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The certification belongs to the operator, not to the client. If you engage a certified drone operator for your shoot, you do not need a ReOC, you do not need a remote pilot licence (RePL), and you do not need your own drone insurance. You need an operator who holds all three.
No. The certification belongs to the operator, not to the client. If you engage a certified drone operator for your shoot you do not need a ReOC, you do not need a RePL (remote pilot licence), and you do not need your own drone insurance. You would only need your own ReOC and RePL if your own staff were flying your own drone for commercial purposes.
No. Airspace is regulated exclusively by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and no local government has the power to override aviation law. What a council can control is the ground: whether you may take off from, land on, or run a commercial operation on land it manages.
It depends on whose land you launch from. The City of Perth requires a permit for launching and landing on council land, with the pilot's remote pilot licence (RePL), ten million dollars of public liability cover and at least five business days' notice. The Cities of Cockburn, Joondalup and Stirling and the Town of East Fremantle do not require council approval to fly. A commercial filming activity can require a permit separately from the drone itself.
Only commercially, and only with approval. The Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority does not permit hobby or recreational flying, because the park is treated as a populous area. Commercial drone work is by licensed operators in approved locations, assessed case by case at the time of booking, with permit fees and an acknowledgement of BGPA in the credits.
Recreational flying is prohibited. Commercial drone use is only possible through a Rottnest Island Authority filming permit, which carries a drone application fee, a risk management plan and documentation due at least thirty days before the shoot.
National parks, conservation reserves and the Swan and Canning Riverpark are managed by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, which handles them separately from council land. Approval is arranged through DBCA rather than the local government, and it is a separate application from any council permit.
It depends entirely on the location. Councils commonly want five business days. Rottnest Island requires at least thirty days. A straightforward location with no permit requirement needs far less. Send Richard the location as early as you can and he will confirm the lead time it actually needs.
Not personally. Richard carries his own cover as the operator. Some land managers require a certificate of currency to be lodged with the permit application, and the City of Perth sets a ten million dollar minimum. That certificate comes from the operator, not from the client.
Yes, within a hard limit. In Western Australia a drone must stay at least 60 metres from any marine animal, including whales, killer whales, dolphins, whale sharks, dugongs and seals. That separation is enforced under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 and carries penalties of up to five hundred thousand dollars, so it is a legal distance rather than a guideline. Note that it differs from other states, where 100 metres is common. The drone must also not disturb the animal's behaviour at any distance. In DBCA-managed parks and reserves commercial filming needs a filming and photography permit on top of this, and the Swan and Canning Riverpark needs a separate permit from the Rivers and Estuaries Branch. In practice the shot comes from flying higher and cropping in post, not from flying closer.
The same disturbance rule applies, and it is the animal's response that matters rather than the distance alone. DBCA specifically warns that effects on feeding and breeding behaviour are often not obvious from the air, so a bird that looks untroubled on the monitor may still have been flushed off a nest. On park land you are also asked to contact the relevant district office before each flight, both so the drone does not conflict with aerial park management work such as prescribed burning, and so you know about any seasonal breeding closures.
There is no consolidated register of drone positions in WA, and most land managers publish theirs inconsistently — sometimes in a local law, sometimes inside a filming permit page, often nowhere at all. This directory records what each council and land-managing authority states, with the date it was last checked. Entries marked to confirm have not yet been verified directly.
| Local government | Position | Contact | Notes | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of South Perth | no permit, no fee | (08) 9474 0777 enquiries@southperth.wa.gov.au |
Notification to Bookings Office preferred. No exclusive use of parks or reserves. | Jul 2026 |
| Town of East Fremantle | no permit (CASA only) | (08) 9339 9339 admin@eastfremantle.wa.gov.au |
Town approval is not required to fly. CASA rules apply in full. Exclusive rights to parks and reserves are not granted for drone flying. | Aug 2026 |
| City of Perth | permit required | (08) 9461 3333 obstruction.permits@cityofperth.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by the Obstruction Permits team. Any launch or landing on City-managed land needs a Filming and Drone permit, lodged as an Obstruction Permit. Requires the pilot’s RePL, a marked 30 m exclusion zone with signage, $10m public liability, and a pedestrian/traffic management plan where footpaths or road reserves are affected. Min. 5 full business days; a $150 late fee may apply for expedited assessment of a basic drone application with no road closures. | Aug 2026 |
| City of Fremantle | permit required | (08) 9432 9841 hanam@fremantle.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by the City’s film contact. Commercial = crossing boundaries, filming in the street, or any promotional use; a permit is then required. Fee $150–$2,000 by impact — one drone and one operator following CASA rules sits at $150. $10m public liability required. Min. 1 week’s notice; one permit can span multiple days and dates can be moved for weather up to three times. Fees may be waived for students, or footage promoting Fremantle interstate/overseas. No flying over City events. Ports, Prison and Fishing Boat Harbour land need their own permission. | Aug 2026 |
| City of Stirling | no permit (CASA only) | (08) 9205 8555 stirling@stirling.wa.gov.au |
No drone permit issued — fly per CASA rules. Two designated drone areas: Hertha North Reserve and Yokine Regional Open Space West. Not over beaches, busy parks or ovals in use. Commercial filming needs a permit. | Jul 2026 |
| City of Vincent | permit required | (08) 9273 6552 Bindi.Thomas@vincent.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by the City’s Ranger Support Officer. Permission required to take off or land where the activity is commercial filming. Filming permit via Ranger Permits: $110 per location, min. 3 business days, and the City wants licences plus a flight plan/JSA with the application. Assessed case by case — applying does not guarantee approval. | Aug 2026 |
| Town of Cottesloe | permit required | (08) 9285 5000 Events@cottesloe.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by the Town’s Acting Event Coordinator. Permission is required to take off or land on Town-managed land, and licence and insurance documentation must be supplied with dates and times. Recreational flying is not permitted anywhere in the Town — all drone activity must be registered through the Town’s SpacetoCo booking platform. Commercial film and photo bookings at the Civic Centre and surrounds run from $220/hr (capped at $1,540/day) plus a mandatory $258 permit application fee; the non-commercial listing starts at $111/hr. Note the council@ address was discontinued in 2026 — enquiries now go to Events@cottesloe.wa.gov.au. Ring the Town for exclusions, designated areas and event or seasonal restrictions. |
Aug 2026 |
| City of Joondalup | no permit (CASA only) | (08) 9400 4000 info@joondalup.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by the City’s Community Safety team. Launching and retrieval permitted in parks and reserves provided it causes no nuisance, and the rule does not change for commercial work — no permit, no fee. Not permitted in National Park areas. The same applies on the foreshore, and the City advises that flying out over the ocean should be discussed with the Department of Fisheries. Letting Community Safety know when and where you intend to fly is suggested. | Aug 2026 |
| City of Cockburn | no permit (CASA only) | (08) 9411 3444 customer@cockburn.wa.gov.au |
City approval is not required. Publishes a dedicated drone page. Note Jandakot Airport — controlled airspace covers much of the district. | Aug 2026 |
| City of Swan | permit required | (08) 9267 9267 Media@swan.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed from the City’s Film Friendly Guidelines (Apr 2026). Filming and photography on City land goes through a film request, handled by a dedicated Film Liaison Officer; CASA drone rules are named in the compliance list, so aerial work sits inside the same process. Min. 5 working days, or 15 for road closures and complex shoots. Requires $20m public liability — double what Perth and Fremantle ask — plus a risk management plan, a traffic/pedestrian plan where relevant, and notification of affected businesses and residents at least 5 business days ahead. Fees follow the City’s Schedule of Fees and Charges, with extra for venue hire, parking bays or road closures; they may be waived for significant community or tourism benefit. Following up in Aug 2026, the City’s Media and PR Officer confirmed there are no drone-specific blanket exclusions or seasonal bans on City land beyond the CASA rules already in force, and acknowledged the Guidelines are skewed towards larger productions involving vehicles and extended stays on Council land. For a single operator, one aircraft, in and out inside an hour, he asked operators to act responsibly and go ahead — while noting policy here is a grey area and asking that anyone questioned on site ring the City straight away on (08) 9267 9267. Treat that as informal guidance rather than a published exemption: the film request process remains the City’s formal position. | Aug 2026 |
| City of Rockingham | permit required | (08) 9527 0730 customer@rockingham.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by the City’s Senior Activity Approvals Officer. All commercial drone use requires City approval to take off or land on public land or City property, regardless of drone size or type — and the City states plainly that permits will not be issued to unlicensed operators even for a sub-2 kg aircraft. Applications go through the Filming Permit process under the Public Places and Local Government Property Local Law 2018. No permits are issued for recreational flying; recreational operators simply follow CASA rules. The published form asks for up to 21 business days and lists $200 for the first day, $100 per subsequent day, with public liability of at least $10m — though that form is dated 2018 and the City notes fees and timeframes depend on the activity, so confirm current figures. Drone applications must include RePL licences, the ReOC, a certificate of currency for UAV liability insurance, a risk assessment, CASA area approval where applicable, and an operations plan covering take-off and landing zones, flight path, exclusion zones and spotter positions. A 30 m exclusion zone must be marked out with signage, bollards and tape. Fees are waived for news and current affairs, and for community-benefit, charity or Rockingham heritage projects. Halls, parks and reserves are booked separately and may carry their own charge, and driving on Rockingham beaches needs a per-vehicle permit. | Aug 2026 |
| Kings Park (BGPA) | permit required | (08) 9480 3600 bookings@bgpa.wa.gov.au |
Confirmed by BGPA bookings. Hobby flying is prohibited in Kings Park and Bold Park. Professional work only, in two areas: the Boardwalk Vista (1.4 km fire break, May Drive Parkland to the Botanic Gardens) between 9am–6pm; and the Fraser Avenue end — the view everyone wants, but treated as populated parkland, so permits are strictly dawn + 30 minutes only. Filming the State War Memorial precinct, including the Cenotaph and Flame of Remembrance, needs written permission from RSLWA and BGPA. Commercial filming $200/hr; community and charity $80/hr; news media free. Booked events restrict availability — Moonlight Cinema (Dec–Mar) closes part of the Boardwalk Vista late in the day. | Aug 2026 |
| Bold Park (BGPA) | permit required | (08) 9480 3600 bookings@bgpa.wa.gov.au |
Not a council — also Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority. Hobby flying prohibited, same as Kings Park. Commercial work goes through the same filming and photography application. | Aug 2026 |
| Rottnest Island (RIA) | permit required | (08) 9432 9300 enquiries@rottnestisland.com |
Not a council. Recreational flying prohibited. Commercial drone use only via a filming permit — drone application fee, risk management plan and documentation due min. 30 days before the shoot. | Jul 2026 |
Written replies from each land manager, August 2026. Six things are worth knowing before you plan a Perth aerial.
A note running underneath all of this: these frameworks are written for a production unit — trucks, road closures, a week on location. Almost none of them describe a process for one operator with one aircraft for forty minutes. The City of Swan is simply the council that said so out loud, acknowledging its guidelines are skewed towards larger productions and that the policy around small drone-only shoots is a grey area. Expect to be assessed against a form built for a bigger job than the one you are doing.
The most common misconception in WA drone work is that a local council can stop you flying. It can't. Airspace is regulated exclusively by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and no local government has the power to override aviation law. What a council can control is the ground: whether you may take off from, land on, or run a commercial operation on land it manages.
That distinction matters on a shoot day. It means the question is rarely "am I allowed to fly here?" and almost always "whose land am I standing on, and who needs to approve the activity?" In practice there are four separate layers, and a WA production may need to satisfy several at once.
Sets the rules that always apply: 120 m altitude limit, 30 m from people, no flying over populous areas, visual line of sight, and controlled-airspace restrictions near airports. Commercial work requires a remote pilot licence (RePL) and operation under a remotely piloted operator's certificate (ReOC). Nothing below this layer can grant you an exemption from it.
Councils manage parks, reserves, beaches and road verges. They can require permission to take off or land there, and most charge for a commercial filming permit. Policies vary widely between councils and are the least consistently published of the four layers — see the directory below.
Recreational flying in WA's national parks and conservation reserves needs no departmental approval, but any commercial work requires a filming and photography permit. The Swan and Canning Riverpark is separate again and needs its own permit from DBCA's Rivers and Estuaries Branch — easy to miss when shooting the river through Perth.
Kings Park sits with the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority, not a council. Ports, mine sites, rail corridors, private property and event venues each have their own controllers. If the land has an owner or operator, assume their permission is needed to launch from it. Approvals are arranged as part of the booking, flown with the two cinema drones he flies.
Because councils control ground access rather than airspace, launching from private property with the owner's consent removes the council land-access question entirely. It does not remove anything else: CASA rules still apply in full, and if you're conducting a commercial filming activity over council land, a permit may still be required for the activity regardless of where you took off. It's a useful option on tight locations, not a loophole.
Planning an aerial shoot in Western Australia? Richard is a CASA RePL-licensed and ReOC-certified operator based in Perth, and handles the flight planning and approvals as part of the job. See the drone cinematography services, or get in touch with your dates and location.