Remote pilot competency in Australia
What training do I need to fly a drone in Australia?
Limited guide. Drone Assistant's coverage of Australia is still under review, so this page summarises only the published rules we can cite to an official source. It is not a complete statement of Australia's drone law; check the linked sources or ask the assistant about your own flight.
Remote pilot competency in Australia scales with the operation: which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the published conditions below.
What training, examination or proof of competency a remote pilot must hold.
What the rules say
Each line is resolved from published facts of Australia. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.
- Competency requiredConditional
- Training requiredConditional
- Examination requiredConditional
- Proof of competency issuedConditional
- Operation-specific qualificationYes
- Validity periodConditional
What changes the answer
The published rules distinguish the excluded rpa category of operation.
The rules behind this answer
- Binding lawNational rule
Accreditation or remote pilot licence requirement for excluded and micro RPA
A person does not operate an excluded RPA or a micro RPA unless they hold either an accreditation authorising the operation of excluded RPA and micro RPA, or a remote pilot licence.
- Binding lawNational rule
Aeronautical Knowledge Component Standards
The aeronautical knowledge component of a RePL training course for a particular category of RPA must include training and assessment in the units of aeronautical knowledge from Schedule 4 prescribed for that category.
- Binding lawNational rule
Aeronautical Knowledge for RePL Upgrade (Different Category)
An applicant upgrading a RePL from a small RPA to a medium or large RPA of a different category must complete training and pass an examination in all Schedule 4 units of knowledge (except Common units), unless they hold an equivalent manned flight crew licence.
- Binding lawNational rule
Aeronautical Knowledge Requirements for Upgrading to a Different Small RPA Category
To upgrade a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) to include a different category of small RPA, the applicant must complete training and pass an examination in all non-common units of knowledge required under Schedule 4, unless they hold an equivalent manned flight crew qualification.
- Binding lawNational rule
Alternative Assessment for Undemonstrable Practical Variables
If operating conditions prevent the demonstration of a practical variable, the instructor must require the applicant to complete a simulation or oral explanation and certify in writing why the physical demonstration was impossible.
- Binding lawNational rule
Alternative Assessment Methods for Undemonstrable Variables
If operating conditions prevent the demonstration of a flight variable during an innovative RPA assessment, the instructor must require the applicant to complete a computer simulation or provide a detailed oral explanation, and certify the exception in writing.
- Binding lawNational rule
Application for excluded RPA and micro RPA accreditation
An individual may apply to CASA in writing for accreditation authorising them to operate excluded RPA and micro RPA.
- Binding lawNational rule
Application Requirements for RPA Operator Certification
An application for certification as an RPA operator must include details of the applicant's structure, staff qualifications (including chief remote pilot and maintenance controller), facilities, practices, proposed operations, and training details if applicable.
Official sources
Known limitations
- 3 dimension(s) of this topic are not expressed in a machine-resolvable way by the published corpus and are reported UNKNOWN, never FALSE.
Other drone rules in Australia
- Do I need to register my drone in Australia?Registration in Australia depends on the aircraft and the operation: it applies once the published conditions below are met, each cited to the rule that sets it.
- What is the maximum drone altitude in Australia?Drone flights in Australia are held to a published general height limit of 121.92 m AGL. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
- Can I fly a drone near an airport in Australia?Drone flights near aerodromes in Australia are governed by airspace and aerodrome restrictions: whether permission is needed depends on the airspace, distance or aerodrome type published below.
- Is BVLOS drone flight allowed in Australia?BVLOS in Australia runs through a defined authorisation pathway rather than an open permission: the published conditions below set out what that pathway requires.
- When does a drone operation need authorisation in Australia?Whether an operation in Australia needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
Built around official regulatory sources
- Official sources
- Regulation-level citations
- Coverage and freshness checks
- Location-aware data where available
Built from 6 published facts (6 binding), each resting only on the 110 citable published rules for Australia (8 shown above). Sources last verified 2026-08-28. Page built 2026-10-07 (dataset ds_4w2tpw7xmph8a92vstdt6prfbm).
Ask Drone Assistant about remote pilot competency in Australia
This page answers "What training do I need to fly a drone in Australia?" for the general case. Ask about your own aircraft, weight and location to see which of the 8 rules above actually apply to you.
This page gives general regulatory information. It is not flight clearance, operational authorisation or legal advice, and it does not guarantee that a flight is legal. See sources and methodology and terms.