Lead balloon and others
Please let me preface this response with some background information.
I was a flying instructor of 25 years and not a businessman. I opened my school with my closest friend because we had a vision. I know that sounds naïve, but thats the truth. With my hand on my heart, I am really answering these questions to the very very best of my knowledge. I know you are not asserting anything else, but I just want to clarify that. I do consider myself an expert on the law related to the aviation sector, but not on business law.
I had an accountancy firm that stood behind me for far longer than any other firm in Australia would have. They knew I had no capacity to pay, and i have no doubt that they would offer what assistance they could to this day. Quite simply, I am just too embarrassed to contact them. It sounds ridiculous, but that thought is actually causing increased anxiety as I sit here typing away. There are so many people that stood beside me, and i let them, thinking that i would be able to resolve this matter and resolve it, to make good all the damage. To date, with no success.
This is a matter i am also having trouble conveying to the Ombudsman's office so guidance from anyone is appreciated..
I think its the absolute simplicity that makes it so confusing, but I am concerned that I am not conveying this.
My instructions to the accountant at the time were very clear.
The Registered Training Organization status, the AOC, the International Student Training approval CRICOS are all connected to this. It needs to be a change of name of the ACN only that name change is from Melbourne Flight Training PTY LTD to Australian Pilot Training Alliance Pty Ltd. There are no other changes at all. it is a change of name only to reflect an Australian Wide capability which I thought was potentially useful in our current and projected market. Particularly overseas.
This name change was a surprisingly cheap process, that alone suggests that it was as simple as I had intended.
PLEASE be patient with me if I'm missing something. I welcome anyone to do a Company search and post it on here, to confirm that what I say "stacks up".
Yes the MFT that CASA determined an unauthorized operation after 10 years, had no other changes. It did have an AOC at the time of the CASA notification, yet was listed as one of the unauthorized operations. That is in fact the exact point of one of the three topics. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all.
How could a flying school suddenly become an unauthorized operation, when the only change was to name change to the Company with the trading name unchanged. It makers no sense at all that my business of more than a decade that provides my family suddenly becomes an unauthorized operation. The name change had happened 2 years prior to the best of recollection.
I'm trying to put the onus back onto CASA. I simply cannot understand how CASA arrived at this determination. Im spending enormous amounts of mental capacity trying to resolve this with the Ombudsman. Its incumbent for CASA to identify what the changes were. Then i will understand what I'm addressing, but i simply cannot get CASA to address this. My hope is that after my recent conversation with the ombudsman's office that the Office will request CASA to clearly identify what they "thought" had changed and what made them "think" that, and if they had some confusion what did hey do to resolve it. I had engaged with and fully communicated with CASA throughout the process, and they were fully onboard.. My very best recollection is that a fee was paid to CASA with the certificates issued. No changes to any numbers at all on that certificate. There was a reflection of name change only. Melbourne Flight Training continued unchanged.
For complete clarity, I don't think CASA had any basis to shut down any of the schools, but with respect to MFT, they have well overstepped any lawful Authority. MFT was my "baby" if you like. That was my business, and where I derived my income. APTA was a method for me and 9 other schools to work collaboratively. It was not my "business" if you like.
I hope that makes sense, heading home to catch the tail end of the footy, cheers. Glen