Skip to main content
Link to Home page
Figure of Safety

Know the rules that apply to recreational drone users and fly safely.

Figure of Have your say

Your feedback, comments and complaints help us to better understand and address community or industry concerns.

Drone Rule Management System

A nationally consistent approach to managing and coordinating non-safety related rules for drones.

The Drone Rule Management System (DRMS) will establish a nationally consistent system for managing drone rules relating to noise, privacy, security, environmental impacts and cultural sites.

Agreement will be sought at the national level on a policy framework and legal strategy to inform the staged implementation of an ICT platform which will manage national rulesets and constraints.

DRMS principles

The Australian Government is developing a DRMS to coordinate, implement and manage nationally consistent rules on drone use relating to noise, privacy, security, environmental impacts and cultural sites.

To ensure safety, DRMS will complement CASA rules and regulations, and rules within the system will be subject to oversight to ensure that any conditions imposed do not compromise safety.

DRMS will provide a whole-of-government system to coordinate and manage rules and constraints applicable to drones, for different agencies and regulators across Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments. These rules and constraints will be guided by the following principles:

  • Targeted: to address a specific risk or impact
  • Outcomes focused: providing flexibility in how the risk or impact might be addressed
  • Proportionate: for minimum restriction or disruption on operations needed to effectively manage the risk or impact

A collaborative approach

DRMS is being developed in consultation with Commonwealth, state, territory and local governments, and industry stakeholders. To ensure rules are targeted and proportionate for the purpose they are created, DRMS will accommodate local input and decision making within the constraints of an agreed nationally consistent framework.

Under the proposed framework, national rulesets will ensure consistency in how constraint areas are implemented across Australia. Communication through approved third-party apps would allow drone operators to easily check relevant DRMS rules in any given geospatial location and support compliance.

The framework

The Australian Government will work with state and territory governments to design and agree the framework, which would offer advantages including:

  • A transparent, consistent and consultative process for the creation of drone rules relating to specific non-safety risks and impacts;
  • Clear communication of DRMS rules to drone operators and the wider community;
  • Greater certainty and national consistency for such rules, as part of a targeted and outcomes-focused approach; and
  • Adaptable to new and emerging use cases and technologies as Australia’s drone industry evolves.

Read more

Emerging aviation technology initiatives
Figure of Infrastructure Planning Framework
Initiatives

Infrastructure Planning Framework

Figure of Uncrewed Traffic Management
Initiatives

Uncrewed Traffic Management

Figure of National Drone Detection Network
Initiatives

National Drone Detection Network

Figure of Best-Practice Procurement Guidelines
Initiatives

Best-Practice Procurement Guidelines

Read more

Emerging aviation technology initiatives
Figure of Infrastructure Planning Framework
Initiatives

Infrastructure Planning Framework

Figure of Uncrewed Traffic Management
Initiatives

Uncrewed Traffic Management

Figure of National Drone Detection Network
Initiatives

National Drone Detection Network

Figure of Best-Practice Procurement Guidelines
Initiatives

Best-Practice Procurement Guidelines