Its more an ass covering thing by CASA, I have had both approvals as “Acting CP” and then as the “CP” in oz.
If you operate in a remote region RPT or there is some kind of “Touring” involved then CASA want’s to know who the buck stops with when the fan and faeces meet.
If the CP is out of tour or absent for whatever reason then in an RPT scenario there needs to be an approved person at the helm.
Some operators are top notch and provide more than adequate contingency plans. Others are penny pinching clowns that cant see the forest for the trees.
In Australia some organisations think that they can provide a grade a service on the smell of an oily rag.
When really in comparison the services provided are cheep on a global scale, if Big Business want x people or y cargo moved from A to B they usually don’t give a rats how much it costs, they just want it done.
If it cost twice as much they would still do it, and operations would be profitable where affording the best is second nature. Instead in OZ there are too many players for to small a market both operators and pilots.
With too many of each pilots and operators trying to cut each others throats for a small piece of pie.