Know Drone Rules

Flying your drone recreationally can give you endless hours of fun with friends and family.  
But break the rules and you could end up with a hefty penalty from CASA.

Flying drones for recreational fun in Australia is governed by the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations Part 101. 

Simple rules to keep the skies safe

• Only fly during daylight hours and avoid fog and clouds
• Keep your aircraft in sight at all times ***
• Stay at least 30 metres away from vehicles, boats, buildings or people
• Avoid heavily populated areas such as parks or beaches
• Fly under 120 metres in controlled airspace such as city skies
• Stay at least 5.5km away from airfields and aerodromes
• Fly in control at all times
• Remember if you’re flying for money – get certified!

Any aircraft flown for commercial, government or research purposes needs to be certified. Specifically, you need an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) controller's certificate and an unmanned operator's certificate (UOC). Flying commercially without certification is illegal and could lead to penalties of up to $9000.

Want to know more?

1. Read more about CASA’s rules here 
2. Read information from CASA on knowing your drone here 
3. If you’re unsure where you can fly your drone, visit “Drone safety apps | Civil Aviation Safety Authority (casa.gov.au)"  

Update from CASA on 20 October 2017

See CASA's Instrument CASA 55/20 here (Operation of certain unmanned aircraf direction) 

See CASA's Letter 20 October 2017- MAAA re Direction  operations of certain unmanned aircraft here

Subsequent update from CASA on 27 October 2017

See CASA's Instrument number CASA EX156/17 here

See CASA's Explanatory Statement here