Flying a drone on your construction site: a practical guide to CASA's rules

Drones have become an everyday tool on civil and earthworks jobs. Progress photos, stockpile volumes, cut and fill, cross sections and inspections of hard-to-reach structures can all be captured in a short flight, and the data feeds straight into reporting and claims.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulates every one of those flights. Its rules for work flying are set out in Part 101 of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations and the Part 101 Manual of Standards, and CASA explicitly lists "inspecting industrial equipment, construction sites or infrastructure" as work that needs the right credentials.

The good news is that the pathway for most site work is straightforward and free to enter. The part that takes the most planning on a busy site is not the licence. It's keeping 30 metres from the people around you. This guide walks through both.

The rules at a glance

Weights are the drone's gross weight, which CASA uses to sort drones into classes: micro (250 g or less), very small (over 250 g up to 2 kg), small (over 2 kg up to 25 kg) and medium (over 25 kg up to 150 kg). If you fit heavier sensors, check the weight of the whole setup.

Pathway 1: 2 kg or less, no licence needed

CASA calls this the excluded category. A drone of 2 kg or less can be flown for paid work without a remote pilot licence and without an operator's certificate, provided you:

• Register the drone before its first flight, through myCASA
• Hold an RPA operator accreditation (or a remote pilot licence, which covers it)
• Fly within the standard operating conditions at all times

Accreditation is free, completed online and valid for three years. You watch a short CASA safety video, read the guidance material and pass an online quiz. You must be 16 or older. If you run a business, CASA suggests an organisation aviation reference number (ARN) as well, so the business can register its drones and more than one person can act for it in myCASA.

There is no separate notification form to lodge. Under the Part 101 Manual of Standards, registering an excluded drone through myCASA is taken to be the notice CASA needs before its first operation.

CASA's plain English guide for micro and excluded RPA is the best single reference for this pathway, and it names construction and trade among the common uses.

Pathway 2: the licensed and certified route

If your drone is over 2 kg, or the job can't be done within the standard operating conditions, you move to the certified pathway.

Remote pilot licence (RePL). This is the pilot's personal qualification. You complete the theory and practical components of a RePL course with a CASA-certified training provider, and the provider then applies to CASA for your licence. The licence shows the type and weight category of drone you can fly (for example, under 7 kg or under 25 kg). A RePL does not expire. Course fees are set by training providers, so compare a few. If you will fly in controlled airspace, you also need an aeronautical radio operator's licence.

Remotely piloted aircraft operator's certificate (ReOC). This one is for the business. It is what lets a company trade as a drone service provider and employ licensed pilots. To get one you write an operations manual to the Part 101 Manual of Standards, nominate a chief remote pilot who passes a CASA assessment, train your pilots on your procedures and keep operational records. CASA says applications can take up to 70 business days depending on complexity. An initial ReOC is valid for 12 months, and renewals are valid for up to three years. For basic operations with drones up to 150 kg, you can also apply through one of CASA's authorised industry delegates.

There is also a landholder excluded category for drones over 2 kg flown over land the drone owner owns or occupies. Because it requires that nobody is paid for the activity, it rarely fits contract work on a client's site.

The standard operating conditions

The excluded category applies only while every one of these conditions is met:

Most of these sit comfortably with site work. The 30-metre rule is the one worth planning around.

Planning around the 30-metre rule

A working site is full of people, so it helps to know exactly who counts.

Who is part of the flight. The regulation says 30 metres from anyone "not directly associated with the operation". CASA's guidance explains this as people who are essential to the drone's control and navigation, and gives actors, athletes and members of the public being filmed as examples of people who are not. On a construction site, that realistically means the remote pilot and any observer or crew helping fly the drone. The site manager watching, the client the progress shot is for and the trades working in frame are all outside it, and inducting workers into your drone plan doesn't change that.

How it's measured. CASA measures the 30 metres from the point on the ground directly below the drone, regardless of how high it is flying. Height doesn't add separation: a drone at 100 metres over a spot 20 metres from a worker is still inside the limit.

Never over a person. CASA is clear that you must never fly over a person.

With that in mind, there are three practical ways to plan site flights.

1. Fly when and where the site is clear. Many site surveys are flown before start, after knock-off or on weekends, or over sections where no one is working. Coordinating flight times with the site manager is often all it takes.

2. Use the ReOC near-people concession. Under a ReOC, CASA allows flights between 15 and 30 metres from a person without a CASA approval, provided the drone weighs less than 150 kg, it never comes closer than 15 metres, the person consents, and you have documented practices and procedures and have briefed your crew. On a site where you can brief people and record their consent, that is a workable distance.

3. Apply to CASA for an approval to fly near people. To fly within 30 metres of someone without consent, or closer than 15 metres with it, you need a CASA approval to fly near people, and in some cases an exemption to fly over a populous area. You must hold a ReOC before you apply. CASA assesses these applications under its temporary management instruction TMI 2024-01, and grants approvals for 12 months or until your ReOC expires, whichever comes first.

One point worth keeping in mind: the 30 metres is a condition of the excluded category itself. A sub-2 kg flight that goes within 30 metres of workers is no longer in standard operating conditions, so the no-licence pathway no longer covers it.

What's changing

CASA is reviewing how drones can operate over or near people, and two proposals are directly relevant to construction.

In its August 2026 summary of consultation on policy proposal PP 2609US, CASA set out plans to allow some lower-risk operations over or near people without a CASA approval:

• flights with drones weighing 250 g or less
• flights where a physical barrier or structure, such as a building or stationary vehicles, separates people from the drone (a proposed limit of 25 kg, which CASA says it will consider further)

The barrier proposal is intended to let the pilot judge whether the operation can be conducted safely, without complex calculations. These changes are not yet in force. CASA says it will refine the proposals, publish new guidance, and announce transition arrangements and start dates well in advance, and it may bring in these two lower-risk options earlier than the rest of the package.

Separately, CASA's consultation CD 2613US (open 6 August to 3 September 2026) proposed requiring Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs) for approved drone operations only where they give a safety benefit, and letting CASA set nationally consistent RePL and beyond-visual-line-of-sight exams. CASA published its summary of the feedback in October 2026: respondents generally supported the proposals, and CASA will consult industry again on how the RePL exams would be run before it settles the final approach. Nothing has changed yet for pilots or operators.

Until new rules commence, the current conditions above apply. CASA's flying over and near people page is the place to check.

Who's responsible on site

If your own staff fly the drone, it is a business operation. CASA's accreditation requirement covers "any drone activities for your employer", and the business can register its drones under an organisation ARN. CASA notes that an offence for flying an unregistered work drone can be attributed to the operator, the person flying, or both.

If a surveyor or specialist subcontractor flies it, ask what they hold (accreditation, RePL, ReOC) and confirm it covers the conditions on your site. CASA's website lets you look up ReOC holders.

A quick credentials check at the start of a job is the easiest way to keep everyone covered.

What the data is used for

The compliance effort pays off in the output. On earthworks and civil jobs, drone survey typically produces stockpile volumes, cut and fill quantities, cross sections, surface areas, elevation change over time and progress tracking against design.

That makes it as much a quantity surveying and progress claim tool as a survey one. The value is in measurement you can put in a claim, which is why it suits earthworks, where volume is often the payment unit.

Before you fly

1. Register the drone and hold an operator accreditation (or a RePL), even for a small drone doing paid work.
2. Check the gross weight of your drone and payload, so you know which pathway you're on.
3. Plan for 30 metres. Work out when and where the site will be clear, or step up to the ReOC pathway if you need to fly closer.
4. Check the airspace with a CASA-verified drone safety app before every flight. Aerodromes, helicopter landing sites, controlled airspace and restricted areas change what you can do, whatever the drone's size.
5. Check your contractor's credentials if the flying is outsourced.
6. Keep a record of each flight. It is required for ReOC operations and for excluded drones over 2 kg, and it is good practice for everyone.

With the paperwork in place and flights planned around the people on site, a drone becomes one of the most useful measuring tools a project has. CASA is also working on simpler options for low-risk flights near people, so it's worth checking back as those proposals firm up.

This article is general information, not legal advice. CASA's rules change from time to time; check casa.gov.au or contact CASA for your specific operation.

Published 29 October 2026 · Updated 27 October 2026