A survey report has shown that general aviation in Australia has deep concerns over mental health that are not being adequately addressed.
Published this week, the survey by Navigating Aviation and Bastion Insights collected responses from 411 people working in GA, and resulted in five key conclusions relating to mental health, including:
- 76% of GA workers are concerned about mental health
- the GA community needed to address a culture of silence
- younger workers need greater levels of support
- more than half of workers feel that working in GA adversely effects mental health
- most workers fear that mental health issue will impact career prospects.
Navigating Aviation founder Angela Garvey said mental health support for the GA sector had been ignored in the past.
"Historically, mental health and wellbeing initiatives in aviation have been driven from the top down, with much of the focus placed on the airline sector," she said.
"This has often meant the needs of general aviation have been overlooked, despite its pivotal role as the foundation of the industry and the starting point for many aviation careers.
"People across a wide range of roles such as flight training, engineering, maintenance, operations, and management, often begin in GA before moving into more senior positions, including within the airlines."
Navigating Aviation received funding through the Women in the Aviation Industry Initiative led by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications, Sport and the Arts. CASA also contributed money to the project through its Safety Promotion Scholarship.
“My overall goal in this project was to advocate for change in the management of and attitude toward culture and mental health challenges in GA – from the grassroots up,” Garvey said.
The survey results and conclusion has led to Navigating Aviation making five recommendations to the GA industry and community to rectify the situation.
- Integrate psychosocial hazard management into SMS in line with Safe Work Australia legislation
- Collaborate with aviation-specific mental health programs that reduce stigma and improve psychosocial hazard management
- Advocate for mental health awareness to be embedded in foundational aviation training, human factors programs, and CASA oversight and regulation
- Embrace psychosocial leadership training that incorporates diversity and inclusion
- Commit to monitoring, research, and integration of good practices into safety systems while strengthening the responsibilities and accountability of key people.
Before making the survey results public, Garvey briefed key industry stakeholders including After briefing key industry stakeholders, through a multi-step communication process, including the ATSB, RAAA, the General Aviation Advisory Network (GAAN), and CASA.
The full report is available from the Navigating Aviation website.