In March 2017, the committee held a public hearing in Dalby, Queensland and saw first-hand the potential of RPAS to perform search and rescue operations, monitor road conditions and agriculture, deliver goods and perform aerial mapping. The committee held five further public hearings, including examining evidence of near encounters between RPAS and other aircraft.

Concerned by the rapid growth of recreational RPAS use, the committee was quick to call for mandatory safety awareness training, registration and tracking. Following the committee’s report, tabled July 2018, the government through the Civil Aviation Safety Authority commenced implementation of the registration and testing regime recommended by the committee. As a result, from July 2019, all commercial RPAS and those over 250 grams were required to be registered and their operators to demonstrate safety awareness.

L-R: Stephen Harley [General Manager, Chief Technology Office, Telstra Corporation], Senators Barry O’Sullivan [Deputy Chair], Anthony Chisholm, David Fawcett and Glenn Sterle [Chair], Eddie Bennet [CEO, The Ripper Group], Senators Chris Back and Janet Rice, Councillor Andrew Smith [Deputy Mayor, Western Downs Regional Council] and Ben Trollope [Chief Operations Officer, The Ripper Group].

Committee members and RPAS operators view the Westpac ‘Little Ripper Lifesaver’ in Dalby, Queensland, 16 March 2017.

L-R: Stephen Harley [General Manager, Chief Technology Office, Telstra Corporation], Senators Barry O’Sullivan [Deputy Chair], Anthony Chisholm, David Fawcett and Glenn Sterle [Chair], Eddie Bennet [CEO, The Ripper Group], Senators Chris Back and Janet Rice, Councillor Andrew Smith [Deputy Mayor, Western Downs Regional Council] and Ben Trollope [Chief Operations Officer, The Ripper Group].

The Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver
RPAS is operated on the plains of
Dalby, Queensland, 16 March 2017

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