The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) enforces safety rules for operators of all types of drones:
- model aircraft are drones or remote controlled aircraft flown for sport or recreation – for fun
- remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) are drones flown for business or as part of your job – commercially.
Unsafe drone use
Under the drone safety rules, unlicensed operators must:
- be able to see their drone with their own eyes at all times (not using goggles or a screen)
- not cause a hazard to other aircraft
- not fly within 5.5 km of a controlled airport (an airport with a control tower)
- land the drone immediately if flying where an aircraft or helicopter is taking off or landing, including helicopter landing sites.
Operators must not fly:
- over, above or closer than 30 m to people
- above populated beaches, parks, houses, sports ovals or public venues
- near emergencies where police, fire or ambulance services may be attending
- higher than 120 m (400 ft) above the ground
- at night or in low visibility conditions including cloud or fog
- in restricted airspace without gaining permission beforehand.
Learn about the drone safety rules and penalties.
The complaints process
If you think someone has broken any of the rules listed above, contact CASA. Make a report using CASA's online Drone complaints form.
Civil Aviation Safety Authority
Noise from drones
The issue of noise from drone use is currently being looked at by Australian Government agencies.
As drones become more popular for commercial and recreational use, the issue of noise is becoming more important.
The Department of Infrastructure Transport, Regional Development and Communications (the Department) approves commercial drone operations.
Learn more about how the Department is managing drone noise.
Contact the Department to give feedback or complain about noise from drones.
Privacy concerns
There are 2 approved drone delivery services in Australia that have limits on where and how they operate. The CASA website has more details about these drone delivery services.
If you have any privacy concerns, we encourage you to read the relevant operator's privacy policies and tell them about any issues.
If you don't get a response in 30 days or are unhappy with their response, you may contact the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
