How will the new rules impact tourists to Australia, when they are in force?
Note 1: An RPA or model aircraft that is registered in another country must not be registered in Australia but may receive permission (a Foreign RPA Permission) to operate in Australia. This requirement does not apply for foreign registered RPA that weigh 250g or less, that would be flown exclusively for recreational purposes.
Note 2: A visitor to Australia that obtains a Foreign RPA Permission will also need to obtain an accreditation. If the visitor to Australia has not registered the RPA in another country, they must register the RPA in Australia if the RPA is above 250 grams (see Instruction 29).
RPA (visitor to Australia) permission to operate without being registered in Australia
29.A regulation that enables CASA to permit (a Foreign RPA Permission) an RPA or model aircraft that is brought to Australia by a person (not the manufacturer/importer) who is a visitor to Australia to be operated in Australian territory:
a.Foreign RPA Permission may be cancelled:
i.by CASA without providing a reason or
ii.at request of applicant.
b.A foreign RPA weighing over 250g, that is not registered in its foreign jurisdiction, must be registered in Australia.
c.An RPA weighing 250g or under, that has a Foreign RPA Permission may be used for a recreational purpose without CASA permissiond.
d.An RPA of any weight, that has a Foreign RPA Permission may be used for a commercial purpose under a ReOC permission providing:
i.CASA has given permission to do so; and
ii.the commercial fee has been paid.
e.An RPA that has a Foreign RPA Permission may be used for a commercial excluded category purpose providing the commercial fee has been paid, the RPA is registered, and the operator is accredited.
f.CASA may charge a different fee for Foreign RPA Permissions depending on the commercial or recreational purpose.
Note to reader:
•International obligations in the Chicago Convention to which Australia is a signatory are enshrined in the Air Navigation Act 1920
AIR NAVIGATION ACT 1920 - SCHEDULE 1 Convention on International Civil Aviation
•Air Navigation Act specifies in Article 18 of Schedule 1 that “an aircraft cannot be validly registered in more than one State, but its registration may be changed from one State to another”
•Australia would by the time our system is active not be the only State that is a signatory to the Chicago Convention that has a drone registration system (the USA already has one)
•Therefore, it is necessary that we not create a RPAS registration system that requiresregistration in Australia of a drone that is already registered in another state
•The following is a system that has been devised to manage this issue
oA very early question by the registration system of someone seeking to register a drone is “Is the drone registered in another country?”
oIf the answer is “Yes” the following would happen The system would continue to gather the information as if it were being registered
oThe fee would be levied (see note on CASA (Fees) Regulations)
oPermission would be granted to operate the drone in Australia that does not feature the word “registered”
oThe drone should be flown in Australia as if it were registered
oThe system that records registered drones will be configured with one extra field that differentiates that the drone is “permitted to fly in Australian territory” but that it is NOT “registered”
OK, that's the proposal in C.A.S.A.'s own words. What it amounts to is this. If you are visiting Australia as a tourist then you will need to provide all the information required on your aircraft as if you were registering it but it will be marked as "permitted to fly in Australia" not "registered". It is expected at this point that you will be able to do this inr eal time online and that it will most liklely be the same $20 for as many aircraft as you like for a year.
If you are comming here to fly commercially you will need to do at least the Excluded class R.P.A. test or a RePL (it would want to be a long holiday!) E.R.P.A. is free, RePL is around $1500 and a course, 40 hours of study and a minimum 5 hour practical flight proficiency demonstration. "Permission to fly" of any aircraft used commercially will be the $160 per aircraft that we are going to be gouged ourselves.
Hope that answers the question and wasn't too confusing.
Regards
Ari
You will need to do the same R.P.A. basic licence exam as an Australian citizen. 10 minutes to watch the video and do the multi choice exam at no cost