My apologies for doubting CASA's capacity to produce rushed, stop-gap solutions.
The new ‘interim’ maintenance personnel licensing and training org CAO is out. From the
Explanatory Statement (copy here:
http://casa.gov.au/download/orders/C...0066Explan.pdf) for new CAO 100.66 (102 pages, copy here:
http://casa.gov.au/download/orders/CAO100/10066.pdf);
New CASR Parts and new CAO
This new regulatory framework for licensing will [eventually – keep trudging lads - ] fall within proposed Part 66 of CASR 1998, and the framework for maintenance training organisations will [eventually – keep trudging lads - ] fall within proposed Part 147 of CASR 1998.
These regulatory proposals are in various states of preparation, some under development and many already at the legislative drafting stage. [But hang on a sec’. CASA put out a press release a year ago that said the ‘maintenance suite of regulations will be finished during 2006’ – see Icarus’ post above.] However, because of the time frames involved in finalising all elements of the package [keep trudging lads], CASA has decided to make a CAO that would immediately implement proposed changes in 2 areas, namely maintenance personnel licensing and maintenance training organisations. This would make new rules in these specific areas available for the aviation industry to take up voluntarily, if they so desired, by way of preparation for the forthcoming changes [they’re just around the corner – keep trudging lads] or to gain the benefits of the new system as soon as possible.
To achieve these outcomes, it was necessary for CASA to devise a legislative means of accelerated implementation of the EASA training and licensing arrangements, one that would fall within the existing legislative scheme in CAR 1988 and CASR 1998 and lend itself to expedited preparation of an interim solution. …
CAO 100.23 and 100.24 for existing MAs are in no sense revoked and continue to apply to persons who apply for, or already hold, MAs specifically under them.
So we can’t do it properly at a snail’s pace, but we can come up with a rushed, stop-gap solution.
Now
there’s a recipe for success!
Let’s see if I’ve got the structure of the rules correct.
1. An Act; plus
2. 1988 regulations; plus
3. part-complete 1998 regulations to replace the 1988 regulations – will be 10 years old soon; plus
4. CAOs made under the 1988 regulations before the 1998 regulations were made, and which were to be rendered redundant by the oh-so-simple outcomes-based 1998 regulations; plus
5. a brand new concept – CAOs under the 1988 regulations, that try to achieve, on an interim basis, what has yet to be achieved in the 1998 regulations.
Masterpiece!