Director of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence
Safety is CASA's key objective but it depends on much more than simply being a regulator.
We're keenly aware that every passenger who boards an aircraft in Australia expects their safety authority and industry to work together to ensure they safely reach their destination.
It's a sector-wide responsibility that would get nowhere without the cooperation and actions of individuals, aviation operators and the companies that support them.
That's why we recently reviewed and endorsed the regulatory philosophy that guides us in making our decisions and, we hope, supports you.
That philosophy commits us to approaching our regulatory functions consultatively and collaboratively while taking into account relevant considerations such as cost.
It also requires us to communicate meaningfully with stakeholders, build trust and respect and fairly balance the need for consistency with flexibility.
As a safety authority, there are occasions when we need to take legitimate action against people flouting the rules.
When this happens, our regulatory philosophy tells us to employ a rational 'just culture', proportionality and discretion as well as natural justice and fairness in exercising our powers.
Having a regulatory philosophy is a good start but we also need to be seen to be applying it.
A practical example of the regulatory philosophy in action is our
General Aviation Workplan aimed at reducing the regulatory burden on the general aviation sector and some of the specific initiatives we are working to.