With only six months to go to the deadline, CASA has confirmed that it has managed to approve only 38% of all flying school applications for CASR Part 141 or 142 approval.
All Australian training organisations must change over to the new Part 141 (non-integrated training) or 142 (integrated training) by 31 August 2018.
Figures released to Australian Flying show that CASA has approved 38 schools since the first transitions started 12 months ago, and is currently working on a further 61 submissions. At the current rate of approval, only 20 more schools will have completed the move before the deadline passes.
CASA has planned submission dates for a further 120 organisations, but unless the approval rate is lifted significantly, this almost guarantees a glut of work when the deadline expires.
A CASA spokesperson said they were confident that the 61 submissions being worked on would be done on time, but was not so sure about the 120 still to be submitted.
"The balance of course depends on when they get their applications in," the spokesperson said, "but we do have planned submission dates. Plus the quality of the applications. We are working confidently to get all that are submitted in time finished as required."
CASA has also said that 75 organisations have elected not to transition, mostly because the school has become inactive or because it held multiple approvals and now needs only one.
Part 141 organisations are today's independent flying schools and aero clubs, which are finding transitions difficult due cost or lack of expertise or resources. Part 142 organisations are generally flying academies that can offer students the 150-hour CPL syllabus and require significant additional management and systems compared with Part 141.