There have been discussions since the formation of the OAR that it should be within the Dept of Transport as the obvious filtering of ideas and information within CASA do not appear to be contributing to what CASA is allegedly all about – SAFETY.
Tridac is correct but to ensure the record is fully understood: those discussions were imitated in the AERU days 3 or 4 years before the Airspace Act 2007 saw the light of day. Happy to expand on the opinions of the relevant players by PM. You might be surprised. Politics and past prejudices won the day, despite international trips and experienced international input.
You may also be surprised, maybe not for some, at the "direction" given to the recruiting agency when the OAR head position was being selected. This "direction" effectively took most of the people with independent and long term airspace regulatory experience out of the selection process.
Gne