From the Director of Aviation Safety
John McCormick
As it is now just over four years since I became the Director of Aviation Safety, it is a good time to reflect on CASA’s achievements over that period. When I arrived, in March 2009, it was clear CASA needed an organisational structure focussed on what the Parliament of Australia had intended when it made the very significant amendments to the Civil Aviation Act it did in 1995. By aligning our divisional breakdown with our core functions, as set out in section nine of the Civil Aviation Act,
CASA now has a sharp focus on its purpose and the activities the Parliament expects to be undertaken to regulate the safety of Australian civil aviation. It was
also apparent that our policies, processes and procedures
were in need of updating. Over the last four years
we have invested an enormous amount of effort in this task. The outcome of this work is leading us further toward
our goals of standardisation and consistency. Flowing from this are
considerable benefits for the wider Australian aviation community-including, of course, the aviation industry and CASA alike.
Important progress has been made over the last four years to
re-invigorate the regulatory reform and development processes. Since October 2009, 108 standards development projects have been completed. These include new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations, manuals of standards and advisory material. There are currently 98 ongoing standards development projects. However, the work will not end with the completion of drafting the new regulations. Indeed, this work can be likened to painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge-when you reach one end it’s time to go back to the beginning. In the case of standards development this encompasses the commencement of
post-implementation reviews and continuous development of the regulatory suite to reflect changes in technology and other relevant developments at home and abroad.
And the process does not stop at merely writing this material. We have ahead of us a number of years during which the new rules and practices will be introduced in both CASA and the aviation industry. This is a major undertaking requiring some significant transitions over a period and at a pace which allows CASA to continue its regulatory oversight of industry and for industry to be able to absorb the necessary changes. To achieve this requires a massive effort to educate the aviation industry and assist through the transition process. We have invested heavily in training, education and safety promotion and we will continue to do so.
It is interesting to note that across the various aviation sectors accident rates have generally plateaued at relatively low levels. Australia has an enviable safety record for which we are frequently acknowledged internationally, but we must now use the data and information available to us to identify the steps we must take next to further improve aviation safety. Our initiatives in surveillance, safety performance analysis, knowledge and information management, safety education and promotion, standards setting, enforcement and the use of appropriate safety interventions, amongst other things, are all leading us in this direction.
In the context of this long list of achievements, and mindful that there is always room for improvement, it is disappointing and dispiriting that so much criticism seems to sometimes be directed towards CASA and individuals within CASA that is without substance, legitimacy or merit. Being a regulator often puts us in that awkward, if unavoidable, position of being 'damned if we do and dammed if we don't'. There will always be those who find regulations of any kind not to their liking. However, as a responsible regulator and consistent with the consultative obligations specified in the Civil Aviation Act, we must arrive at the most appropriate position for aviation safety in Australia. Fair and constructive criticism is an important and valuable part of the safety quotient in a democratic society like ours.
The baseless criticism we sometimes receive—frequently misinformed, sometimes mischievous and at times personally abusive-is regrettable, unhelpful and dangerously erosive of public confidence in Australia’s system of aviation safety.
Best regards
John F McCormick