own and their bosses shoddy moral consciousness is the real cause of decline. To add further insult to the skills of workers, some of these "governing institutions" are State based. It seems electrons behave differently, water flows in different directions and buildings need different forces to hold them upright when a trade crosses a border.
Last edited by Aussie Bob; 1st Oct 2019 at 23:01.