Further information
Safety outcome-based regulations
Using small combined CASA/aviation community teams to develop major new regulations that give industry flexibility to meet safety outcomes.
Safety outcome-based regulations
Writing (or rewriting) a CASR Part
A summary of the steps in writing a CASR Part.
Suggest better rules
How to submit a proposal for change, and what happens next.
Consultation process
Introduction
Input from the aviation community is essential in the development of new regulations. CASA uses a number of processes to gather the widest possible range of opinions during the development of each new regulation. These include:
- Standards Consultative Committee The SCC brings together CASA staff and representatives from a diverse range of aviation community organisations to work jointly during the development phase of regulatory material
- Regulatory Advisory Panels (RAPs) conduct an independent review and provide advice to the CEO on a proposed CASR Part and any associated Manual of Standards (MOS)
- Aviation Safety Forum — experienced members of the aviation industry advise CASA on important strategic issues
- Policy development and technical drafting is done by technical specialists in various areas of CASA in cooperation with aviation community representatives.
Working with the aviation community
CASA is committed to working cooperatively with the aviation community to maintain and enhance aviation safety. This is especially important as far as the development of standards and regulatory material is concerned. The SCC brings together CASA staff and representatives from a diverse range of aviation community organisations to work jointly during the development phase of regulatory material. The SCC examines proposed regulatory changes to determine if they are worth pursuing and assists CASA in the allocation of priorities to those projects.
Aviation community experts then work together with CASA staff in subordinate groups (SCC sub-committees, working groups and project teams) on the detailed development of regulatory material (both new regulations and amendments).
The organisations represented include airlines, general aviation, aircraft engineers, pilots, airports, private aircraft owners, flight instructors, sports aviation, helicopter operators, cabin crew and the aviation insurers.
Consultation
CASA must publicly consult on all proposed legislative changes which will affect business or restrict competition. Generally, there are two forms of consultation:
- informal consultation during the legislation development stage through a Discussion Paper (DP), and
- formal consultation, once the policy and associated advisory/procedural material have been established/developed through a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM).
The public is notified of the proposed policy/rule change through the media and the CASA website. The advertisement generally:
- declares CASA’s intention to seek comment or to make the proposed rule;
- gives details of how copies of the consultation document (DP or NPRM) can be obtained or inspected; and
- indicates the period within which written submissions may be made (usually eight weeks) and where such submissions should be lodged.
Submissions received within the public response period must be considered before the proposed rule is submitted to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services and the regulation subsequently made. All submissions received are documented, and decisions on the issues and comments contained in each submission are recorded. Identical responses to an issue are reviewed in the same way as a single response, i.e. the content and level of detail are considered for any improvements that can be made. It is the quality of the comment that is most important in terms of how it addresses the safety risks and how the risks should be mitigated, rather than the number of respondents who make the same comment.
A Notice of Final Rule Making (NFRM) — incorporating a Summary of Responses (SOR) — is prepared in response to an NPRM. It contains a consolidation of comments received, CASA’s comments, and a disposition of comments. NFRMs and SORs are made available to the general public. Availability is notified in the media and the CASA website.
Usually an SOR is prepared in response to a DP. Such SORs will not be released as standalone documents. However, the evaluation of the comments received in response to the DP will be documented as will the consolidation of the comments, CASA’s responses and the disposition actions will be incorporated in a subsequent NPRM.