Convert your GCAA licence to CASA
Holding a GCAA pilot licence and moving to Australia? Here's the full picture of converting to a CASA licence — the paperwork, exams, flight test, medical and English requirements at PPL, CPL and ATPL level, with links to CASA's official pages. Every requirement below is set by CASA, the authority issuing your new licence.
Starting from a GCAA licence
Every conversion begins on your side of it. Before CASA will credit anything you hold, it wants the licence confirmed as genuine and current by the authority that issued it — the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Ask for that early: it is outside your control, and it is the step that most often holds everything else up.
What GCAA licences are called
- 1.Student Pilot Licence
- 2.Private Pilot Licence (PPL)
- 3.Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL)
- 4.Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL)
The medical you hold now
A GCAA medical certificate from an approved aeromedical examiner. CASA will set its own medical standard — it is listed at each level below — and a certificate from GCAA does not automatically carry across.
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The CASA requirements, level by level
Everything CASA requires of a GCAA licence holder — application, theory exams, flight test, medical and English — at each licence level, grounded in CASA's official pages (linked below).
PPL — Private Pilot Licence
- Application & verification
- Apply via myCASA (flight crew licence on the basis of overseas qualifications — form 61-4A).
- Theory exams
- No mandatory conversion exams for a PPL (aeroplane or helicopter).
- Flight test
- No mandatory conversion flight test for the PPL.
- Medical
- Hold a current Australian Class 2 aviation medical.
- English proficiency
- Hold ICAO Aviation English Language Proficiency (AELP) Level 4+, or have ELP 4/5/6 annotated on your overseas licence.
CPL — Commercial Pilot Licence
- Application & verification
- You must already hold a valid CPL(A) or ATPL(A). Apply via myCASA on the overseas-qualifications form.
- Theory exams
- Pass the CHUF and COSA conversion exams within one ‘window’. CASA does not recognise foreign exam credits.
- Flight test
- Pass a CASA flight test.
- Medical
- Hold a current Australian Class 1 aviation medical.
- English proficiency
- ICAO AELP Level 4+ (or annotated on your licence).
ATPL — Airline Transport Pilot Licence
- Application & verification
- Apply via myCASA on the overseas-qualifications form.
- Theory exams
- Pass the AHUF and AOSA exams within one ‘window’, plus the IREX exam if not already passed.
- Flight test
- Pass a CASA flight test.
- Medical
- Hold a current Australian Class 1 aviation medical.
- English proficiency
- ICAO AELP Level 4+ (or annotated on your licence).
Requirements change — always confirm the current rules with CASA before you start. Official links below.
Planning your CASA conversion
Get the CASA paperwork moving first
Verification with your issuing authority gates the rest of the process, so lodge it before booking exams or tests. You must already hold a valid CPL(A) or ATPL(A). Apply via myCASA on the overseas-qualifications form.
Book the medical early
The medical gates your exams and skill test, and it's where surprises surface. Sitting it early means you find out about any issues before you've paid for training or test slots. For CASA commercial privileges: Hold a current Australian Class 1 aviation medical.
Keep your current licence and medical valid
Verification is done against a valid licence, and some routes stay tied to it after issue — letting it lapse mid-conversion can stall or unwind the process.
Confirm fees on CASA's official pages
You'll typically pay separately for the application, each theory exam, the medical examination and the skill test. Amounts change — use the official links on this page for current fee schedules.
You'll need your hours in CASA format
CASA wants your experience presented the way it recognises it. AvLog is a free logbook laid out to CASA Part 61 — it totals PIC, night, instrument, cross-country and time on type, and checks your recency against CASA's own rules. No sign-up, opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers.
Get the free CASA logbookWork through it step by step
AvLink's interactive converter turns this guide into your own checklist for any licence and country pair — tick off each requirement as you go, and see the Australia roles you'd qualify for on the other side.
Open the interactive converterOfficial CASA sources
GCAA → CASA: frequently asked questions
Do I have to retake theory exams to convert my GCAA licence to CASA?
For a commercial licence: Pass the CHUF and COSA conversion exams within one ‘window’. CASA does not recognise foreign exam credits. PPL and ATPL theory requirements differ — see the level-by-level breakdown on this page.
Do I need a flight test (skill test) for a CASA commercial licence?
Pass a CASA flight test. Requirements at PPL and ATPL level are listed above.
What medical do I need to convert to a CASA licence?
For commercial privileges: Hold a current Australian Class 1 aviation medical. For private privileges: Hold a current Australian Class 2 aviation medical.
Does my ICAO English proficiency transfer to CASA?
ICAO AELP Level 4+ (or annotated on your licence).
How do I apply to convert my GCAA licence to CASA?
You must already hold a valid CPL(A) or ATPL(A). Apply via myCASA on the overseas-qualifications form. The official CASA pages linked on this page cover the current forms and process.
While your conversion is underway
Get Australia roles that match your licence — emailed weekly
Conversions take months. Line up the seat while you work through the CASA requirements: tell us your hours and ratings once, and we'll send the roles you actually qualify for as they post.
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Want this mapped for your licence?
A GCAA → CASA plan, written around your hours
Which of the requirements above you still have to meet, which your GCAA licence exempts you from, what your logged hours already cover, and the order to do it in — with a realistic cost and timeline.