As things stand today, private operators don’t need approval from CASA before taking flight with their drones, but there are some rules that need to be respected. The CASA defines the commercial use of a drone as anything you’re doing for hire or reward. For example, if you’re a production company strapping a camera to a drone for the purposes of gathering footage, or if you’re flying something into the air to test it via a drone, that’s commercial use.

            Before you can even get a drone remote in your hands for commercial purposes, CASA requires that pilots undergo a certification process in order to get an Operator’s Certificate. That demonstrates that you can not only fly a drone safely, but also that you’re aware of rules and regulations relating to drone flights in Australia. The regulations don’t stop there, either: for any drone flights, commercial operators need explicit approval from CASA before you can even leave the ground with your flying machine.

            That approval involves filing several important documents with the regulator, including a flight plan and copies of your certifications. If a commercial entity is caught operating a drone without any of these things, the flight feds will can come down on you. Hard.

            For starters, they can revoke a commercial entity’s Operator’s Certificate, which is kind of like having your driver’s license suspended as a taxi driver. It’s all bad. Drone operators can re-apply for their Operator’s Certificate, but that request goes through the CASA which has the power to refuse or place conditions on any new permit.

            The CASA can also consider the use of infringement notices or criminal charges for commercial operators if offences are serious enough.

            In new rules now delayed until 2016: Australia’s civil aviation safety body announced plans to slightly loosen around commercial drone operation, making it easier for you to make a bit of money on the side from your drone photography or drone video business.

            Lightweight drones — those under 2 kilograms, which would include the popular combination of DJI Phantom 3 plus a GoPro or other compact video camera setup — will be allowed to be operated by commercial drone pilots or companies undertaking commercial work, without having to apply and be granted a commercial drone operation license.

For companies and operators to be exempt from those licensing requirements, though, the drones they operate will have to follow the same rules as recreational users:

• Stay at least 30 meters away from people with your drone.

• Keep your drone under 120 meters. Commercial drone operators can go higher with special approvals.

• You may not operate your drone above a large gathering of people (e.g.: fireworks, at sporting events, over crowds at the beach or groups of protesters).

• You must keep your drone within sight while you’re operating it.

• You may not operate your drone within 5.5km of an airport and a place where planes take off or land from.

Drone operators’ licenses are still in high demand at CASA; the authority has a backlog of over applications for commercial pilots.