Aviation Safety Advisory Panel Terms of Reference

The Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) Terms of Reference provide further detail on the ASAP. This includes its:

• purpose
• core principles
• scope
• composition
• conduct.

The panel reviews its terms of reference, structure and operations at least once every 2 years. It endorsed these terms of reference in June 2026.

For more information, contact the secretariat.

1. Purpose

The purpose of the Aviation Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) is to:

• provide the CEO/DAS with informed, objective, high-level advice from the aviation community on current, emerging and potential issues that have, or may have, significant implications for aviation safety and the way CASA performs its functions. The CEO/DAS will consider the advice and recommendations of the ASAP, however, CASA is not bound to accept the ASAP’s advice or agree with its recommendation.
• provide a primary advisory body through which CASA will direct its engagement with industry and seek input on current and future regulatory and associated policy approaches, recognising other avenues of industry engagement can occur.

As set out in the Statement of Expectations for the Civil Aviation Safety Authority from 1 November 2025 to 30 June 2027 CASA is expected to:

• 5 (a) engage clearly, transparently and regularly with stakeholders regarding CASA's activities and functions, including regulatory development.

In response, the CASA Statement of Intent 2025-2027, expresses:

• 5 (a) CASA will engage and communicate clearly and regularly, both formally and informally and through a variety of mechanisms with stakeholders.

2. Scope, Authority and Guiding Principles

The role of the ASAP is to:

• contribute to the identification of safety or regulatory issues within the aviation system
• consider these identified issues and provide a consolidated industry view on priorities to be addressed, including future regulatory reform activities
• provide a consensus view, wherever possible, on the objectives and policy outcomes of actions or interventions sought to address identified issues
• be a source of industry specialised advice or technical expertise on options or proposed actions, and where necessary establish, task and oversight relevant Technical Working Groups (TWGs) and Expert Reference Groups (ERGs) (outlined in Section 7)
• assess the outputs or recommendations of TWGs against the agreed policy objectives
• advise on non-regulatory interventions to address issues, including actions that require CASA or industry resources
• provide advice on the development and implementation of regulatory changes and reforms.

The ASAP will be guided by the following principles:

• CASA and ASAP members will always conduct their business in a way which promotes respect, mutual trust, partnership, honesty and transparency
• the approach to aviation safety issues by both CASA and the ASAP will be driven by sound risk management, informed by data and support both the CASA Regulatory Philosophy and the Government’s aviation safety expectations
• CASA will seek advice, and wherever possible consensus, from the ASAP on the objectives and policy settings of regulatory reform activities prior to settling policy or beginning detailed rule development
• recognising that full consensus may not be possible in all circumstances, ASAP members will support the principles of consensus outlined in Section 5.5 and respect the overall positions reached by the ASAP.

Subject to applicable Commonwealth laws, documents and records of communications involving members of the ASAP (or its associated groups), as these may relate to the work of the ASAP, will be afforded an appropriate level of confidentiality by CASA and by ASAP members.

The CEO/DAS also reserves the right to depart or deviate from any provision of these Terms of Reference at any time. The CEO/DAS will normally provide timely advice to the Chair of the ASAP and/or other members of the ASAP in the event of such a departure or deviation.

3. Sources of ASAP Proposals

Proposals for consideration by the ASAP can come from:

• CASA (with clearance from relevant Executive Management) and other Government agencies
• ASAP members
• aviation industry participants, through a paper submitted to the Secretariat.

Issues should be subject to acceptance by the Chair, based on an assessment of the issue against the ASAP Terms of Reference.

Matters will be listed on the agenda for a specific meeting, although in exceptional & urgent circumstances, items can be progressed out of session.

4. Membership and Roles

4.1 Panel members

The ASAP is comprised of an independent Chair and 6-10 individuals drawn from the aviation community.

The CEO/DAS will determine ASAP membership to establish wide industry participation and expertise and invite individuals to serve as members of the ASAP. To ensure there are always enough qualified and experienced members on the ASAP, individual appointments may be made for different terms to allow for staggered tenures.

Except for the Chair, members of the ASAP serve without remuneration and accept that they, or their organisations, will bear the costs involved in their participation in ASAP meetings and related work. CASA will reimburse travel expenses for ASAP members to attend meetings of the panel when booked in accordance with CASA travel policy.

All ASAP members must declare ‘personal interests’. If a declaration is made which may be perceived as a conflict, the matter will be referred to the Chair, noting ASAP members are appointed based on their individual expertise and are not there to represent an organisation to whom they may be attached.

Broadly, the role of Panel members include:

• raising awareness of issues affecting aviation safety
• supporting and fostering informed discussion on issues affecting aviation safety
• contributing to informed decision-making, review, and understanding key discussion points
• actively engaging in and building relationships within areas of activity and expertise to assist in determining TWG and ERG membership
• appreciating matters raised at the panel and engaging constructively and professionally with other members towards consensus, where required.

4.2 Chair

The Panel is independently chaired by an appropriate industry member, appointed by the CEO/DAS.

The Chair of the ASAP will serve as the primary point of contact between the CEO/DAS and other members of the ASAP on matters referred to the ASAP for consideration and advice. CASA will communicate the outcomes of each Panel meeting.

The CEO/DAS may ask the Chair to assume responsibility for other functions as required.

4.3 Secretariat

A Secretariat is to be provided by CASA for the ASAP and all TWGs.

The Secretariat will assist the Chair by:

• supporting the functions of the Chair, including drafting documents
• sourcing, distributing and storing documents and other information for the Panel
• proposing schedules of meetings of the Panel, TWGs and ERGs, having regard to the availability of all required parties including CASA personnel
• facilitating meetings of the Panel TWGs and ERGs including travel and related administrative and logistical arrangements
• arranging meeting agendas, recording drafting meeting records, reports and action items for the Panel and TWGs
• monitoring the meetings and other operations of TWGs, ERGs and supporting the Chair at Panel meetings, as capacity and priorities permit
• tracking the work of the Panel, TWGs and ERGs and reporting accordingly
• managing related costs, including budgets and the cost of venues, catering and travel

5. Conduct of Meetings

5.1 Frequency

The ASAP will meet in person at least twice each year. Additional meetings may also be held virtually.

5.2 Scheduled Meetings

The Secretariat will send out a reminder of the upcoming meeting and call for papers approximately 5 weeks prior to a meeting. A draft agenda will also be developed in consultation with the Chair and distributed by the Secretariat approximately 3 weeks prior to a meeting.
Papers, proposed additional agenda items, and content of presentations should be submitted to the Secretariat a minimum of two weeks prior to the meeting date.

The Secretariat will distribute the final agenda, papers, the meeting report of the previous meeting, and any other required material prior to each meeting.

5.3 Unscheduled Meetings

The Secretariat will arrange any unscheduled or out-of-session meetings as required. Unscheduled meetings will be held via videoconference unless directed otherwise by the Chair and agreed by CASA.

5.4 Quorum

A quorum will comprise of the Chair and at least half of the remaining Panel members.

Mid-term, or secondary meetings, would have a quorum at the discretion of the Chair, and be directed to specific matters that require extra time, for which more information is needed, before reaching a recommendation. These meetings would also be useful for any urgent matters that might arise, which cannot be held over or considered out-of-session.

5.5 Decision Making

A key aim of the ASAP is that a consensus be reached, wherever possible, in the provision of advice to the CEO/DAS. TWGs will follow the same consensual principles as the ASAP.

Consensus is understood to mean agreement by all parties that a specific course of action is acceptable. Achieving consensus may require debate and deliberation.

Consensus can be unanimous or near unanimous, the Chair will determine how best to proceed and discuss with the CEO on outcomes where divergent views appear. Consensual outcomes include:

• full consensus, where all members agree fully in context and principle and fully support the specific course of action
• general consensus, where they may be disagreement, but the group has heard, recognised and acknowledged and reconciled the concerns or objections to the general acceptance of the majority of the group:
  • although not every member may fully agree in context and principle, a majority of members support the overall position and agree not to object to the proposed recommendation – any relevant information supporting the differing perspectives will also be presented in the meeting records.
• dissent, where differing views about the preferred course of action are maintained:
  • this occurs when members do not agree with the recommendation or cannot reach agreement on a recommendation.

If necessary, the ASAP and TWGs will determine if consensus is reached, by way of voting. Members will also have the opportunity to confirm that their views are accurately represented in meeting reports before they are published.

Where there is full consensus, the report, recommendation or advice should expressly state that every ASAP or TWG member was in full agreement with the advice.

Where there is general consensus, the nature and reasons for any concern by members that do not fully agree with the majority recommendation should be included with the advice.

Where there is dissent, the advice should explain the issues and concerns and why an agreement was not reached. If a member does not concur with one or more of the recommendations, that person’s dissenting position should be reflected.

When possible, the ASAP or relevant TWG should be given the opportunity to reconsider the report or advice, including any dissenting views, to see if there might be scope for further reconciliation of any disagreements.

6. Tracking and Reporting of Outcomes

6.1 Meeting summaries

ASAP meeting summaries will be prepared by the Secretariat which capture the key decisions or recommendations of a meeting. The reports will be drafted by the Secretariat, reviewed by the Chair and shared with other Panel members as soon as reasonably practicable after the meeting. Once the reports are agreed by other the Panel members, a deidentified version will be published on the CASA website.

6.2 Action Items

The Secretariat will also maintain an Action Items register and update this before and after each meeting. The ASAP may make requests of CASA and ultimately, all action items on the register must be agreed by the ASAP and CASA.

7. Industry Consultation Pathways

Figure 1 sets out the pathways through which the ASAP may endorse industry consultation:

7.1 Technical Working Groups

The ASAP may establish Technical Working Groups (TWGs) for referring specific issues for advice. TWGs may be formed for specific technical requirements, through which CASA can seek feedback.

When established, TWGs will provide a forum in which industry representatives and technical experts can provide input to the ASAP on specific technical issues and proposals.

All TWGs will be tasked by the ASAP directly and do not determine their own work programs. The Secretariat will prepare the tasking instructions in consultation with the ASAP or ASAP Chair and CASA.

The ASAP, supported by the Secretariat, will invite individuals to serve as members of the TWG. Members of TWGs serve without remuneration and accept that they, or their organisations, may bear the costs involved in their participation in meetings and related work. On occasion, CASA may make provision to fund TWG member’s travel and associated expenses to attend TWG meetings held in person. The ASAP may also amend TWG membership to best align with the scope of the current TWG tasking instructions.

TWG members:

• are expected to actively contribute and share their industry knowledge and expertise
• should refrain from investing time and effort in discussions outside of their tasking instructions
• shall review and provide feedback on any reports that are produced by the Secretariat following a meeting
• be mindful of the confidential nature of some discussions to ensure integrity of the process and avoid any confusion or issues as a result of items being taken out of context.

The ASAP Chair may also appoint an industry member to act as a co-chair of a TWG.

Reports or advice from a TWG will be provided to the ASAP to inform the ASAP’s advice to the CEO/DAS.

A TWG will normally be disbanded upon completion of the specific task. The Chair may disband a TWG where there has been no activity or progress made within a reasonable timeframe.

7.2 Expert Reference Groups

An ERG may operate similarly to TWGs, but with a focus on sector specific areas and safety information gathering by CASA project teams. A key point of difference of an ERG is determined by the output required.

An ERG will be formed when:

• an issue is identified through the Aviation Safety Scoreboard
• an approval request for industry engagement is made to the ASAP.

The purpose of each ERG is to:

• identify current safety/project risks and contributing factors
• enhance safety/project awareness and identify best practices
• compile a sector safety report to inform Sector Safety Profiles (SSP) and the National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP).

The outcome of an ERG will be to inform CASA and industry on:

• safety promotional programs
• regulatory guidance amendments
• industry-led risk mitigations
• recommendation of proposed regulatory policy changes.

At the conclusion of each meeting, or soon thereafter, ERG meeting records are provided to ASAP (through the Secretariat) to inform ASAP of the discussions and progress of the ERG. They can take the form of a meeting report or meeting summary.

A meeting report will be produced for any ERG meeting that involves any specific safety consideration, and a meeting summary will be used for any other meeting. ERG members will have the opportunity to provide feedback on all meeting records before they are finalised.

All ERGs will be voluntary for industry and will include CASA and industry representatives.

8. Review

The Chair will, in conjunction with the Secretariat, ensure the ASAP Terms of Reference, structure and operation are reviewed at least once every two years.

Pip Spence PSM
Chief Executive Officer and Director of Aviation Safety