SASless, I'm not sure jail is the answer because as soon as the legal 'experts' get involved, attempts to improve safety often fly out the window along with common sense.
I think it would be fair to say that it was a surprising accident considering the operator and, it could be argued, there were responsibilities for various aspects of the operation that were held within several organisations.
Some members of the EMS industry in Australia are banding to gether to improve their safety systems; however others think they 'do it right' and don't need to be involved. (that attitude worries me sometimes) But at least there is some movement to improve things.
Night VFR is another issue though...it needs some sensible addressing by the industry and by CASA. It behoves both the industry and the Authority to look at Night VFR, how it is implemented and how it can be done safely in different environments. I know that the HAA is examining NVFR and coming up with some proposals.
Compared to the US? Well, different methods of operating, different business models, different regulations and, to be fair, Oz's recent experiences have been a spate of problems primarily involving one State I think.
No doubting though that something needs to be done and being primarily community based, hopefully the individual operators can pull together for the good of the patients and the industry...we will see!