Folks,
First things first: CASA's job is not to manage each operator's business - its job is to ensure that each operator properly manages their own business!
The biggest problem we face is the failure of operators to hold up their end of the bargain. Clearly, the regulator has identified that it is guilty of misplaced trust at best and regulatory oversight failure at worst.
Hence the maintenance control campaign to scope out the size of the problem.
I would expect that one outcome will be the strengthening of the independence of the Maintenance Controller from the CAR 30 organisations and a review of the competency requirements for Certificate of Registration holders. The move to "registered operator" will not in any way change the need to understand the fundamentals of the systems for maintaining the continuing airworthiness of our aircraft. That system relies on a separation of the roles of the operator, the maintainer and the guardian of the continuing airworthiness AKA the C of R holder.
It will be interesting to see if CASA gets its policy and standardisation ducks all in a row before the campaign commences in earnest.
Stay Alive,