Many people don’t know that to be able to fly a drone commercially in Australia, their are a number of rules and conditions that must be adhered to. Operators must be accredited by CASA, and in addition:

You must:

• only fly one drone at a time
• always fly your drone in visual line-of-sight — this means: flying only during the day; avoid flying through cloud, fog or smoke; you can always see your drone with your own eyes — not by using goggles, binoculars or another device; not flying behind obstacles that stop you from always seeing your drone. For example, trees, buildings or other structures.

You must not fly your drone:

• higher than 120 m (400 ft) above ground level — that’s about the height of a 35-storey building or length of a football field
• closer than 30 m to people — other than those helping to control or navigate your drone
• over or above people at any time or height
• in a way that creates a hazard to another person, property or aircraft
• near emergency operations
• in prohibited or restricted airspace (use a CASA-verified drone safety app to help you)
• closer than 5.5 km to a controlled airport, which usually has a control tower, if your drone weighs more than 250 g. You can operate indoors provided the drone can’t get out of the building. If you’re a ReOC holder, please see more information on flight authorisations.

For more information you visit the CASA website, or if you’re interested in using drone footage, get in touch with us.