The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)'s new rules
governing the operation of remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) in
Australia took effect in late September. While ongoing regulatory
review was inevitable, it has come as a surprise that less than two
weeks after the new regulations entered into force, the Australian
Government has already launched a wide-ranging safety review into
the RPA laws.
In Clyde & Co's
Australian Aviation Newsletter (published April 2016), we
reported on CASA's approval of new rules governing the
operation of RPA, commonly known as "drones", in
Australia. The new risk-based framework has now been formally
introduced by way of amendments to the existing regulation Part 101
of Civil Aviation Safety Regulations 1998, which took
effect from 29 September 2016. A key feature
is the easing of licensing and other requirements to be met by
commercial operators of RPA under 2kg. Criticism of the new
regulations from industry groups has, however,
