CASA has published a Plain English Guide (PEG) on CASR Part 61 flight crew licencing for aeroplanes.
PEGs are one of the initiatives from the 2014 Aviation Safety Regulation Review (ASRR), designed to explain safety regulations in plain English rather than the legal language in which they are drafted.
CASA has already released several plain English guides including CASR Part 91 – operating rules and CAO 48.1 on fatigue management.
"The latest addition to CASA’s guidance material aims to make it easier and quicker for people to find, understand, and follow the relevant Part 61 rules," CASA says. "It brings together the regulations, manual of standards, exemptions, instruments and other guidance into a single publication."
According to CASA, the CASR Part 61 PEG will give pilots and flight instructors a better understanding of the licencing systems and enable them to :
- understand the purposes, functions and key concepts of licensing
- apply for a pilot licence, rating and endorsement
- understand the privileges and limitations of Part 61 licences, ratings and endorsements
- understand circumstances relating to other licences, ratings or endorsements, such as overseas and Australian Defence Force (ADF) recognition, aircraft radio operation and flying without a rating or endorsement.
CASR Part 61 was introduced in 2014, flagged as a reform to licencing rules that would bring about an increase in safety. However, problems plagued the regulations almost from the beginning, which resulted in CASA establishing a review task force one year later that also encompassed Parts 141 and 142 on training.
CASA expects to publish a PEG on the helicopter section of Part 61 before the end of this year.
Currently, the Part 61 PEG is available only as a soft-copy download from the CASA website, but the regulator has said printed hard copies should be available before the end of the year.