Drone Photography in Canberra: Airspace, CASA Rules + What Agents Need to Know

Canberra has the most regulated airspace of any Australian capital — and yet drone real estate photography happens here every day, legally and safely. The confusion comes from agents not knowing what their photographer is (or isn't) doing about it.

Here's the short version of what's legal, what's restricted, and what you should be asking your drone operator before they fly over your listing.

Yes, drone real estate photography is legal in Canberra

It's legal in most of Canberra most of the time, by a pilot operating under the right CASA framework with the right approvals. The catch: "right" varies depending on where the property is.

I fly under a CASA Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) and operate as a certified remote operator. That's the standard for commercial real estate work in Australia. It is materially different to a hobby pilot flying a sub-2kg drone under recreational rules — and for real estate work, only commercial-licensed operation is legally appropriate.

The CASA basics

Australian drone rules live with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. The framework for commercial real estate flying breaks down to:

• You must hold a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) if you're flying for commercial purposes (i.e. paid real estate work). Hobby rules don't cover paid work, even on small drones.
• You must have public liability insurance covering drone operations. Standard photographer insurance doesn't include drone unless specifically extended.
• You can't fly over people not involved in the operation without special authorisation.
• Maximum altitude is 120m above ground level in standard operations.
• You can't fly within 5.5km of a controlled aerodrome without coordination — and Canberra has several.

Canberra's tricky bits

What makes Canberra harder than Sydney or Melbourne:

Canberra Airport and RAAF Base Fairbairn. The whole eastern half of the ACT sits inside controlled airspace. Flying for real estate in suburbs like Reid, Campbell, Ainslie, Russell, Pialligo, Majura, Hume, or parts of Queanbeyan requires coordination with airservices and the airport before the flight. We do this routinely — but it adds time, which is why some operators quietly skip it.

The Parliamentary Triangle. The area roughly bordered by Parkes Way, State Circle, and Commonwealth Avenue is permanently restricted airspace. You cannot fly a drone here as a commercial operator. This affects parts of Yarralumla, Forrest, Barton, and Parkes — and matters enormously for prestige listings in those suburbs.

Government House and the Prime Minister's Lodge. Both have permanent exclusion zones that affect the immediate surrounds.

VIP movements. When a visiting head of state is in town, temporary restrictions go into the airspace near where they're staying. These are published with short notice and disrupt scheduled shoots.

Can you fly a drone in Civic, Fyshwick, or Canberra's inner districts?

This is probably the most common question I get about drone work in Canberra. The honest answer: yes — provided your operator holds a CASA RePL and has lodged the right area approvals before the shoot.

Civic, Fyshwick, Mitchell, Symonston, Hume industrial, Kingston foreshore, parts of Pialligo — these all sit inside Canberra's controlled airspace. Flying them isn't a matter of "show up and launch":

• Pre-flight coordination with Canberra Airport is usually lodged 24–48 hours ahead
• Specific approvals for the exact location, altitude, and flight pattern
• Awareness of any current NOTAMs (Notices to Airmen) affecting the area on shoot day

This is exactly why "a mate with a drone" doesn't work for commercial real estate shoots in these suburbs — they're not running the paperwork. We do this routinely. If your listing is a Fyshwick warehouse, a Civic apartment building, an inner Kingston property, or a Mitchell commercial site, the drone work is absolutely doable — it just requires a few days' notice and an operator who knows the process.

When the drone can't fly — helicopter as the fallback

Sometimes the answer is genuinely "drone is not an option." Permanent exclusion zones (parts of the parliamentary triangle, Government House and the Lodge surrounds), short-notice VIP restrictions, or specific listings where altitude or distance requirements push beyond what drone can legally deliver.

When the budget allows, helicopter aerial photography is the answer. We work with helicopter operators across the region and can organise a fly-over for listings where drone simply won't work. It's noticeably more expensive — you're paying for a pilot, aircraft, fuel, and crew time — but for the right listing it's transformative.

Where helicopter actually earns its place:

• Properties inside or adjacent to the parliamentary triangle (parts of Yarralumla, Forrest, Barton) where drone is permanently restricted
• Large rural and acreage holdings where the drone's range, altitude, and battery limits can't capture the full scale
• Properties where the establishing shot needs to be taken from materially higher than 120m AGL (the drone ceiling)
• Sweeping continuous-arc footage that drone batteries and flight regulations physically can't replicate
• Coastal lifestyle properties south of Braidwood where the helicopter can pull from the coast back over the property in a single shot

If your listing is high-end enough that aerials are non-negotiable but airspace restrictions block drone, talk to me about helicopter — it's part of the toolkit, and we have a small panel of operators we use regularly.

What this actually means for your listing

For 90% of Canberra listings: standard drone operation, no special steps, drone is fine. For the other 10% — anything in the Inner South, around the airport, in the commercial inner-city districts — your operator needs to know what they're doing and have the right approvals in their back pocket. For the 1% where drone genuinely can't fly, helicopter steps in.

I cover all of this as a matter of course. When I quote a job in Yarralumla, Forrest, Civic, or Fyshwick, the regulatory side is already worked out before I confirm a shoot date. Operators who don't think about it tend to discover they can't fly at the property at 8am on shoot day — which then becomes your problem.

What to ask your drone operator

Three short questions worth asking before you book — they'll quickly identify operators who shouldn't be flying commercially:

1. "Do you hold a CASA RePL and are you operating under a certified ReOC?" If they don't know what either of those is, walk away.
2. "What's your public liability cover for drone operations?" Should be $10M+ for any commercial flying.
3. "Have you flown in [this specific suburb] before?" If they say yes but the suburb is inside controlled airspace and they don't mention coordination, they're probably winging it.

Why this matters to your agency

If an uninsured or unlicensed operator damages property or, worse, injures someone while shooting your listing — and your agency hired them — you're potentially on the hook. CASA has been increasingly active about prosecuting commercial drone breaches, with penalties up to $11,000 per offence for individuals.

The same applies to vendors hiring directly. If you're a vendor reading this and your agent has hired a "mate with a drone," it's worth asking the same three questions above on your own behalf.

Frequently asked questions

Can you fly a drone over Yarralumla and Forrest?

Some parts, yes; the parliamentary triangle and the immediate area around Government House, no. It's a case-by-case answer based on the specific street and where the property sits relative to the exclusion zones. I'll tell you before I quote.

What about Canberra suburbs near the airport?

Inner east suburbs (Reid, Campbell, Ainslie, Russell, Pialligo) sit in controlled airspace. We can fly there for real estate but it requires coordination with the airport before each flight. This is standard work — it just doesn't happen on 30 minutes' notice.

Can you fly drone in Fyshwick, Civic, Mitchell, or Kingston?

Yes — all of those sit inside controlled airspace but they're absolutely flyable with the right RePL-licensed operator and pre-lodged approvals. The work happens on a 2–3 day lead time rather than same-day, because we need to lodge with the airport and have approvals confirmed before launch. Commercial real estate shoots in these districts happen every week with the right operator.

What if the property is somewhere drone genuinely can't fly?

Helicopter is the answer. We organise helicopter aerial photography for listings inside the parliamentary triangle, properties needing high-altitude establishing shots, and large rural holdings where drone's range doesn't capture the scale. More expensive than drone, but for prestige listings where airspace restrictions otherwise block aerials it's the right call.

Can I get aerials at Lake Burley Griffin or Mount Ainslie for backdrop?

Direct flights over Lake Burley Griffin are restricted. Flights from a property looking toward the lake or Mount Ainslie are usually fine. The framing matters more than the orientation.

Will weather cancel my drone shoot?

Sometimes. Strong wind above 25 knots, heavy rain, or low visibility are no-fly conditions for safety reasons. We rebook the aerial component free of charge — usually within 24–48 hours.

Do you fly in Bungendore, Braidwood, Yass, Goulburn, Cooma?

Yes — and these are all outside Canberra's controlled airspace, so they're usually much simpler operationally. Rural and acreage drone work is genuinely where the most powerful shots come from.

Book a drone-included shoot

Drone aerials are included as standard in our cinematic listing film packages and available as a standalone add-on with photography. Send me the property — I'll confirm what's possible before you commit.

See our drone work →