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AUSTRALIA<br />
SPECIAL REPORT<br />
��� The current rules do not properly fit with a<br />
modern aviation system and latest technologies,”<br />
he says.<br />
EXEMPTIONS<br />
In order to make the old rules work in a modern<br />
industry, CASA has issued more than<br />
1,700 exemptions. In addition, rules have not<br />
kept pace with international developments.<br />
The new Civil Aviation Safety Regulations<br />
(CASR), covering operational, flightcrew licensing,<br />
airworthiness and maintenance, are aimed<br />
at creating a safer aviation system, says CASA.<br />
It says they are aligned with ICAO standards<br />
and recommended practices, and harmonised<br />
with European and US regulations.<br />
The new rules have a number of benefits,<br />
according to CASA. They are “logically organised<br />
into clear parts”, which will make it easier<br />
for the industry to find and apply relevant<br />
regulations; are designed to address known<br />
40 | Flight International | 19-25 February 2013<br />
CASA says there<br />
are 57 new rules<br />
made or planned<br />
and likely safety risks with the aim of delivering<br />
improved safety outcomes; and will be<br />
easier to update and improve. In total there<br />
are 57 CASR parts made or planned, says<br />
CASA. Of these, 38 have been made in whole<br />
or in part; 17 parts and one sub-part are currently<br />
in legal drafting and/or the consultation<br />
process; and two additional CASR parts are<br />
under development or consideration.<br />
But industry concerns remain. At the end of<br />
last year, The Australian Aviation Associations’<br />
Forum (TAAAF) released an aviation policy<br />
which is highly critical of the regulatory reform.<br />
TAAAF comprises the Aerial<br />
Agricultural Association of Australia,<br />
Australian Association of Flight Instructors,<br />
Australian Business Aviation Association,<br />
Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul<br />
Business Association (AMROBA), Regional<br />
Aviation Association of Australia and the Royal<br />
Federation of Aero Clubs of Australia, and was<br />
Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority<br />
established in 2008 to present a united voice to<br />
government on key aviation issues and policy.<br />
TAAAF says Australia’s regulatory system is<br />
“out of step with key trading partners, international<br />
best practice and the relevant international<br />
treaties”, with the lack of international harmonisation<br />
being a “missed opportunity”. It<br />
believes that CASA has lost sight of its original<br />
aim of simplifying and clarifying regulations.<br />
An industry lobby is urging the<br />
government to remove the<br />
regulatory reform process<br />
from CASA and place it with<br />
a new aviation department<br />
“The reform process has been running for over<br />
20 years with little demonstrable improvement<br />
in harmonisation or simplification,” says<br />
TAAAF. The Forum believes the new rules are<br />
complex in content and drafting style, with a<br />
complete failing of the original intent of “safety<br />
through clarity”.<br />
CONSULTATIVE MECHANISM<br />
TAAAF also criticises CASA’s consultative<br />
mechanism, including the Standards<br />
Consultative Committee, saying it is “founded<br />
on a flawed culture of instructing industry on<br />
CASA decisions rather than genuine consultation”.<br />
Furthermore, it criticises CASA for<br />
“very poor control of the workload”, claiming<br />
the reform programme has itself become a potential<br />
threat to safety.<br />
TAAAF also believes it is not appropriate<br />
for the aviation regulatory enforcer – CASA –<br />
to draft the law in the first place. Rather, policy<br />
and regulatory development should be<br />
handled by the Department of Infrastructure<br />
and Transport.<br />
TAAAF is calling on the government to remove<br />
the regulatory reform process from<br />
CASA and place it with a new aviation department.<br />
The regulatory reform programme<br />
should be characterised by “strong formal and<br />
informal consultative relationships with industry”,<br />
it says.<br />
“Instead of reinventing the wheel in an international<br />
industry, regulatory reform should<br />
be based on a sound understanding of international<br />
best practice and the regulatory regimes<br />
used by key trading partners and neighbours,<br />
where relevant,” it adds.<br />
There should be no uniquely Australian<br />
rules, unless industry can demonstrate a need,<br />
and the reduction of “red tape” should be a<br />
priority, says TAAAF.<br />
The latest regulation proposals released for<br />
discussion – the maintenance requirements<br />
for sectors of the industry other than regular<br />
public transport (RPT) operators – have re-<br />
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