Australian drone rules for FPV pilots (recreational)

Summary of Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) guidance, checked 14 October 2026 against casa.gov.au pages last updated by CASA in October/November 2024. Not legal advice. Always check the CASA drone rules and a CASA-verified drone safety app before flying.

The core recreational rules

Don't fly higher than 120 m above ground level.
Keep at least 30 m away from other people and never fly over people.
Fly only one drone at a time, only in daylight, and not through cloud, fog or smoke.
Don't fly in populous areas (CASA lists beaches, parks, events, sport ovals during games, residential areas, roads).
Don't fly over or near emergency operations (police, fire, ambulance, search and rescue).
Drones over 250 g: not within 5.5 km of a controlled airport (one with a control tower). 250 g or less: up to 45 m within 5.5 km, but stay out of the airport boundary and approach/departure paths.
Near non-controlled airports and within 1.4 km of helicopter landing sites, move away and land if you become aware of crewed aircraft.
Respect privacy. Parts of Sydney Harbour and many landmarks sit in restricted airspace.

The FPV-specific rule: visual line of sight

CASA requires you to keep your drone within visual line-of-sight, seen with your own eyes, not through goggles or a screen. CASA's FPV page says:

Indoors: you can fly FPV for sport or recreation if the drone can't get out of the building; no CASA approval needed.
Outdoors: you must either be a member of a model aircraft association approved to fly FPV (the MAAA; FPV under the MAAA is only at CASA-approved MAAA locations), or apply for CASA approval to fly FPV recreationally.
Commercial FPV: needs an EVLOS or BVLOS approval.

Source: CASA: Flying first person view.

Registration, RePL and accreditation

Flying for fun: no drone registration (including sub-250 g), no licence (RePL) and no operator accreditation needed. No age limit. Drones over 25 kg need an approval.
Flying for business or work (any weight, including under 250 g): register the drone (online, valid 12 months, must be 16+) and hold operator accreditation or a remote pilot licence (RePL), depending on the operation. CASA lists registration as free for drones 500 g or less and a $40 levy per drone over 500 g.
Sub-2 kg "excluded category" work (e.g. selling photos/video) needs an ARN, operator accreditation and registration, but not a RePL or ReOC. Operations under a ReOC need a RePL.

Sources: CASA: Drone safety rules, CASA: Registration requirements, CASA: Weight categories and requirements, CASA: Flying near airports.

Penalties

CASA's Know Your Drone page says fines of up to $1,565 can be issued per offence, and up to $15,650 if the matter goes to court. Flying an unregistered drone for business can attract a fine of up to $16,500. Figures can change; check CASA.

State and local rules