Aviation - Defence Flight Instructor

The aviation industry faces a pressing shortage of flight instructors. Australian Defence flight instructors are highly qualified, but their extensive military training isn't fully recognised by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) when they transition to civil airlines. This necessitates further examinations and training which incurs significant time and financial costs. 

Addressing the critical shortage of flight instructors in civil airlines. is vital for industry’s growth and safety. Through this project, ISA will engage with CASA, the Defence Aviation Safety Authority (DASA), and industry experts to identify the existing barriers and offer recommendations and potentially a framework to streamline the transition of defence flight instructors to civil aviation. This project will also consider the feasibility of incorporating other defence aviation-related careers which require meeting CASA’s requirements for transition into civil airlines.  

The project will aim to identify the challenges with the recognition of defence flight instructors’ training by CASA when transitioning to civil aviation. Key deliverables of the project include:  

• A set of recommendations to be delivered to CASA for consideration 
• A proposed framework through which defence flight instructor training can be better recognised by CASA