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FORTHCOMING CHANGES TO AVIATION SAFETY REGULATIONS GOVERNING DRONES 2019 will see further significant regulatory chances in this space. Principally, a new mandatory registration and accreditation scheme for drones has been announced by CASA and will commence in late 2019. That scheme will apply to all commercially operated drones regardless of size. This follows a suite of recommendations made in a Senate Inquiry report into the current and future regulatory framework for drones released in 2018. Other key recommendations in that report included the development of a drones-specific airworthiness standard, establishment of a nation-wide enforcement regime, and the creation of a much wider legal framework for drones encompassing other issues such as privacy, cyber security, and third-party damage. It will be interesting to see whether CASA is also prompted to consider the implementation of stricter controls on drone operations in light of the high-profile disruption events at London’s Gatwick and Heathrow Airports in late 2018 and early 2019. Potential changes that have been called for both in Australia and overseas include widening airspace exclusion zones around airports, increasing penalties for illegal use, and identifying a safe and efficient way of bringing drones safely to ground for identification and sanction of the offending operator.
USE OF DRONES FOR REGULATORY OVERSIGHT
Drones and satellite/aerial imagery are a growing method for detection of non- compliance, particularly when monitoring rural and remote areas. The use of remote surveillance technology in capturing non-compliance has been an effective method of regulation. For example, a South Australian Court recently fined a director AUD 60,000 and his company AUD 37,000 for illegal clearing of 115 hectares of vegetation detected using satellite data. Government initiatives have also been launched, such as by the Victorian EPA ( VIC EPA ) introducing an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ( UAV ) Program to capture video footage of illegal dumping and polluting. VIC EPA’s UAVs can be fittedwith a variety of attachments to aid officers in calculating the volume of waste tyres on a site, using thermal imaging to identify hotspots in landfills, and sample air and water.
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