Set up your SMS

There are 4 main components to include in your SMS. These will provide the structure for creating a scalable SMS.

Safety policy and objectives

Policy is the foundation of your SMS.

It must include:

• safety priorities and goals
• management commitment to safety
• safety roles and responsibilities
• how you coordinate and respond to an emergency.

Tip: Make sure your staff can find and understand your safety policy.

To learn more:

• read Booklet 2 – Safety policy and objectives from our SMS resource kit
• watch our video on how strong safety policies and leadership embed SMS accountability.

Safety risk management

This is the core safety work.

Your safety risk management process must include:

• identifying hazards – what can go wrong
• analysing risks – likelihood and severity
• applying controls – ways to reduce risk
• recording decisions in a risk register.

Ask yourself:

• Do we report hazards consistently?
• Are we aware of all of our risks?
• How do we analyse risks?
• How do we monitor controls effectiveness?

To learn more:

• read Booklet 3 – Safety risk management from our SMS resource kit
• watch our video on the practical tools for identifying hazards and managing aviation risks
• check out our bowtie risk analysis and sector safety risk profiles.

Safety assurance

Safety assurance checks whether your SMS is working.

Activities include:

• monitoring safety performance
• measuring against safety targets
• internal audits and reviews
• continuous improvement planning.

To learn more:

• read Booklet 4 – Safety assurance from our SMS resource kit.
• watch our video on how safety assurance monitors performance and strengthens SMS.

Safety promotion

Safety is not static. It depends on people.

Safety promotion includes:

• training and education about your SMS
• clear safety communication
• sharing lessons from safety issues
• encouraging reporting without fear.

Tip: Reinforce safety messages in many formats, such as in briefings, bulletins, safety meetings and posters.

To learn more:

• read Booklet 5 – Safety promotion from our SMS resource kit
• watch our video on how safety promotion builds culture through training, communication and engagement.

A gap analysis shows where your current processes meet SMS requirements, and where they do not.

Use our helpful SMS gap analysis and implementation tool to:

• score each SMS area
• identify missing documentation or processes
• develop a plan and prioritise actions.

With your gap analysis results, you can create an implementation plan to fill any SMS shortfalls.

Safety belongs to everyone. But some roles have special responsibilities.

Typical safety roles include:

• chief executive officer
• safety manager
• operational key personnel, for example, head of flying operations, head of training and checking
• responsible managers
• committees
• staff representatives.

The chief executive officer and the safety manager both play a central role in your organisation's SMS. Together, they ensure the SMS is effectively managed and operating as intended.

Refer to our Safety Manager Guide for more information.

Map out your SMS in an SMS manual to address the four SMS framework components. This will help you apply it in a consistent way. Your SMS documentation also includes:

• safety policy
• risk assessment records
• hazard and risk register
• safety reports
• audit plans and records
• SMS training records.

For air transport or aerial work operators who relied on exemptions that delayed the introduction of your SMS, you must have an SMS in place by 2 December 2026.

CASA has developed 2 sample SMS manual versions to assist you implement and operate an SMS that is suitable for your operations. Each version of the CASA SMS manual addresses the SMS framework requirements and includes the following forms to manage the operation of your SMS and an emergency response plan (ERP):

• Safety Management System Manual for Part 119 and 138
• Micro-operator Safety Management System Manual (can only be used if accessing CASA EX##/26)
• CASA SMSM forms (SMS 1, SMS 2, SMS 3, SMS 4)
• Emergency response plan (ERP) template

Ensure your organisation's SMS documentation is accessible, explains the SMS clearly and integrates it into daily operations.

Develop safety reporting systems

A safety reporting system records hazards, risks and incidents. This provides data to help you stop them happening again. The reporting system must:

• be accessible and easy for staff to use
• be confidential and support staff to report without fear of punishment

provide timely feedback to staff when they report.

Safety doesn't happen on its own. It's shaped by people's actions. The right training will help your staff build safety into every day.

Create a training plan that covers:

• our SMS manual and how your SMS works
• SMS roles and responsibilities
• how to report safety issues and incidents
• identifying hazards
• assessing risks.

Schedule time to teach SMS topics, including safety briefings, meetings, workshops and during induction training.

Your internal safety culture is not static. Regular review helps you improve your SMS and embed documented safety practices in your workplace. Be sure to update you SMS manual as your safety practices evolve.

To strengthen your safety culture over time, you can:

• ensure senior management actively promote and use the SMS
• regularly encourage staff to report safety concerns and issues
• investigate safety concerns and provide feedback to staff
• measure and monitor safety performance against indicators and targets
• conduct regular internal safety audits
• share lessons learned through the SMS so staff feel motivated to be actively involved in the SMS.