CASA announced last week that five sports aviation bodies (SAB) had successfully been awarded CASR Part 149 certificates as Approved Self-administering Aviation Organisations (ASAO).
Part 149 was written to obsolete a raft of exemptions that permitted SABs to administer sectors of sport and recreational aviation, replacing them with approvals.
With the deadline for transition to Part 149 passing on 2 December, CASA has declared the regulatory reform complete.
The five organisations are:
- Australian Parachute Federation (APF)
- Australian Sport Rotorcraft Association (ASRA)
- Gliding Federation of Australia (GFA)
- Recreational Aviation Australia (RAAus)
- Sports Aviation Federation of Australia (SAFA).
Sports aviation activities that are not covered by a Part 149 ASAO will be administered by CASA for the future, such as the Australian Ballooning Federation (ABF), which informed CASA that it would no longer be administering recreational ballooning.
Similarly, the SAAA opted out of Part 149 in 2019 after CASA informed them that the new regulations contained no functions that the SAAA could perform. The SAAA has been a vocal critic of the Part 149 system, saying that CASA should take control of all administering functions within aviation.
"CASA has worked closely with the transitioning SABs, ensuring a smooth transition to the new rules," a CASA statement says.
"We would like to thank the organisations – APF, ASRA, GFA, RAAus and SAFA – and their devoted staff and volunteers for their dedication and commitment to meeting the transition timeframe and moving to the new regulatory scheme."
Initially, CASA was working with nine SABs on the transition to Part 149, but with the deadline now expired, CASA says the program has been "successfully completed."