Brisbane Drone Laws & CASA Regulations

Aerial Drone Pilots and CASA 

The Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) are the basis for all legislation relating to aviation in Australia and is backed by the Civil Aviation Act, whose requirements are enforceable by law while the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations (CASR) contain all the legislative documentation relation to flying unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Australia.

Civil Aviation Safety Authority or CASA announced amendments to CASR Part 101 (relating to flying a UAV in Australia) that came into effect on 29 September 2016 which aimed at reducing the cost and legal requirements for lower-risk remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) operations. In addition as of 29 September 2016, the new category of excluded RPA came into effect, with reduced regulatory requirements to fly very small RPAs commercially. Operations under 2kg (excluded) will not need an RPA operator’s certificate (ReOC), or a remote pilot licence (RePL).

The UAV that TheDroneAce. uses for aerial photography and video and aerial mapping comes under the very small RPA’s definition and is registered  in accordance with CASA regulations:

When operating the UAV, we always adhere to the operate by the CASA standard operating conditions summarised below:

You must only fly during the day and keep your RPA within visual line-of sight. This means being able to see the aircraft with your own eyes (rather than through first-person-view (FPV)) at all times.

  • You must not fly your RPA higher than 120 metres (400ft) AGL.
  • You must keep your RPA at least 30 metres away from other people.
  • You must keep your RPA away from prohibited/restricted areas.
  • You must keep your RPA at least 5.5km away from controlled aerodromes.
  • You must not fly your RPA over any area where, in the event of a loss of control or failure, you create an unreasonable hazard to the safety of people and property on the ground.
  • You must not fly your RPA over or near an area affecting public safety or where emergency operations are underway (without prior approval). This could include situations such as a car crash, police operations, a fire and associated firefighting efforts, and search and rescue.
  • You can only fly one RPA at a time.

Operations within the 3nm (5.5Km) radius of an uncontrolled aerodrome or helicopter landing site are possible and lawful providing you do not operate on:

  • the approach and departure path or
  • within the movement area or
  • create a hazard to aircraft that may be using those areas.
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