The new age of drones
The popularity of drones for commercial and personal use has skyrocketed in Australia, with more affordable options entering the market every year. Whilst this poses an exciting new opportunity for businesses, it’s important to understand the risks and regulations to minimize any negative implications they may pose moving forward.
It’s almost impossible to get an accurate picture of the scale of current drone usage in Australia, as most drones do not need to be registered.
“Probably there are tens of thousands, possibly even 100,000, but at this point we don't know,” says Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) spokesperson Peter Gibson.
This growth is set to continue, according to Rob Sutton, Director of Mirragin Unmanned Systems, a company that has created a drone map to help organisations implement drone programs. The map currently encompasses more than 1,200 drone operators in Australia.
“I do think that we are on the cusp of a large growth in the market, so I’d definitely expect more entrants over time,” Sutton told Commercial UAV News. “I think rather than Army taking the lead as is the case at the moment, the civilian uses will become more obvious as people are educated.”
Drones – not just for Star Wars
In April 2019 Wing, an offshoot of Google’s parent company Alphabet, began its first commercial drone delivery operations in Canberra. Research commissioned by Wing states that 25 per cent of all food delivery orders and as much as 6 per cent of all purchases could be delivered via drone in the Canberra metropolitan area by 2050.
As a country of vast distances, Australia has been a testbed for applications of drone technology for industrial uses. This includes managing power lines, mobile phone infrastructure, and rail lines. Drones are also being used by real estate agents, surveyors, media, cinematographers, loss adjusters and agricultural users.
Due to the licence exclusions for sub-2kg payloads for commercial usage for drones, coupled with their increase in popularity, the number of “cowboy” operators has grown exponentially.
To mitigate this issue, CASA introduced a drone registration and accreditation scheme in late 2019.
Considering drones in your risk profile
While drone technologies offer exciting applications, there are risks associated with using them for commercial purposes.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), charged with responsibility for the investigation of aviation accidents, reported more than 100 drone safety occurrences in 2016 and concluded that drones represented a growing and insufficiently understood safety risk. There are also continuing concerns regarding regulatory compliance, liability, insurance, and privacy.
There are a number of risks that should be considered when evaluating insurance for drone operators:
- Causing accidental damage while the drone is in operation
- As drones themselves are unpeopled, they can more easily become lost or damaged, this can apply to the drone itself or to its payload (including cameras and sensors fitted to the drone)
- Any legal liability through bodily injury or property damage caused by a drone
- Covering liability for the remote pilot on the ground
- Damage to ground equipment such as remote pilot stations
- Covering claims against an invasion of privacy, such as identifying people filmed that later appear in an advertisement, broadcast or other media
- Ensuring electronic data or media gathered in the drone is covered against loss or damage
Insurers should also be mindful to check whether drone operators are certified and registered under the current CASA scheme, the number of flight hours since the drone was manufactured, engine type and redundancy as well as aircraft range.
Additional factors should also be considered, such as endurance, launch and recovery, navigation, operating environment (urban or non-urban) as well as maintenance, storage and safety of any load while in transit.
Disclaimer:
The information is intended to be of a general nature only. We do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss incurred as a result of reliance upon it – please make your own enquiries.
