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CASA Board meeting 1 March 2022

Our Board meeting 1 March 2022

The Board of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) meets six times per calendar year to fulfill its obligations under Section 53 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to decide the objectives, strategies and policies to be followed by CASA; and ensure that CASA performs its functions in a proper, efficient and effective manner.

The first meeting of the CASA Board in 2022 was on 1 March at the CASA Melbourne Regional Office. Leading up to the meeting, the Board met with the Executive management team at Essendon Fields Airport, members of the Australian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) and the Chair of the Australian Flight Training Industry Association (AFTIA).

CASA Board meetings follow a theme-based agenda focusing on organisational matters and operational matters that affect the aviation industry.

The organisational matters centre around CASA’s corporate governance, financial position, status of major projects, cyber security issues and general health of the CASA workforce.

Consistent with its focus on the wellbeing of CASA staff and the culture of the organisation, the Board approved a charter to establish a Board sub-committee to focus on CASA’s People and Culture matters.

The Board was briefed on accidents and incidents data and performance results against the national regulatory oversight program of work.

Key initiatives considered by the Board included:

• The development of a General Aviation (GA) Workplan that will soon be produced and published on the CASA website
  
• The status of transition to the Flight Operations Regulations (FOR)
  
• Matters around Flight Examiner Rating Courses and Examiner Proficiency Checks.
  

The development of our GA Workplan is a particularly important initiative. The workplan will outline a range of actions aimed at addressing regulatory settings that will support our GA community. Importantly this will include timeframes for implementation, providing GA operators certainty on what CASA is acting on and when results will be delivered. It will present a comprehensive picture about the actions that CASA is taking to address some long-standing issues in the GA sector as well as highlight actions already taken. In addition to demonstrating a firm commitment to making genuine reforms, it will also help stakeholders identify where their issues sit within a broader program of work. The plan is intended to be published towards the end of April and progress will be regularly reported to industry. The Board has made clear it expects CASA to bring forward delivery timeframes wherever this can be achieved.

Two key focuses were noted in relation to the FOR transition. The first is to complete the development of the Manuals of Standards (MOSs) that impact sport and recreational aviation, and private and commercial balloon operations (Parts 103, 105, 131). The second focus is to communicate with and prepare operators for the next major milestone on 2 June when their fully integrated manuals/expositions are due.

The CASA Board reinforced that it has stewardship of a number of risks relating to regulatory failure, industry capture and CASA’s culture and takes these matters seriously.

Following the meeting, the Board held a strategy session with members of the CASA Executive team. Matters discussed included the strategic direction for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) vehicles and the associated infrastructure. Discussions were held with representatives from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Planning and Water to better understand the planning challenges within the local jurisdiction. Other matters included the development of strategies to address emerging technologies, the general shortfall of LAMEs across the aviation industry, and CASA’s overall workforce capability.

The next meeting of the CASA Board is scheduled for April 2022 in Adelaide.

Air Chief Marshal (Ret’d) Mark Binskin AC
Chair, CASA Board

MTF...P2