Australian National Parks now require drone permits ?

[arnok9010]

So I've organised to take the family to the blue mountains for the christmas holidays and figured I'd take along the P4 to get some nice footage. Being a conscientious RPA pilot (and also a RPL holder) I thought I would check out the regs to make sure I don't upset anyone and give the local government anymore reason to hate drones.... I found the following :

"Visitors wishing to use drones in parks must obtain consent from the park manager.

Drones are aircraft and are covered by civil aviation laws. NPWS does not control aircraft above parks, but can regulate certain behaviour in parks. It is up to the operator of a drone to ensure that it is airworthy, and is flown safely and in accordance with Commonwealth aviation regulations."

Drones in Parks Policy | NSW Environment & Heritage

Depending on where you go in the website they contradict the above as well.... So my question to my fellow Aussie Phantom pilots is.... Can I fly my P4 in the Blue Mountains National Park (well technically above it) ie. the 3 sisters, wentworth falls etc or not ? I don't actually have 16 hours of time per day to wait on hold with government employees who will either a) give me the run around or b) not have any clue on the right answer.

I must say if the answer is a resounding no I'll be extremely disappointed.

 

[arnok9010]

And oops... wrong area.

 

[Strat]

email them?
Contact us | NSW Environment & Heritage

I have seen the same before with parks.vic

Parks Victoria - Filming and photography

From the above website for park.vic

Who needs a permit?

• Anyone conducting filming or photography as part of their trade or business.
• Wedding and portrait photographers not already covered by an event permit.
• Some student productions (students should liaise with Parks Victoria staff).
• Drone filming and photography including drones under 2kg. Please note, only CASA licensed operators can apply for a permit.

Who doesn't need a permit?

• Amateur or hobby photographers with basic equipment, who are not making images commercially available.
• People taking film or video for personal use, except if filming with drones.

 

[John Locke]

Wow, I'm jealous. Your country as a somewhat reasonable approach to national park recreational drone flying. In the US our pinhead politicians simply ban all drone operations. End of story! They won't even consider a 1 weekend per month plan.

 

[arnok9010]

email them?
Contact us | NSW Environment & Heritage

I have seen the same before with parks.vic

Parks Victoria - Filming and photography

From the above website for park.vic

Who needs a permit?

• Anyone conducting filming or photography as part of their trade or business.
• Wedding and portrait photographers not already covered by an event permit.
• Some student productions (students should liaise with Parks Victoria staff).
• Drone filming and photography including drones under 2kg. Please note, only CASA licensed operators can apply for a permit.

Who doesn't need a permit?

• Amateur or hobby photographers with basic equipment, who are not making images commercially available.
• People taking film or video for personal use, except if filming with drones.

And yet everywhere you look on youtube theres drone footage.... I'd rather not bring any further bad light to our little hobby but this is getting ridiculous. And whats their take on CASA licensed... ?

 

[arnok9010]

Wow, I'm jealous. Your country as a somewhat reasonable approach to national park recreational drone flying. In the US our pinhead politicians simply ban all drone operations. End of story! They won't even consider a 1 weekend per month plan.

If you see what Strat just wrote... you'll note that basically the answer is a no (unless you can satisfy x,y and z)... They are just attempting to be polite about it.

 

[Strat]

If you see what Strat just wrote... you'll note that basically the answer is a no (unless you can satisfy x,y and z)... They are just attempting to be polite about it.

pretty much.. this ^

what if you fly without a SD card lol

 

[arnok9010]

The thing that gets me is they openly state they don't own the sky.. thats CASA domain and CASA have already said hey you guys can fly just play nice and use commonsense. But then say... you've gotta ask permission... so which is it !! (they aren't answering emails real quick either).

 

[Strat]

I will be going to the grampians in feb and noticed the above a few months ago on the parks.vic website.. was going to give them a call and see what they had to say about me bringing mavic or a P3P for personal family pics..

 

[With The Birds]

The answer is in strat's post above. All drones (including sub 2kg) require a permit and a permit won't be issued unless you hold the appropriate CASA certifications for commercial use.

In your case given you have an RPL you will be able to apply for a permit. What gets approved is anyone's guess. I would call the tourist information centre in Katoomba and see if you can get contact details for the NPWS officer in charge.

I haven't had an issue but I fly from areas that aren't heavily frequented. I wouldn't fly at Wentworth falls or the three sisters now. 12 months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

 

[BoydBros]

Wow, I'm jealous. Your country as a somewhat reasonable approach to national park recreational drone flying. In the US our pinhead politicians simply ban all drone operations. End of story! They won't even consider a 1 weekend per month plan.

yeah, the funny thing is there a BOAT LOAD of drone footage from inside our NPS. All made by people who either paid off someone or did not get caught. Were not talking joe citizen drone footage either, we're talking red epic type footage.

 

[arnok9010]

The answer is in strat's post above. All drones (including sub 2kg) require a permit and a permit won't be issued unless you hold the appropriate CASA certifications for commercial use.

In your case given you have an RPL you will be able to apply for a permit. What gets approved is anyone's guess. I would call the tourist information centre in Katoomba and see if you can get contact details for the NPWS officer in charge.

I haven't had an issue but I fly from areas that aren't heavily frequented. I wouldn't fly at Wentworth falls or the three sisters now. 12 months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

Fair enough too. Where would you think is the best place to fly then ? (Just got the wife to check my logbook and technically my RPL has expired as not enough hours flying this year {insert expletive here}).


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[rocketflyer]

. All drones (including sub 2kg) require a permit and a permit won't be issued unless you hold the appropriate CASA certifications for commercial use.

That's for Vic according to Strat. NSW park regs are much more reasonable - see here:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/policies/parks-drone-use-160669.pdf

.12 months ago I wouldn't have thought twice about it.

It's probably going to get worse with all the mavics being bought.

 

[With The Birds]

That's for Vic according to Strat. NSW park regs are much more reasonable - see here:

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/resources/parks/policies/parks-drone-use-160669.pdf



It's probably going to get worse with all the mavics being bought.

The rangers will not approve flying at three sisters or Wentworth falls if you ask them. They sight public safety and tourist enjoyment as the reasons.

 

[arnok9010]

The rangers will not approve flying at three sisters or Wentworth falls if you ask them. They sight public safety and tourist enjoyment as the reasons.

Ironically my intended time to be there would be the golden hour (IE sunrise), well before anyone else would get there... sigh

 

[rocketflyer]

The rangers will not approve flying at three sisters or Wentworth falls if you ask them. They sight public safety and tourist enjoyment as the reasons.

I guess I can understand that, easier to ban everything rather than have to look at each application.

 

[rocketflyer]

Ironically my intended time to be there would be the golden hour (IE sunrise), well before anyone else would get there... sigh

I'm thinking the same thing, let us know if they knock you back on safety grounds.

 

[With The Birds]

Ironically my intended time to be there would be the golden hour (IE sunrise), well before anyone else would get there... sigh

Well, there is no reason why you need to launch from the tourist car park or next to the rangers hut. Google earth and the preparedness for a short hike should identify suitable launch points. This is probably the absolute worst time of the year though given the amount of people out and about.

 

[arnok9010]

Well, there is no reason why you need to launch from the tourist car park or next to the rangers hut. Google earth and the preparedness for a short hike should identify suitable launch points. This is probably the absolute worst time of the year though given the amount of people out and about.

Yeah i've been hunting for alternative launch sites but still don't want to get our hobby in anymore bad press... As for time of year... sadly lines up with my first days off since August (inc weekends, overtime paid for the P4 ).

I was going to go for a flight near home on Mount Tamborine (gold coast) saturday morning before work only to discover someones stuck a heliport up there recently that shows green on the "Safe to Fly" app.

Are we allowed to fly near heliports ? My understanding would be its not a good idea (even though its not a full time heliport).

 

[With The Birds]

Yeah i've been hunting for alternative launch sites but still don't want to get our hobby in anymore bad press... As for time of year... sadly lines up with my first days off since August (inc weekends, overtime paid for the P4 ).

I was going to go for a flight near home on Mount Tamborine (gold coast) saturday morning before work only to discover someones stuck a heliport up there recently that shows green on the "Safe to Fly" app.

Are we allowed to fly near heliports ? My understanding would be its not a good idea (even though its not a full time heliport).

When did you get your remote pilots licence? The rules haven't changed.