The Board of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) meets six times per calendar year to fulfil its obligations under Section 53 of the Civil Aviation Act 1988 to decide the objectives, strategies and policies to be followed by CASA; and to ensure that CASA performs its functions in a proper, efficient and effective manner.
The CASA Board met in Cairns on 20 April 2023. Prior to the meeting, the Board hosted an evening industry event where local aviation community members were invited to meet the Board to discuss any issues they wished to raise. We held discussions with attendees from all sectors of the aviation industry and it was great to hear people’s views in a relaxed, informal setting. We also presented one of our inaugural safety manager scholarships to Sean Innes, the Safety Advisor at Queensland’s McDermott Aviation. Our safety manager scholarships are awarded to promising individuals embarking on a career in this safety critical occupation.
CASA Board meetings follow a theme-based agenda focusing on organisational matters and operational matters that affect the aviation industry. The organisational matters centre around CASA’s corporate governance, financial position, the status of major projects, cyber security, organisational culture, WH&S and workforce planning. The Board received a briefing from the Chair of the People and Culture Sub-Committee and discussed matters relevant to CASA’s workforce. The Board also received standing reports from the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee and the Industry Complaints Commissioner.
Organisational matters were an area of focus and the Board received audit reports on CASA’s Risk Management Framework and cybersecurity. Both reports provided us with assurance that CASA has implemented appropriate frameworks of internal controls to manage these two critical governance components effectively. In particular, the Cybersecurity Framework is compliant with the requirements set out by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).
CASA’s Executive Management Team also provided updates on a range of operational initiatives. This included standing reports on the Operational Surveillance Framework under the National Model and the reporting of accidents and incidents to the Board. CASA has reviewed incident and accident data to determine the need for additional safety analysis and has now completed Sector Safety Risk Profile workshops (SSRPs) for several sectors. The Board will continue to monitor the outcomes of all completed SSRPs.
The Board received a brief on a number of current operational matters, including progress with the implementation of the Flight Operations Regulations. CASA is continuing to work on ways of spreading the workload and the timing of milestones for the implementation of the deferred provisions of the flight operations regulations to make it more manageable for both CASA and industry.
Following the meeting, the Board visited two local operations: Hinterland Aviation and the Cairns Aviation Skills Centre. The visits provided us with an excellent opportunity to hear first-hand the successes and challenges faced by operators in the current environment.
The next meeting will be held in Darwin on 22 June 2023.
Air Chief Marshal (Ret’d) Mark Binskin AC
Chair, CASA Board