A milestone in Australian aviation was achieved on 25 April 2020, when the first regulatory certificate was issued to a self-administering sport and recreational aviation organisation under Part 149 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations.

Part 149 (approved self-administering aviation organisations) specifies the requirements for aviation administration organisations involved in sport and recreational aircraft activities.

The regulation commenced in July 2019, bringing a new approach to the safety regulation of sport and recreational aviation, with benefits for approved self-administering organisations and their members.

The first certificate was issued to the Australian Parachute Federation, a not-for-profit organisation that administers civilian parachuting and has responsibility for nearly 400,000 parachute descents a year.

The implementation of the regulation was made possible by the hard work of members of CASA’s General, Recreational and Sport Aviation section, who worked collaboratively with members of the self-administering sport and recreational aviation organisation sector.

This was a significant achievement for CASA and industry members of the sector. It is an example of the strong consultative process we have in place when developing and implementing regulations.