Advice on Flying in or near National Parks in VIC and NSW, Australia

[Waxmell]

Hello everyone! Hoping to get some advice from some Aussie drone pilots.

I'm a professional videographer and photographer, and a licensed and insured remote pilot in the US. I'm traveling to Australia over the holidays for vacation and thinking about bringing my Phantom 4 Pro. I'll be in Melbourne and Sydney, with a leisurely drive planned along the coast between the two. I have no real interest in flying in or near the cities, but thought it would be nice to capture some scenery at various spots along the coast. I looked into all the regulations and how to register for the sub 2 Kg exception (I'm not being hired for any footage, but I don't want to foreclose the possibility of selling it someone at some point in the future). I'm actually an Australian citizen (although I grew up and live in the US), so I absolutely would only fly if I know it's legal to do so. I also found the Open Sky Web app to see where flying is allowed, and saw plenty of places that seem like they would work.

But then I started reading about the prohibition on flying in National Parks without approval, and I'm wondering how to even know where the boundaries of the national parks are to know if I need to obtain permission. The Open Sky app doesn't appear to mention National Park boundaries at all, so I'm not sure if that App can even be trusted to show proper information.

Anyway, any advice from some Aussie pilots who have dealt with these things would be greatly appreciated! I have no interest in flying near people or disturbing wildlife of any of that, just want to capture some great footage if I can. Thanks!

-Max

 

[John Gowland]

It's a shame you are not coming to Western Australia. Here you can fly in any National Park as long as you adhere to the usual rules, regulations and protocol of flying a drone, not above people etc. While taking these two vids I encountered Rumpelstiltskin jumping up and down shouting
“You can’t fly a drone here!!! I’m going to call the rangers!”
“Go for it my friend, I am breaking no rules, calm down you will hurt yourself.”
The ranger came and I informed him that over the last six months he had received many emails from CASA (FAA equivalent in Australia.) saying it is allowed to fly drones as long as they adhere to general CASA rules and regulations.
I almost had to call an ambulance for the ranger and Rumpelstiltskin. Out of courtesy I told the ranger I will fly from another place. I did and got these amazing vids.

Rumpelstiltskin "What about all the signs saying no drones?"
Me, "They are all out of date, because you can."

theskyview.net

National Parks Western Australia.

Unfortunately airfares from the east coast to the West Coast are not cheap. But worth considering. Karijini National Park WA is an amazing place.

 

[Vzr1]

Drones in parks policy

Drones are a valuable tool for managing national parks, but they can cause problems. If you want to fly a drone in a national park or reserve, you will need approval.

www.environment.nsw.gov.au

Just download the app when you get here it will soon tell you yes or no

 

[John Gowland]

And you can download OpenSky app for general flying in Australia
OpenSky by Wing Aviation LLC is a drone safety app that helps drone operators to easily identify where they can safely and lawfully fly in Australia.

Drone safety apps

www.casa.gov.au

 

[Waxmell]

It's a shame you are not coming to Western Australia. Here you can fly in any National Park as long as you adhere to the usual rules, regulations and protocol of flying a drone, not above people etc. While taking these two vids I encountered Rumpelstiltskin jumping up and down shouting
“You can’t fly a drone here!!! I’m going to call the rangers!”
“Go for it my friend, I am breaking no rules, calm down you will hurt yourself.”
The ranger came and I informed him that over the last six months he had received many emails from CASA (FAA equivalent in Australia.) saying it is allowed to fly drones as long as they adhere to general CASA rules and regulations.
I almost had to call an ambulance for the ranger and Rumpelstiltskin. Out of courtesy I told the ranger I will fly from another place. I did and got these amazing vids.

Rumpelstiltskin "What about all the signs saying no drones?"
Me, "They are all out of date, because you can."

theskyview.net

National Parks Western Australia.

Unfortunately airfares from the east coast to the West Coast are not cheap. But worth considering. Karijini National Park WA is an amazing place.

Yes, I would love to make it out to Western Australia, never made it yet. But unfortunately this is a relatively short trip and we had to keep the itinerary short. The videos look great!

 

[Waxmell]

Drones in parks policy

Drones are a valuable tool for managing national parks, but they can cause problems. If you want to fly a drone in a national park or reserve, you will need approval.

www.environment.nsw.gov.au

Just download the app when you get here it will soon tell you yes or no

Do you mean the OpenSky App? I looked at the web version and it doesn't appear to show any national parks being restricted, at least not that I could see. Just wanted to make sure the information is accurate. Will download the app on my phone once I get there.

 

[Vzr1]

Do you mean the OpenSky App? I looked at the web version and it doesn't appear to show any national parks being restricted, at least not that I could see. Just wanted to make sure the information is accurate. Will download the app on my phone once I get there.

Yep open sky

Screen shot of blue mountains national park, certain areas you can

 

[Waxmell]

Yep open sky

Screen shot of blue mountains national park, certain areas you can

Okay, I guess I was just confused because I read about the rule against flying in national parks (without approval), and this app doesn't show any national parks that have restricted space at all. The red on that screen shot is an active fire area, and the two orange circles are a heliport and airport. So just wanted to make sure the information could be trusted. For years in the US, we had an app that was put out by the FAA (federal aviation administration) themselves that contained flat out wrong information. They changed the regulations but never updated the app. Thus it was up to those of us who had read the regulations and passed the licensing exam to read the airspace charts themselves and ignore the app.