CASA CLARC Incompetency
 

I have just gone through the license conversion process and I must say it was incredible how incompetent CASA CLARC is compared to US FAA and NZ CAA. I really don't know how you guys put up with this.

Form 61-4A (Initial Conversion Request Form) took more than 2 months to be approved. CASA would not even recognise US FAA English Proficient as equivalent to Level 4. Had to supply another ICAO license for this small matter.

Documents lost at CLARC office, had to send a few documents again.

Medical took more than 2 months to be approved, thanks to MRS.

ASIC was a part of Form 61-4A application and was swiftly approved (surprised) and received it soon after.

After passing a flight test, submitted Form 61-4B, application returned because and I quote CLARC "we don't have anything in the system that you have been approved and received ASIC".

For heaven's sake, I don't know how you guys put up with it after paying horrendous amounts of unjustifiable fees and do not even receive appropriate customer service. May be government employees' attitude to be blamed?

Next time I need to do a conversion, I'm heading over to Kiwi-land. :ugh:

Peace

You now realise why Australia has a reputation as the only 3rd world aviation nation where you can drink the water.

Many just leave the industry through frustration, bankruptcy or pending insanity.

And CASA just keeps getting paid to create more complexity....

The government parks the shallow end of the gene pool in unsackable bureaucratic positions to keep the long term unemployment figures down.

I got my 61 conversion application refused because - according to CLARC - it was not complete, one of the forms required was missing. So I would have to re-submit everything again (about 30 pages from memory)

I then pointed out that my application had been submitted and received by CASA - according to the CASA date stamp placed on the copy of the refused docuemnts they sent me back - 2 months before the missing form had actually been created - according to the date on the bottom of the new CASA form, so it was in fact a complete application at the date of receipt by CLARC.

Result - another fortnight delay, mumbling by CLARC, then they asked me to just submit the form only

Vref+5, I feel for you man. I had gone through the same a few months ago.

Here's a fun story.

Called CLARC and got to the bottom of ASIC *********.

Me: "Why can you not see my ASIC status on your system?"

CLARC: "Because only CASA Security (in charge of ASIC) can access it. I could put you through CASA Security and you can ask them to send CLARC an email regarding the status of your ASIC."

Me: "Isn't that your job to do so? If you can do it by just calling your colleague at Security, why do I need to supply a certified copy of ASIC?"

CLARC: "In case we get audited, it is safer for us if you send us a certified copy of ASIC."

IMHO, CASA employees have attitude problems. I Can't believe citizens are paying tax to feed these lunatics.

I started trying to get my certificate of validation 12 months before my planned fir test for conversion as a mate had warned me about CASA taking a while. End result, two 'lost' applications followed by a third application and getting the CoV faxed to the flying school on the morning of my instrument rating test a mere 11 months and 3 weeks after my initial application. Frustrating thing was each time I called them to confirm receipt of the application, first two they said 'it is received, allow two weeks for processing'. Both times I left it for 3 weeks and then called to be told 'no record of that in the system. Third application CASA wouldn't process it as they kept saying they had no record of getting confirmation of my licence from UK CAA despite the UK CAA saying they had sent it 5 times. In the end a very nice UK CAA officer took the contact details for the CASA person I was dealing with and stayed in the office late so that they could talk to them directly and stay on the phone until CASA confirmed receipt of the fax. That should have been the clue to steer clear of Aussie aviatio ,

Thing is, they get paid the same whether this outcome is the product of intellectual impairment, incompetence, taking the piss just for fun, or just plain lying to cover up laziness.

Whether inadvertently or deliberately on their part, we're all just their playthings.

And we pay for the privilege.

All in the name of "safety".

The machine is broken.

It's not just CASA.

My apoplexy is only now settling down following a seven year saga to get ASIC in Sale to accept that my company had changed from one highly respected auditor to another highly respected auditor.

In the end, our local Auditor General had words with ASIC's local Regional Director to have him re-educate his southern colleagues.

Hundreds of man hours and tens of thousands of dollars wasted.

All because some arrogant **** in ASIC Sale, to whom common sense and civility are totally alien concepts, disagreed with ASIC's Darwin office processes.

Every time you talk to them, take the name of the person, note the time, note exactly what they said. They only give you their first name, but that's enough to pin the matter down.

Then if you get the runaround and they tell you something contradictory, or to submit something that's already been submitted, you can avoid being fobbed off, point out the contradiction and get referred to someone a bit further up the chain who can probably cut through the crap a bit easier.

Having said that, they have been pretty good on a fair number of applications in my recent experience.

Well, that I understand. Common knowledge that Americans can't speak English.

They also have a tendency to make up the spelling of words that are to difficult.

We're paying them to be "good" to "great" on nearly every application.

It shouldn't be necessary to take notes of the who, the when and the what was said, in order to reduce the risk of getting the "runaround" and being "fobbed off" by personnel in a government agency. In what organisation that claims "integrity" and "accountability" and compliance with a "service charter" is it possible for there to be a culture that permits inquirers to be given "the runaround" and "fobbed off"?

I reckon part of the problem is that anything unusual is always easier to duck rather than resolve. That, and the almost complete absense of any serious, competent management (as opposed to smooth-talking greasy pole climbers) may have allowed the practice to flourish.

I've always found it good practice to note who said what and when with any organisation bigger than a couple of employees (e.g. Telstra, energy companies etc) - saves a lot of stuffing around.

Which merely emphasises why just about everybody is heartily sick and tired of incompetent, lazy monopoly or quasi-monopoly organisations stuffing us around for the privilege of milking us for money.

I don't know, for the past 3O years ive done a medical, filled out some sort of form, paid a fee and life goes on ? Not that hard..

Yep: You don't know.

I can tell by the number of errors in a one sentence post that you're a troll. It is evident that during the past 30 (or is it 3O?) years you have not been the holder of a Class 1 medical certificate issued by CASA.

Err wrong again cream puff

Bull****. Sue me for defamation.

Ok probably not, just pointing out in 30 or 3o years I've filled out the form , done the medical and life went on

Bull****.

It is evident that during the past 30 years you have not been the holder of a Class 1 medical certificate issued by CASA.

And you think casa is what's wrong with our industry, sigh..