[Peetwo]

Q/ Is the ICC beholden to the Hoodoo Voodoo?

ASRR Recommendation 37:

37. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority amends the current Terms of Reference of the Industry Complaints Commissioner so that:

a. the ICC reports directly to the CASA Board
b. no CASA staff are excluded from the ICC’s jurisdiction
c. the ICC will receive complaints that relate to both the merits and the process of matters
d. on merits matters, including aviation medical matters, the ICC is empowered to convene an appropriately constituted review panel, chaired by a CASA non-executive director, to review the decision
e. while all ICC findings are non-binding recommendations, the original decision-maker is required to give reasons to the CASA Board if a recommendation is not followed.   

Of all the Forsyth report recommendations it could be argued that No.37 is the most important for CASA to be compliant with. The significance of an effective ICC was also strongly reiterated at Para 3 ©. in the former Minister Truss SOE to the Board of CASA:

3.        ensure that CASA, in performing its functions:

© considers recommendations by the Industry Complaints Commissioner (ICC) about systemic issues arising from the ICC’s investigations;

Coupled with the requirement from the former Minister for CASA to comply with R37, apparently the new ICC has been very proactive in embracing the principles and improving the effectiveness of his position. Perhaps this improvement in performance is best reflected in the recent figures released by CASA in their 'External Scrutiny' webpage:

Complaints

Complaints-handling mechanisms

The Industry Complaints Commissioner (ICC) offers industry a transparent and accessible mechanism for making complaints about the administrative actions or services provided by CASA staff, delegates or authorised persons.

The ICC reviews the complaints to determine whether the actions or services were wrong, unjust, unlawful, discriminatory or unfair. The ICC operates within governance arrangements that support a complaints-handling process aimed at resolving problems between members of the industry and CASA officers and ensuring that any deficiencies in CASA’s processes and procedures are identified and rectified.

In line with the Government’s response to the ASRR’s recommendation 37, the ICC now reports directly to the CASA Board.

Complaints in 2014–15

In 2014–15, the ICC received 124 complaints, a reduction compared to 2013–14, when 135 complaints were received. Of the complaints received in 2014–15, 75 were investigated by the ICC, 37 were referred to other areas of CASA and 12 complaints about the aviation industry were not within CASA’s jurisdiction.

The number of out-of-jurisdiction complaints decreased significantly (by 71.4 per cent), from 42 in 2013–14 to 12 in 2014–15. This may be attributable, in part, to the ongoing availability of the online aviation information resource centre.

As in previous years, the majority of complaints (64.5 per cent) related to the activities of the Industry Permissions Division (39) and Operations Division (41).

Complaints for the Industry Permissions Division decreased (by 48.7 per cent), from 76 in 2013–14 to 39 in 2014–15. Complaints for the Operations Division remained fairly constant, with 45 complaints in 2013–14 and 41 in 2014–15.

Of the 39 complaints received for the Industry Permissions Division, 18 related to aviation medicine.

Figure 10 shows the complaints received by CASA from 2012–13 to 2014–15 and the categories into which those complaints fell.

Figure 10 Complaints, by category, 2012–13 to 2014–15

Also in line with ASRR recommendation 37 in May the CASA Board released their latest 'Governance Arrangements' for the ICC.

Which is all well and good but apparently there is a component of those governance arrangements that is being arrogantly subverted by the former Associate Director of Aviation Safety but still?? Chair of the Ethics & Conduct Committee and last major proponent of the unofficially recognised CASA Iron Ring.

Para 3.2 of the Board GA for ICC:

3.2 Reports to the Ethics and Conduct Committee

The ICC will prepare a report for each meeting of the E&CC in such form and addressing such matters as are specified from time to time by the Chair of the E&CC.

   
Okay joining the dots, the following is from what I assume ( i.e. only available record) is an un-amended (since 2013) 'Terms of Reference' for the E&CC:

2. Composition

2.1 The E&CC is comprised of six (6) permanent members and one or more non-permanent members.

2.2 The permanent members are:

2.2.1 the Associate Director of Aviation Safety (Chair of the E&CC);

2.2.2 the Deputy Director of Aviation Safety

2.2.3 the Manager, Governance Systems Branch

2.2.4 the Head, People and Performance

2.2.5 the General Counsel; and

2.2.6 the Industry Complaints Commissioner

2.3 Non-permanent members include Executive Manager(s) of the relevant CASA Division(s), having regard to the issues to hand. The E&CC will determine which Executive Managers, if any, should participate as a non-permanent member in respect of any particular matter.

At 2.2.1, the ADAS position does not exist anymore and if Jeff Boyd as Chair of the Board is serious in complying with R37 he needs to appoint a new Chair of the E&CC, who does not have a serious conflict of interest, with a repetitive history of embuggerance on industry such as Dr Aleck...

9.2 Where the E&CC finds a provision of a relevant CASA policy to be irreconcilably inconsistent with a provision of these Terms of Reference or a procedure developed by pursuant to section 6 above, these Terms of Reference shall prevail, subject to any contrary determination by the Director of Aviation Safety.

Mr Boyd while your amending the ToR for the E&CC, you need to get your fellow Board member Ms Stone, without Hoodoo Voodoo's influence, to reconstitute the ToR so that clause 9.2 does not confer ultimate power to the E&CC, rather that power should go to the ICC with the overseeing governance of the Board - just saying...  


MTF...P2