You must consider the people and the environment around you – before you take-off.
Flying near emergencies
You must not fly your drone during emergency operations. Flying your drone near emergencies can cause safety hazards to response teams in the air and on the ground.
Using your drone to film or see a fire front might be tempting, doing so could hamper emergency services and break the drone safety rules.
If you fly – other firefighting and rescue aircraft can't.
For your safety and others, do not fly your drone during:
- natural disasters – bushfires, floods, electrical storms, hurricanes and cyclones
- emergency operations – traffic accidents, tactical response, training or rescue operations.
If an emergency service is operating nearby please keep your drone on the ground or gain permission from the emergency agency before flying.
Check your local fire authority for the latest updates and warnings:
- National Aerial Firefighting Centre
- New South Wales Rural Fire Service
- Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Services
- Victoria Country Fire Authority
- Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
- Tasmania Fire Service
- South Australian Country Fire Service
- Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services
- Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Services
Flying near marine and wildlife
To protect our amazing wildlife, some states and territories have environmental laws you must follow when you fly.
Before taking off, check your local laws and make sure you're doing the right thing.
For example, in New South Wales you must not fly a drone within 100 m of marine mammals. In South Australia, drones must be at least 300 m from any marine mammal.
Eagles, hawks and falcons are not drone fans. If you fly too close, your drone could become their next target – just like this one.
Flying in national parks and forest reserves
There are more than 600 national parks in Australia covering more than 28 million hectares of land. That's about 10 times the size of Tasmania.
To protect animal and plant life and visitors, many states and territories have rules about using drones in national parks and forest reserves. In many parks and reserves, you must apply to fly.
For safety reasons, a permit is often required for drone use in commercial forests.
Before you fly, you should check your state or territory laws:
- New South Wales (NSW)
- Victoria (VIC)
- Tasmania (TAS)
- South Australia (SA) - National parks
- South Australia (SA) - Forestry SA forest reserves
- Western Australia (WA)
- Northern Territory (NT)
- Queensland (QLD)
- Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
There may also be laws that apply to the launching and landing of drones in your local park or sports oval. Check if local laws apply before you fly on council land.
Related content
Related rules and publications
-
Aircraft
-
Aircraft registration
- Change, transfer or cancel aircraft registration
- Data files for registered aircraft
- Ferry flight registrations
- Find a registered aircraft
- Guidance for deceased estates
- Irrevocable deregistration and export request authorisation (IDERA)
- Register your aircraft
- Registered aircraft operators
- Registration marks
- Request a copy of your registration certificate
- Airworthiness
- Certification
- Design and manufacturing
- Sport aviation
-
Aircraft registration
- Drones
-
Licences and certificates
- Pilots
- Radio operators
- Air traffic controllers
-
Air operators
- Aerial application air operator's certificate
- Aerial work certificate (Part 138)
- Air transport air operator's certificate
- Alternative pathway for specialised endorsements
- Balloon air operator's certificate
- Flight training operators
- Foreign operators
- Guidance for Part 91 approvals
- Operators specialised endorsements alternative pathway
- Replace air operator's certificate
- Training pilots specialised endorsements alternative pathway
- Pilots using the specialised endorsements alternative pathway
- Delegates
-
Maintenance engineers
- About aircraft maintenance engineers
- Aircraft engineer exams
- Aircraft engineer licence (Part 66)
- Apply for a Part 66 licence
- Become a licensed aircraft engineer
- Maintenance of composite structures
- Part 66 and working for a Part 145 organisation
- Part 66 self-study training and examination pathway
- Recognition of prior learning
- Removing exclusions
- Modular licensing for aircraft engineers
- Part 66 modular aircraft engineer licence pathways
- Flight examiners
- Flight instructors
-
Aviation medicals
- Additional medical tests
- Audit of medical certificates
- Classes of medical certificate
- Clinical case conference panel
- Complaints and objection to medical decision
- Endorsements on a medical certificate
- Find a medical or eye examiner
- Medical certificate fees, payments and processing
- Medical certification for age over 60
- Report a change of a medical condition
- Renew a medical certificate
- The medical certification process
- Class 5 medical self-declaration
- Colour vision assessment for medical certificates
- Explaining operational limitations for Class 5 medical self-declaration
-
Medical practitioners and examiners
- Austroads standard medical for pilots
- Become a DAME or DAO
- DAME's clinical practice guidelines
- DAME conditions of appointment
- DAO conditions of appointment
- ECG guidance for DAMEs
- Eligibility and training for DAMEs an DAOs
- Maintaining your designation
- Medical reports and case reviews
- Protocol for pilots with type 1 diabetes
- Responsibilities of DAMEs and DAOs
- Aviation reference numbers
- English language standards
- Fee payment options
-
Operations, safety & travel
- Aerodromes
- Airspace
- Aviation safety for pilots
- Safety Management Systems
-
Safety advice
- Cabin safety
- Carriage or discharge of firearms on aircraft
- Community service flights
- COVID-19 advice for industry
- Dangerous goods and air freight
- Displays and events
- Drug and alcohol management
- Electronic flight bag
- Fatigue management
- Hazard identification and management
- Human factors and safety behaviours
- 5G and aviation safety
- Mercy fights and operating in an emergency
- Consumer and passenger advice
- Aeronautical information management
- Training and checking systems
-
Rules
- Regulatory framework
- Rules by category
- Rules by status
- Rules by type
- Changing the rules
-
Compliance and enforcement
- Delegated authority in support of aviation safety investigations
- Enforcement action
- How to comply with the rules
- Recent enforcement actions
- Safety information policy statement
- Sharing safety information
- Strict liability
- Surveillance
- Submitting significant and non-significant changes
- Voluntary suspensions
- Recent enforcement actions
- Reporting illegal behaviour
- Resources & education
-
About us
- Who we are
- Who we work with
- News and media
-
Reporting and accountability
- Environmental management and performance
- Freedom of information
- Gift and benefits register
- List of CASA files
- Portfolio budget statements
- Register of privacy impact assessments
- Regulator Performance Framework
- Senate order on agency contracts
- Service standards
- Statement of commitment to child safety
- Work health and safety policy statement
- Protecting the environment
- External security vulnerability disclosure program
- Careers
- Sponsorship and scholarship
- About this website
- Contact us
- Events
- Subscribe