Governance

Board Communique 28 August 2020 The Board of Directors of RAAus met by video conference on Saturday 22 August 2020. Directors put in place administrative processes to ensure the effective and smooth transition to the post-election Board which will include the newly elected Directors. As a result of COVID-19 and the delayed RAAus AGM, now set for 27 February 2021, it was important RAAus mapped a pathway to allow any newly elected director the opportunity to discharge their duties prior to the AGM given that vacancies from retiring Directors will exist. The process will see the two directors elected as part of the current election cycle being inducted and filling casual vacancies until the AGM when they will begin their 3 year term of office. This process is consistent with the RAAus constitution.

Directors approved minor changes to our Operations Manual and Occurrence and Complaints Handling Manual (OCHM) to ensure consistency of language and compliance with Part 149 requirements. Changes to the Operations Manual won’t be effective until RAAus receives a Part 149 certificate and changes to the OCHM will be updated on our website in the coming weeks. Members will be advised of all changes to the Operations Manual once Part 149 status has been confirmed by CASA. The Operations Manual changes are minor in nature and largely deal with nomenclature. Directors finalised a review of system anomalies that occurred in 2019 and were discovered as part of our internal audit procedures. Directors were briefed at the time, and a thorough investigation using external assistance was undertaken. Two of the affected accounts belonged to directors and these people were excluded from the investigation process to remove any potential conflict. The board is satisfied that the anomalies were of a limited nature, that no harm or benefit had come to the individuals involved and that the integrity, and more importantly the privacy, of our members was not adversely affected. The nature of the incident was such that it did not meet the legal thresholds to be considered as an eligible breach which triggers statutory reporting requirements. Despite there being no legal obligation to do so, system changes were made to add a further layer of security to our data and systems, all affected people were notified and internal security procedures have been strengthened. The audit processes that brought this incident to light continue to be used. The board has also undergone an evaluation and review exercise. This process, while impacted by COVID-19, has now been completed. The Board of Directors will soon issue a statement to all members regarding the outcome of this review, with further details to be included in our annual report. This review also resulted in minor changes to our governance policies and will also result in changes to our board committee structure. Relevant documents will be updated in due course. Directors received reports from the Chair, Chair of Risk and Performance Committee, and the CEO. Topics discussed included strategic meetings with advisory panels, financial reports for the financial year ending 30 June 2020, Part 149, HR and recruitment. The board was also advised of advocacy efforts. This includes our most recent efforts to improve access to aviation services at Warnervale through meetings with airport residents, local councils and the NSW Government.

The Board also discussed RAAus’ accident investigation policy. Currently RAAus is often invited to assist with an accident investigation by the police or coroner, usually in the absence of any other agency taking a lead role. Whereas RAAus believes this is not ideal, it does provide expert analysis from our trained investigators and is a model that affords our membership with an opportunity to gain access to safety related issues, albeit in a limited capacity and lengthy delays. RAAus will continue to work with the government, ATSB and CASA as we explore a model that affords members greater access to the results of accident investigations. Directors will meet again in October via video conference.

2020 Election Results 22 October 2020

RAAus is pleased to announce the results of our 2020 Director Elections. Each elected Director will serve a three year term from the end of our 2020 AGM. RAAus received four nominations for the two positions available. During the voting period (1 August 2020 to 25 September 2020) a total of 606 eligible ballot papers were mailed in. Due to COVID and delays in the mail system, RAAus undertook counting ballots on two

occasions. An initial count on 6 October and a further count on 13 October 2020. RAAus appointed Norton Rose Fulbright as an independent scrutineer. From the 606 valid ballots a total of 1,159 votes were cast. Remembering that each member could vote for a director in each of the vacant positions, so a total of up to two choices per member was allowed. Votes were cast as follows:

Board Communique 18 November 2020

The Board of Directors of RAAus met by video conference on Saturday 7 November 2020. Governance Matters The board welcomed newly elected Director Andrew Scheiffers, as well as welcoming back Michael Monck who was re-elected. Having been elected, Michael and Andrew take up their three-year term at the conclusion of our AGM, which has been delayed until February 2021. To ensure the business of RAAus continues, both directors were appointed to casual vacancies in accordance with our constitution until they commence their three-year term. Recently appointed Company Secretary Bradley Shallies was also welcomed. Michael Monck was elected as Chair of the Board and Luke Bayly was elected as Deputy Chair. CEO Michael Linke, who will depart RAAus on Friday 27 November 2020, presented his final CEO Report. The board also received reports from the Chair as well as committee reports. Directors approved changes to the Conflict of Interest protocols to ensure RAAus remains at the contemporary edge of good governance. These changes are reflected in the overarching Governance Policies, which are being progressively reviewed in coming months. Members can view RAAus’ Governance Policies here which will be updated to reflect the board approved amendments. Membership Matters Directors formally approved a new class of membership, to be called Affiliate Members. This class of membership is a low cost way for people to remain connected with RAAus. Benefits include continuing digital access to the member’s portal, digital communication and Sport Pilot delivery. The affiliate membership category does not confer any flight or maintenance privileges. The affiliate membership category does not carry any voting rights. Directors also approved a national membership and marketing drive to be launched in early 2021. The purpose of this drive is two fold. Firstly, to attract new members to RAAus, which in turn will assist our flight training schools. RAAus recognises the impact COVID has had on our flight training schools, especially those in Victoria in recent months, and as such RAAus will be offering incentives for new members.

Secondly, RAAus has established an event support fund. Affiliated clubs, RAAus Flight Training Schools, airports with recreational activities and associated event organisers can apply for event support funding of up to $5,000 (total pool $60,000). More news on this program will be circulated to all members shortly. Directors agreed to partner with the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economic (BITRE) for the purposes of accurately recording our aircraft flight hours. This information is useful to demonstrate the role that RAAus and its members play in the aviation sector. Aircraft owners will be contacted by BITRE with a view to tabulating this data. RAAus can assure members of the security of their information and that only tabulated deidentified data will be used in the survey. Participation by RAAus members is voluntary. Discussion Matters Directors discussed the current Senate Enquiry into aviation and is in the process of preparing a response. Directors were briefed by the CEO on current discussions around accident investigation reports. RAAus has for many years held the view that the ATSB is best placed as the national body responsible for accident investigations. However as a result of government budgeting and funding constraints, the bulk of recreational aviation aircraft accidents are left to RAAus to investigate, following an invitation to assist from the local police or coroner. As a result of this

Governance (cont.)

invitation, RAAus is legally bound to work wholly inside the requirements of the Coroner’s office, which means any report prepared cannot be made public by RAAus. RAAus has, and will continue, to advise members and interested stakeholders, of any safety related matters that become apparent during any accident investigation. The maximum take off weight increase should be going to public consultation shortly. RAAus has been working with CASA on the final stages of the revised regulation. RAAus is well advanced in our preparation for transition to Part 149 with much of the ground work now completed. Directors will meet again in February. This meeting will coincide with the annual general meeting. RAAus hopes to host this meeting in person, however will consider health advice in place at the time.

Board of Directors

Michael Monck (Chair) Bachelor of Economics (First Class Honours) (Adel) Masters of Business Admin (MBS) GAICD Director RAAus (~7 years) Director Funflight Ltd Director Lockr Life Pty Ltd ASTM F37 Light Sport Aircraft Technical Committee General Aviation Advisory Network Previous Aviation Safety Advisory Panel RAAus & CASA issued flight authorities

Luke Bayly (Deputy Chair) Bachelors Engineering (mech) Bachelors Finance MBA Reliability Engineer Management/leadership Failure/Root cause analysis 4 years Director RAAus

Trevor Bange Certificate in Nursing GFA Qld. Training courses Director GFA Qld Technical Officer Airworthiness Darling Downs Sport Aircraft Assn. Inc. Committee member 45 years – mostly as treasurer RAAus CFI RAAus ROC Darling Downs Soaring Club Justice of The Peace (Qld) GFA Fred Hoinville Award 2003 Director of Health Employees Credit Union (Chairman for 3 years)

Barry Windle B AG S (Adel) Dip Hort Sci (Sydney) 8 years Director and Deputy Chair CRCNPB Ltd 7 years Director/Executive Director PIRSA SA Government 4 years Director RAAus

Paul Tyrrell Bachelor of Arts Grad Diploma in Education Registered Psychologist RAAus and Gliding instructor ratings Deputy Chair of the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame Past CEO of the Regional Aviation Association Past Chair of Airport Coordination Australia Past CEO of two national NGOs, and one international NGO Past Chief of Staff to a federal Minister

Andrew Scheiffers BA – Information Systems UNSW/ADFA RMC (Duntroon) Graduate ATPL Flying Instructor

Rod Birrell No response provided

Eugene Reid No response provided