Flying over and near people

You must not fly a drone closer than 30 m to people who are not essential to its control and navigation. We measure this distance from the point on the ground directly below the drone, regardless of its height. You must never fly over a person.

People such as actors, athletes, or members of the public you are filming are not essential to the control and navigation of the drone.

Flying a drone in a location where it could pose an unreasonable risk to third parties or their property is also not allowed. Due to certain characteristics of the RPA (for example, speed or dimensions), the 30 m minimum safety distance may be insufficient.

In some cases, exceptions to these rules may apply.

Operations between 30 m and 15 m of a person (no CASA approval required)

You are permitted to operate an RPA closer than 30 m of another person, but no closer than 15 m, provided:

You must apply for CASA approval outside of these conditions.

Risk assessment

You must also make sure the drone does not create a hazard to people, property or aircraft. You should:

  • recognise and minimise any safety risks
  • do a risk assessment and apply mitigators that consider the capabilities and limitations of the drone, including:
    • position holding
    • obstacle avoidance
    • failsafe systems.

Before flying

Before flying closer than 30 m of people, you must also:

  • have documented practices and procedures
  • give relevant instruction to the operating crew.

For tips on updating your operations manual to fly closer than 30 m to another person, see our RPAS sample operations manual.

Operations less than 30 m from a person (CASA approval required)

To operate within 30 m of a person without consent, or closer than 15 m to a person with consent, you must get a CASA:

  • approval to fly near people
  • exemption to fly in a populous area, in some cases.

Learn how we assess these applications using the RPA Operations over or near people Temporary Management Instruction.

Follow these steps to apply:

  1. Complete the application form

    Before you apply you must have a remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificate (ReOC).

    Download and complete the relevant sections of the following form:

    Make sure you save it to your device.

  2. Complete or update your supporting documentation

    Attach your:

    • risk assessments
    • supporting documents.

  3. Submit your application, supporting documentation and pay the fee

    Submit your application and supporting documents to the email listed on the form.

    We will check that you have completed the relevant questions and provided all required documents. We will notify you if your application is incomplete.

    We will send you an estimate of the application fee, valid for 30 days. Additional fees may apply if an RPAS inspector needs to travel for an onsite assessment.

    To proceed, you must:

    • pay the application fee
    • submit any other supporting documents.

    If you choose not to proceed, please notify us via email.

  4. Assessment of your application

    Once we receive your payment and all supporting documents, we will review your documentation and notify you if:

    • we have any feedback
    • you require an onsite assessment.

    If you don't respond within 30 days, we may close your request. We'll notify you if this happens.

  5. Issuing your approval

    After assessing your application, we'll notify you of the outcome.

    If we approve your application, you will receive an instrument. It will include the conditions of operation.

    Due to the new and emergent nature of these operations, we will only grant approvals for 12 months or until ReOC expiry, whichever is the lesser.

Related rules and publications

Last updated:
11 Dec 2025
Online version available at: https://www.casa.gov.au//drones/flight-authorisations/flying-over-and-near-people
Back to top of page