In February 2024 ICAO completed its final report following a focussed aviation safety audit held in September 2023. The report reaffirmed that Australia has an effective aviation safety oversight system. The report highlighted areas where Australia could more fully realise the benefits of closer alignment with ICAO’s standards and practices and these areas will be responded to through corrective action plans agreed with ICAO and updates to our State Safety Program (SSP) and National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP) this year. ICAO also undertook a State Safety Programme Implementation Assessment in September 2023. ICAO assessed Australia as having a mature aviation safety system overall that proactively identifies, manages and mitigates safety risks.
Australia’s results can be viewed via the ICAO website.
Australia’s State Safety Programme (SSP) and National Aviation Safety Plan (NASP)
The SSP is the primary publication used to describe how Australia ensures the effectiveness of our aviation safety system. It is a summary of all Australian aviation safety-related legislation, risk management and assurance processes, as well as safety promotion mechanisms, that support Australia’s aviation safety system. The NASP summarises Australia’s safety-related activities and establishes Australia’s safety goals, safety risks and priorities for enhancement. The department, working closely with CASA and other aviation safety agencies, is in the process of updating our SSP and NASP. The department will be finalising drafts of these plans, taking into account ICAO’s recent recommendations, for industry and public consultation in the first half of this year. The Australian Government expects to publish the updated SSP and NASP in mid-2024.