Our business

CASA is a government body that regulates aviation safety in Australia.

We license pilots, register aircraft, oversee aviation safety and promote safety awareness. We also make sure that the aviation community and the public use and administer Australian airspace safely. In July 1995, CASA was established as an independent statutory authority under the Civil Aviation Act 1988. We operate within a legislative framework made up of acts, regulations, associated legislative instruments and guidance material.

Our key objective is to conduct the safety regulation of civil air operation in Australian territory and the operation of Australian aircraft outside Australian territory. We achieve this objective through our core functions of guidance, entry control, surveillance and enforcement.

CASA is a medium-sized corporate Commonwealth entity with approximately 850 employees including technical aviation roles and non-aviation technical enabling functions. At the time of finalising this Stretch RAP, 27 employees identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and have declared that identity to the agency. This represents 3.1% of all CASA employees.

We developed our Regulatory Philosophy in 2015 in accordance with the Government’s response to the Aviation Safety Regulation Review (ASRR), and the importance of its implementation has been identified in the Ministerial Statement of Expectation since 2015. The Philosophy sets out the principles underpinning the way we perform our functions, exercise our power, and engage with the aviation community, all of which have direct relevance to our reconciliation journey and work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, organisations, and communities.

Our national headquarters is located on Country of the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people (Canberra), and we are geographically spread across Australia with offices on Country of the Kaurna (Adelaide), Turrbal/Yugara (Brisbane), Yidinji (Cairns), Larrakia (Darwin), Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung (Melbourne), Whadjuk Nyoongar (Perth), Gadigal (Sydney), and Gomeroi (Tamworth) peoples.

Published date: 5 July 2023
Online version available at: https://www.casa.gov.au//reconciliation-action-plan-2023-2026/our-business
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