Staffing changes driven by push for better safety

Major changes are being made to the location and allocation of staff within the Civil Aviation Safety Authority.

Nearly all staff working within the Air Transport and General Aviation operations groups will be located in front-line field offices in the future where they can make the greatest impact on aviation safety.

Up to 65 positions in Canberra will be abolished, with new positions being created in Brisbane and CASA's other field offices around the nation.   These changes will be implemented by mid 2007.

At the same time, CASA is closing its NSW Country field office based at Canberra airport by the end of 2006 and is moving towards closing its Townsville field office.

Chief executive officer Bruce Byron says the creation of new positions outside Canberra is one part of a strategy to improve the safety performance of the aviation regulator.

“The strategy is focussing CASA even more clearly on safety outcomes in the passenger carrying sectors of the aviation industry,” Mr Byron says.

“To do this we need to have staff in locations where there is the most aviation activity and where they can provide the greatest support for passenger operations.

“Canberra is not a major aviation centre so it is far more appropriate to have these operational staff at our new Brisbane operational headquarters and in other front-line offices around the nation.

“Brisbane is to become the headquarters for our two main operational groups that cover air transport and general aviation operations because it is a growing aviation centre.

“The level and type of work being done in the Canberra-based NSW Country office has changed and CASA no longer requires a separate office at this location.   Safety oversight of regional NSW will be managed from Sydney and Brisbane in the future.

“I want to make it very clear this is not a cost cutting or job shedding exercise.   CASA is simply moving its resources to locations where they can make the greatest impact on the safety of passenger carrying operations.

“CASA already plays a vital role in maintaining Australia's enviable high level of aviation safety in partnership with the aviation industry, and we are working to find new ways to be even more effective by carrying out improved surveillance and checking on aviation operations.”

Summary of CASA’s 2006-07 reforms

Effectiveness

• Review of people in key management positions across CASA to ensure the right people are in the right jobs
• Focus on bringing in a wider range of staff skills (e.g. safety management, project management, information analysis, policy development).
• Creation of a new role, the safety system specialist, who in contrast to current inspectors, will not be selected on the basis of their background as pilots or maintenance engineers but rather their knowledge of safety systems.
• Creation of special teams to provide revised and increased independent oversight of low capacity passenger carrying operations.

Efficiency – resource allocations

• Headquarter functions of both the Air Transport Operations and General Aviation Operations groups will be moved to Brisbane.
• Most Air Transport and General Aviation group positions in Canberra will be abolished, affecting up to 65 positions.   Under current plans, the Airways and Aerodromes section will remain in Canberra.
• New positions will be created in Brisbane and CASA's other field offices as resources are freed up by the abolition of positions in Canberra.
• Closure of the NSW Country field office in Canberra.
• The movement of management functions from the Townsville field office to the Cairns field office, with the Townsville office closing in the longer term.
• Consolidation of operational control of general aviation field offices.   Management of operations to be controlled from Darwin, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, with Sydney continuing to act as a separate general aviation field office.
• CASA's Service Centre in Brisbane, will in the longer term, become the entry point for all requests for regulatory services that are currently being handled by the Air Transport and General Aviation field offices and the Manufacturing, Certification, and New Technologies offices (MCANTO).
• Delegation, where opportunities exist, of tasks currently undertaken by the manufacturing, Certification and New Technologies office and reduction in reporting lines, most significantly in the certification and manufacturing areas.   Changes to be implemented by the end of the year.
• Options explored for the delegation of the evaluation process of licensed aircraft maintenance engineers licence applications, prior to issuing their approvals.
• Options explored for the outsourcing of the maintenance examination process to an industry service provider.
• Redefining of Legal Services group as a support resource, rather than a core operational area, resulting in the relocation of three legal counsel positions from field offices to Canberra and an overall reduction of legal counsel positions by two.   These changes will be completed by the end of this year.

Industry relations

• Adoption of the European model as a starting point for the new Australian maintenance regulations.   Finalising of the new maintenance suite, aerial work applications and the sport aviation package by the end of this year and the remaining rules to be finished next year.
• The regulations themselves will be simpler, shorter and outcome based while small CASA/industry teams will develop “acceptable means of compliance”.
• Establishment of an Industry Complaints Commissioner within CASA to provide the aviation industry with an additional way of having decisions reviewed.
• Relocation of six staff within the Safety promotion area of the Personnel Licensing, Education and Training group from Canberra to field offices and creation of “field safety advisor” positions.