Use of drones on reserve land
The operation and use of drones by park visitors on reserved land including national parks is not permitted.
Commonly referred to as drones, the use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) is subject to requirements of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), and when used on or over reserved land, governed by the National Parks and Reserved Land Regulations 2019.
Whilst Tasmania’s scenic parks and reserves may seem like the perfect location for drone use, the operation of drones raises several potential negative impacts:
- Disturbance to wildlife and the potential to impact animal breeding patterns and behaviour, particularly birds (e.g. eagles and other raptors, shorebirds),
- Impact on visitor experience,
- Privacy of park visitors, and
- Safety issues; the potential for collision and impacting on helicopter and fire management operations.
Map
To clarify where drones are not permitted see the map on Managing our parks and reserves. Beneath the map you'll see a link to a more detailed an external site map of Tasmania known as LISTmap.
Exceptions if authorised
- Commercial and event filming, and
- Scientific research conducted by persons associated with research organisations.
Drone operators must be certified and licensed by CASA to fly a drone before PWS will assess an application to use drones for commercial filming or scientific research.
RPA Authority Application Form (PDF 130Kb)
RPA Application for Commercial purposes to be forwarded to enquiries.NBToperators@parks.tas.gov.au.
RPA Application for non-commercial purposes to be forwarded to the respective PWS Regional Office:
Note that use of drones is not permitted for Enthusiast Business Licences.
Reporting drone activity
General drone activity can be reported to CASA via their web form.
For drone activity over reserved land, please contact PWS.