The Aviation Services Accreditation Support Program provides financial assistance to Australia’s aviation industry to assist with the impact of COVID-19. A significant portion of aviation ground handling staff have not worked since March 2020 and due to this long period of negligible flying activity, the ground handling workforce are likely to require retraining and reaccreditation to ensure safety standards are maintained for all flights. Noting that ground handling organisations service all aspects of aviation, the Program will provide capped grants to eligible businesses to contribute to mandatory training, certification, and accreditation of ground handling workers essential for the operation of aircraft. Training support would be available for both new and existing employees, as required to support aviation recovery. 

Click here for more information. 

Following industry consultation and research, Australian Industry Standards (AIS) have released Industry Outlooks for 2021 for the following sectors:

• Aviation
• Maritime
• Rail
• Transport & Logistics

The Australian government is to develop an air traffic control-style system for drones, which will be created in collaboration with Defence, Airservices and CASA. It will also include a new National Drone Detection Network that will use sensors to monitor the devices and safeguard privacy, noise and their use at cultural sites. It aims to begin initial operations in 2023. ​

​The Australian Industry Skills Committee (AISC) has recently released Cases for Change for Rail, Aviation, Transport and Logistics, Maritime, and Defence sectors. ​​This work is aimed at ensuring qualifications, Skill Sets and Units of Competency reflect current technologies, industry practices, and regulations and requires industry feedback required by Tuesday, 11 May 2021 for all sectors. 
 
As always, if you are providing comment, please send a copy of your feedback to the LDSC so that we can ensure feedback from WA Stakeholders has been taken into account during the consultation process.

​The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) agreed in December 2020 to the immediate deletion of a number of training products (i.e. qualifications) from the national vocational education and training (VET) register. 

On behalf of the Transport and Logistics IRC, Australian Industry Standards (AIS) is holding a webinar about emerging trends for your industry, cross-sector issues, and proposed qualification changes to support workforce needs.
 
Register here to join the Aviation webinar on 15 March 2021. Hear from the Industry Reference Committee about current industry challenges and its role in addressing skills needs, and the AIS Skills Specialist about proposed qualification changes.
 
AIS is keen to hear your ideas and feedback to ensure qualifications and skills standards deliver real outcomes for industry.
 
Be a part of AIS’ Industry Skills 360 Series of webinars by visiting the AIS Engagement Hub and see how you can provide feedback.

If you fly a drone or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) for business or as part of your job, drone registration and operator accreditation are required by 28 January 2021.
 
Penalties will apply for flying an unregistered RPA or without an operator accreditation (or remote pilot licence) for commercial purposes from this date. 

Click here for more details.

In response to a direction from Skills Ministers, the Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) has agreed to delete 975 units of competency and 46 qualifications identified as having zero enrolments over the past three years. The training products will be deleted from the national register by mid-February 2021.​