New drone laws will impact media use
From today certified operators cannot fly drones within 15m of people or over emergency operations.
- Published by David Knox
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- Filed under News
New laws concerning drones come into effect today, which will impact use by media.
Certified operators cannot fly drones within 15m of people, which rules out close-up shots and detailed media footage of public events. Hobbyists can’t fly within 30m of another person.
From today if you are flying for economic gain you need to have an RPA operator’s certificate (ReOC), or if you’re flying an RPA weighing less than two kilograms, you must contact the Civil Aviation Safety Authority five days in advance. Costs for an RPA (remotely piloted aircraft) operator’s certificate total around $6400.
A new rule bans flying a drone where emergency operations are under way or where public safety is an issue, such as a car crash scene, a police operation, search and rescues, and fires. Some drone pilots in the past have sought to take footage of police operations to sell to television stations.
The new rules vary depending on the use and weight of the drone.
Source: The Australian, CASA
4 Responses
15metres is OK for GPS guided drones equipped with zoom lenses. Ordinary choppers get footage from much further away. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Emergency Services get their own drones to record the scenes and make it available to the media.
That seems impractical. There are people everywhere interesting.
I haven’t quite worked out how a drone takes off and lands if it can’t be within 15m of people. I guess there is an explanation.
They can’t be flown within 15/30m of people. Flying generally excludes the take-off and landing phases.
As with laws forbidding the use of mobile devices while operating a vehicle, they are not going to be able to effectively enforce these laws on Joe Public. I suspect that there will be an education campaign followed by some highly publicised prosecutions. The focus is still going to be on people operating near aerodromes, helipads, and approach / departure paths