Strategies of enforcement utilized by the Australian civil aviation regulatory body and their influence on safety

Abstract

Enforcement strategies utilized by the civil aviation safety regulator in Australia have to date, received scant attention from researchers. This thesis is a first attempt to look at such enforcement strategies and apply them to practical situations. It does so in an all embracing manner, taking into account the part played by aviation's historical origins, both international and domestic, that have led to the complex set of aviation safety regulations now in existence. It pays particular attention to the historical importance of Australia's former unique two-airline policy and the constitutional problems facing the early lawmakers dealing with a constitution written before the advent of aviation. It describes and examines regulatory theory as it relates to such enforcement strategies and attempts to bring together such theory with practice by applying it to practical examples. Finally it analyses how certain pressures and influences may have swayed the type of enforcement strategies pursued by the regulator at various times as these are evidenced in parliamentary inquiries and reported cases in the years since economic de-regulation of the aviation industry. The thesis puts forward the hypothesis that strategies of enforcement employed by the civil aviation regulatory authority have a profound effect on aviation safety. It contends that evidence drawn from inquiries and reported cases over a twenty-year period point to a regulator who prefers a compliance strategy of cooperation with industry, rather than a sanctioning or deterrence strategy. The thesis also emphasizes that the evidence drawn from various inquiries and coroner's inquests points to the fact that such a strategy, if it is lacking or seen to be lacking in adequate checks and balances, can pose an increased risk to aviation safety. Emphasis is placed on the need for the aviation safety regulator to be at all times cognizant of the dangers that are inherent in a compliance based enforcement strategy, especially where the regulator puts itself in 'partnership' with industry. A number of topics have been identified for further research. They include the need for a greater comparative analysis of enforcement strategies used by regulators in similarly aligned countries to Australia, the concept of regulatory 'capture' and a comparative inquiry into the sometimes ambiguous dual role of 'educator' and 'policeman' expected of the regulator.

Date of Award	2009
Original language	English