January 2014
From the Director of Aviation Safety
John McCormick
As we move into another busy year I would like to thank people and organisations across the aviation industry and throughout the wider Australian aviation community for the time and effort they put into helping to develop the new safety regulations. Input into the regulatory development processes is made at a number of levels including participation in the Standards Consultative Committee, taking part in working groups developing specific sets of rules and providing feedback on discussion papers, proposed rules and final drafts. I appreciate and value the effort made by everyone who takes part in regulatory development because CASA cannot do this job on its own. We need the expertise and practical knowledge of people working in the aviation industry to test ideas, translate concepts to safety regulations and to ensure the best possible safety outcomes are achieved with the appropriate level of regulation.
I understand the regulatory development process can at times seem cumbersome and drawn out. However, like many things in life, the devil is in the detail, and we must get the rules right. At times this means revisiting sets of rules to make improvements to ensure the right safety outcomes are being achieved with regulations that do not place inappropriate burdens on the aviation industry. It is largely feedback from aviation people and organisations that informs the review and improvement of rules and this was the case with important amendments made in December 2013. A range of improvements have been made to the rules covering pilot licensing and training, the operations of maintenance organisations, aircraft engineer licences and aircraft registration. These changes aim to reduce costs, improve safety and make transition to new rules easier.
The package of changes to the licensing suite of regulations includes a range of improvements. Student pilot licences will no longer exist, meaning less red tape and costs for students and flying schools while maintaining the same level of safety. The requirement for a photographic pilot licence has been dropped in favour of pilots carrying an acceptable identification document. Additional aircraft types have been added to the new aircraft class rating system to simplify requirements and reduce costs. Flight instructor rating proficiency checks have been simplified to permit a single proficiency check for the rating. The number of flight reviews for helicopter pilots operating some single engine helicopters has been reduced. I cannot list all the changes to the licensing regulations here, but a link below will take you to a summary of the changes.
The amendments to the maintenance and aircraft registration regulations are important and took effect from 18 December 2013. These changes allow continuing airworthiness management organisations supporting regular public transport operations to also manage airworthiness for aircraft used in charter, aerial work and private flying. This simplifies regulatory requirements for a range of maintenance organisations. The changes also streamline CASA’s processing of aircraft maintenance engineer licences and associated ratings. In the area of aircraft registration, CASA will now be able to suspend registration rather than being required to cancel when CASA has not been notified of an aircraft change in ownership within the specified timeframe. This has obvious benefits to aircraft owners.
Please find out more about the changes to the licensing, maintenance and aircraft registration regulations by following the links below. These changes flow directly from the feedback CASA has received from aviation people and organisations. By listening and acting CASA has created better regulations that still strive for the best possible safety outcomes while reducing costs and red tape where possible.
Find out more about the
licensing suite improvements.
Read about the
maintenance and aircraft registration changes.
Best regards
John F McCormick