Airservices Australia ’s mission is “to be the preferred global partner for air traffic and related aviation services”. As reflected in our mission statement, this objective is dependent on “keeping safety first”. Our commitment to maintain and where practical enhance our safety performance and systems, and assure that safety is our most important consideration, is reflected in the legalisation which governs us, and the ethos of our staff, Executive, Board, stakeholders and customers.

This commitment is published in our corporate Safety Policy.

Airservices Australia ’s Safety Management System (SMS) is integral to our operations. The SMS is three strands of requirements which help us:

• Achieve good safety outcomes;
• Assure good safety outcomes; and
• Promote safety.

Achievement

 Rigorous competency requirements and documented safety responsibilities for staff, assessment of the safety implications of any change to our systems, procedures and services, understanding the hazards we face and monitoring risk controls, are just some of the means by which Airservices Australia achieves its good safety record.

Assurance

A multi-faceted safety surveillance model is at the heart of our organisation. This model includes incident investigation, trend analysis, systemic review and internal audit. We are also subject to regular assessment by our regulators to assure that we meet the applicable safety regulations for our Air Traffic Control, Technical Maintenance, Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting and Procedures Design services.

Promotion

Airservices Australia ’s safety promotion activities have found an internal and external focus. We work with our customers through data exchange and biannual forums to address safety issues of mutual concern, we work with our regulators to promote understanding of operational requirements and develop training aids for pilots.

Safety Network

An internal network of safety professionals, Executive Managers and Board members assures that Airservices Australia’s oversight of safety is considered at all levels and in all areas of the organisation.

A Vision for the future

 Airservices Australia must contend with a number of competing demands in the coming years, these include increased traffic and larger aircraft. All the demands must be tackled in a way which assures that we maintain our world leading safety performance, while retaining our focus on the need for continual improvement in what we do and how we do it. To this end, the organisation had developed a strategic safety agenda, which provides a focus for the organisation for the coming years. The initiatives which the organisation is to implement on an annual basis are published in a Corporate Safety Plan, with our past achievements in the safety arena also being indicated.