CEO Report I’m pleased to present the annual report for FY20-21 and the financial results therein. It’s a particularly impressive result given the uncertainty that COVID-19 has imposed on us all.
Had this not occurred I am confident our national growth during the year would have been greater still thanks to the resilience and continued enthusiasm of our members.
Having joined RAAus half-way through this financial year it was comforting to know that the Board had adopted a conservative budget for the year and that it allowed for flexibility, depending on how the year progressed. Although the organisation had budgeted for a deficit, the modest surplus achieved resulted from both prudent financial management and also a significant - and not entirely anticipated bounce-back in financial memberships.
Fortunately, the year wasn’t completely dominated with COVID-19 and whilst we all started feeling a sense of normality, your team at RAAus was extremely busy completing our CASR Part 149 application. The completion of this work saw RAAus being the second Part 149 Approved Sport Aviation Organisation (ASAO) in the country. On his final day with the organisation in late-November, Michael Linke, former RAAus CEO, was presented with the RAAus Part 149 Certificate from the then CASA Director of Aviation Safety, Mr Shane Carmody. This certificate gives us our licence to operate, provides us with a clear understanding of our regulated responsibilities and, in operationalising the certificate, ensure we have the systems, processes and people in-place to enable our members to participate in safe and informed aviation activities.
In the latter months of the previous financial year, we saw financial memberships decline significantly because of the COVID-19 lockdowns in place across the country. As these lockdowns were progressively lifted and we returned to somewhat of a normal life, we saw a bounce back of memberships by approximately 3.6%. Of course, due to the second extended lockdown in Victoria we didn’t experience as much as a recovery there as we would have liked.
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