[Peetwo]

Latest Spence bollocks briefing: Monahan & Walker gone -

 
DIrector of Aviation Safety, Pip Spence

The General Aviation Workplan continues to forge ahead with progress on proposals aimed at simplifying access to medicals, maintenance and airspace.

Last week, we opened the promised consultation on proposed Class 5 medical self-declarations as well as an initiative to increase access to Class C and D controlled airspace for sport and recreational aircraft.

The Class 5 proposal was outlined in the last edition of CASA Briefing but will essentially allow private pilots to self-assess and self-declare if they meet certain fitness requirements and operate within specified bounds.

We believe this will give most of Australia's pilots unprecedented flexibility when it comes to renewing their medical certificates, including those in remote and regional areas.

Increased access to Class C and D controlled airspace is something long sought by sport and recreational pilots and we want your comments on requirements that will allow you to safely do this.

Currently, this includes pilot and radio competency standards as well as medical fitness and aircraft equipment requirements.

Details of how to participate in both these consultations are available in this newsletter.

We're also putting the finishing touches on the proposed ruleset, implementation guidelines, and supporting material for another GA Workplan initiative offering simpler maintenance rules for private and aerial work aircraft.

The basic aim of the proposed Part 43 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations is to maintain appropriate levels of safety while minimising the regulatory burden on general aviation and keeping compliance costs low.

It will allow independent licensed aircraft maintenance engineers (LAMEs) to provide most maintenance services on private and aerial work aircraft without the additional expense of setting up an approved maintenance organisation.

We have extensively consulted on this proposed policy, making sure to take our time to consider the concerns raised by stakeholders.

In developing the proposed Part 43 we took on board feedback from industry, including through the technical working group and Aviation Safety Advisory Panel.

We’re in the process of consulting on 9 new fees to support the proposed new regime, in accordance with the Australian government’s cost recovery policy.

These include fees for granting inspection authorisations to category B1 and B2 maintenance licence holders, as well as for aircraft maintenance technician certificates for specialised maintenance functions.

Once the fees are settled, we’ll be seeking final endorsement for the new rules with the expectation of completing the legislative package in the first half of 2024.

One of our next focus areas will be working on the post-implementation review of Part 145 requirements, including where operations still under Civil Aviation Regulation (CAR) 30 should sit.

Still on maintenance, we received 34 submissions from a variety of stakeholders on our proposed modular licensing structure and we will use this to make changes to the Part 66 Manual of Standards.

A summary of the consultation will go to the Part 66 Technical Working Group and will be published on our consultation hub.

We will continue to work with the Technical Working Group to ensure any issues arising from the consultation are appropriately addressed.

We have completed 11 of the GA Workplan initiatives and hope to deliver 3 more in the next few months, including the first stage of modular licensing and the Part 131 Manual of Standards impacting balloons and hot air airships.

This coincides with a decision by the Australian Ballooning Federation to hand back administration of recreational (private) ballooning activities to CASA, although this is not related to the workplan.

We are also looking at a refresh of the GA Workplan and we will be working with industry to prioritise existing projects and to identify any new initiatives. As always, we will keep you informed.

Finally, I’d like to acknowledge the contribution of 2 members of our senior leadership team who are leaving CASA to pursue other opportunities, Chris Monahan and Rob Walker.

Chris has done a stellar job of leading the National Operations and Standards Division since March 2018, including landing the long-awaited flight operations regulations, driving the last elements of the regulatory reform agenda and helping us prepare for new and emerging technology.

After more than 7 years, Rob leaves CASA in a stronger position than when he started as a result of his work both in building up the Stakeholder Engagement Division and more recently in leading the Regulatory Oversight Division.

I wish them both well.

All the best,

Pip

MTF...P2