The results of a survey done between 28 August last year and 18 January this year show that the aviation industry has low satisfaction levels when it comes to dealing with CASA.
The survey, conducted by Colmar Brunton, comprised of 40 in-depth interviews with aviation people, five mini-groups held with CASA staff and the responses of 1217 stakeholders done on-line. The results were posted on the CASA website this morning, along with a response document.
"Overall stakeholder satisfaction is relatively low compared to similar customer or stakeholder relationship surveys undertaken across other government agencies," Colmar Brunton states in its conclusions.
"Notwithstanding CASA’s role as regulator of the sector (which is acknowledged and respected by most stakeholders), the findings suggest stakeholders feel that within this context the relationship between the organisation and industry could be improved.
"While satisfaction with CASA service delivery overall was relatively low, those with direct interactions with CASA staff over the past twelve months provided higher average satisfaction ratings with these interactions, suggesting more recent efforts to improve service are having a positive impact.
"It is important to note that for the majority of more frequent interactions or transactions stakeholders have with CASA – such as licence applications or renewals – the expected timeframe for completion of these interactions was two weeks.
Among other conclusions, Colmar Brunton found that stakeholders felt that:
- there is not enough industry consultation on regulation changes
- CASA staff don't understand the impact of regulatory changes sufficiently
- communication needs improvement
- current regulatory settings and best practices are not aligned
- CASA is not proactive enough in identifying and communicating best practices
- CASA decision-making lacks consistency
Colmar Brunton also noted that many stakeholder indicated they were unwilling to disclose breaches of air safety regulation because of fears CASA will respond in a heavy-handed manner.
"We believe the findings from this study provide a clear mandate for CASA to reform its current ways of operating to drive an improved relationship with industry," Colmar Brunton stated.
Along with the survey results, CASA also released an action plan based on the responses. Among the actions are:
- training courses for inspectors
- targetted competency training for CASA's workforce
- updating and revising key manuals to make them consistent
- culture change to drive continuous improvement
- developing a service charter and improving the service centre
- an internal peer review process
- invitations to volunteers from the aviation community to help CASA identify unintended consequences from regulation
- a new position of Industry Relations Office to liaise with associations and peak bodies
"CASA will continue to work to improve its relationship with industry through the activities outlined in this action plan and its ongoing work as the regulator and service provider," the regulator concluded.
"Its progress over time will be measured every two years through the same survey and a comparison of findings with previous surveys. CASA is committed to improving its relationship with industry while maintaining the highest standard of aviation safety."
Both the detailed survey and the action plan can be downloaded by clicking on the links below.