Unfinished business

A stalled regulatory reform program, a clearly dysfunctional corporate structure that embeds bottlenecks and empowers policy making at the lowest levels in the organisation and the inability of leaders to break through the cultural permafrost that continues to resist change all contribute to a moribund organisation.

As always, industry continues to offer assistance, expertise and cooperation, only to be undermined on yet another front which soaks up repair time, remedial action and engenders a look of disbelief that any organisation could still be so out of control.

Recently CASA published an article on the ‘mudguard’ operation – it would do well to have a look at its own performance before reflecting on the performance of others.

The lack of urgency within CASA to get on with the reform job amplifies its difficulties. With three Board members with genuine aviation expertise up for renewal or replacement in the coming months, taking the strategic foot of the accelerator can only work against CASA’s best long-term interests.

A corporate restructure of CASA to better align its regulatory model with the needs of the regulated – as identified and recommended by Mr Forsyth and his internationally recognised colleagues – is now long overdue. Each day the existing structure of two obviously mismatched silos works against senior management, against the Minister, against themselves and against industry.

At a time when government and the Minister is actively seeking means to address general aviation issues through the General Aviation Advisory Group and the overdue BITRE report into GA, a remodelling of CASA to include a General Aviation Directorate is an idea worthy of immediate action.

If a GA Directorate is accompanied by a decent classification of operations that recognises the different needs, demands and capabilities of the ICAO identified classifications – then CASA management would finally have the tools to make a difference to its own performance – and especially to the running sore that is regulatory reform.

Without these core structural and policy changes, CASA simply isn’t giving itself a fighting chance to meet a deadline of finishing reg reform by the end of 2018.

Of course, completion of the reg reform program cannot be allowed to mean that the disgraceful regulation suite that is Part 61 and Part 141 can be allowed to stand. It is broken, adding daily cost to all activities and undermining the ability of the industry to market aviation as a viable and valued career.

Similarly, the maintenance regulation, licencing and training trainwreck that CASA has singlehandedly engineered shows that it is simply not fit for purpose to be trusted with such critical human infrastructure. The closing of training facilities because of CASA inability to work with the State and Commonwealth education departments is simply a disgrace that will take decades to repair. This debacle makes a strong case for CASA to be relieved of much of its policy domain, and especially that relating to regulation of competency and licencing.

But still industry plugs along – trying to make the best of a very poor situation. But even former win-win scenarios are now under attack, while the level of dysfunctionality in even the simplest of tasks – forms design – seems to lead further away from common sense and any coherent policy decision taken at the top.

Even former win-win scenarios are now under attack.

When other unresolved legacies are considered – including the review of fatigue management, Av med’s ridiculous and unwarranted return to colour deficient pilot non-issues, unwarranted lack of trust of DAMES or the ongoing lack of decisions on Multicoms or Class 2 medicals and its unsustainable position on drone regulation – it questions whether CASA can be salvaged at all, or if the Minister needs a clean sheet to get even an adequate regulator.

Add to all of this the failure of CASA to invest in a potential bright light – Sector Risk Profiles – and it appears that the changes of recent years may have simply been the sound of deckchairs being reshuffled.

Words are not enough. But current actions are showing change is yet to arrive.