The future of drone regulation in Australia is the topic of a discussion paper released today by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA).
The paper is part of CASA’s drone safety review. It seeks comment from the community about how the rapidly growing drone sector can best be regulated.
Federal Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Darren Chester, said the paper would give the public, as well as government agencies and industry, the opportunity to have input into future safety regulations for drones.
‘Drones are a rapidly growing part of the aviation sector, and we must get the balance right between ensuring the safety and security of the public, and avoiding unnecessary red tape,’ Mr Chester said.
‘As the paper indicates, aviation safety regulators around the world are facing challenges in maintaining high levels of safety without unnecessarily impeding opportunities to use drones for industry and recreational applications.’
The discussion paper seeks comment on five key aviation safety issues:
- drone registration
- training and education of drone operators
- geo-fencing
- counter drone technology and
- future approaches to drone aviation safety regulation.
Mr Chester said the review would take into account technological and operational growth of the RPA community, and developments in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other international aviation safety agencies.
‘I encourage interested parties to make a submission,’ Mr Chester said.
The discussion paper is available online via CASA’s website.
