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The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) regulates drone safety in Australia.

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Emergency management

Drones are helping firefighters and other emergency services respond quickly and safely.

Emerging aviation technologies are improving emergency service delivery across Australia. Drones can rapidly assess damage after natural disasters like floods or fires, and can identify potential hazards that emergency services need to avoid during rescue operations. Use of drones for surveillance can also allow more efficient allocation of personnel and help prioritise relief efforts to areas most in need. 

Aerial units with thermal detection can pick up heat signatures from people and animals in floodwaters and identify if anyone is sheltering too close to dangerous, water-logged solar power panels on rooftops. This information is relayed to command centres in real time. This enables immediate disaster response and complements the efforts of emergency service agencies.

Firefighting capability

Drones are also assisting firefighters in a range of different ways, including early fire detection, fuel load mapping, providing real-time situational awareness, predicting fire spread, and rescuing injured wildlife after the event.