Greater Sydney Parklands

Use of drones at Greater Sydney Parklands sites

Purpose

This document provides information about the use of drones and remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) for events and commercial filming on land managed by Greater Sydney Parklands (GSP). It provides guidance and procedures to operate drones safely and effectively within Centennial Parklands, Parramatta Park, Western Sydney Parklands, Callan Park and Fernhill Estate.

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Laws and regulations

Drone use will only be permitted on GSP land if it’s compliant with the local law and CASA regulations and operated by qualified and CASA-certified persons in a controlled environment.
Operating a drone on GSP land without written consent is an offence and a breach of park regulation.

All commercial drone use regardless of size and type requires GSP approval to take off or land on GSP land. The use of drones for recreational purposes or to capture footage of a private or corporate event or activity is prohibited on GSP land.

Safety Information

  • DO NOT fly closer than 30m to vehicles, boats, buildings, trees or people without a CASA exemption. Commercial operators may be granted permission to fly within 15m of authorised persons following the operator’s flight manual.
  • DO NOT fly over any populated areas such as heavily populated parks, large events or sports ovals where there is a game in progress.
  • DO NOT operate within 3 nautical miles or 5.5km of a controlled aerodrome or helicopter landing site without CASA approval – reference can be made at Open Sky, the drone safety app approved by CASA to identify exclusion zone boundaries.
  • ONLY operate your drone during daylight (unless with CASA exemption), in good weather and in visual-line-of-sight. Drone operations beyond the pilot’s visual line of sight requires CASA area approval.
  • DO NOT fly above 400ft/120m above ground level (AGL).
  • Operations within restricted airspace require approval from the controlling authority – this may be CASA.
  • Operations within military airspace require military approval (LOA -letter of agreement) and CASA approval.
  •  Operators must abide by any relevant privacy legislation.

Certifications and documents required

  • CASA-issued RPA Operator’s Certificate (ReOC).
  • CASA-issued Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) or UAV Operations Certificate (UOC) for each proposed operator.
  • A copy of the drone operating types and nominated personnel from the ReOC operations manual.
  • A copy of the Public Liability Insurance certificate of the drone operator’s company ($20M).
  •  Flight risk assessment.
  • Flight site map – including take-off and landing location and flight path.
  • Any required CASA-issued exemptions or approvals e.g. flying at night, over 400ft AGL or in restricted airspace.
  • Operators of drones weighing less than 2kg (Sub 2 Kilo drones) that are unable to provide the above certifications and documents will not be permitted to operate a drone on GSP land.

Application requirements

The following steps must be completed at least 5 working days before the proposed flying date to obtain approval:

  • Submit your completed Filming and Photography Application Form.
  • Submit copies of all the above-mentioned certifications and documents, including flight site plan and risk assessment.
  • Schedule a site visit with GSP’s venue representative with the applicant drone operator to ascertain the feasibility and safety of each proposed location.
  • Submit CASA approvals or exemptions for any drone flights that do not comply with the above-mentioned safety information, and any other required licences (e.g. Threatened Species Licence)
  • Submit proof of notifying NSW Police and Roads and Maritime Services or any other relevant public authorities that may be impacted by the drone flight
  • Submit a pedestrian control plan and traffic control plan if drone operations are near pathways or roadways. Depending on the size of your shoot this may need to include spotters, signage or a barricading plan to enforce the required clearance from the public.

 

Additionally, ranger security officer resources may be required to be engaged through GSP at a cost to the applicant to monitor compliance with the conditions of approval.

Additional items of note

  • Commercial filming, including drone filming, is generally not permitted at Callan Park or Fernhill Estate.
  • Drone filming is generally not permitted at Parramatta Park.
  • Drone filming is only permitted outside of the restricted air space (red area) at Centennial Parklands ->
  • Additional consultation and permissions may be required to fly a drone near highly sensitive areas.
  • Drone filming in close proximity to either of our colonies of flying-foxes in Centennial Park and Parramatta Park, in particular when the flying-foxes are in flight requires a Threatened Species Licence also known as Biodiversity Conservation licence. Further information on this link: https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/licences-and- permits/wildlife-licences/licences-to-control-or-harm/licences- to-harm-threatened-species

References

 

Further Information

Please contact GSP at: