Where the network is live

Three states live. Three regions first.

We are live in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. We are starting in three places where the work repeats through the year and the licensing is clear enough to check. Everywhere else, we are registering interest and we will say so plainly rather than pretend otherwise.

S.01Coveragelive in three states

Live nowNot yet — dashed edge

RiverinaNSW
Griffith · Leeton · Deniliquin, New South Wales
Rice · wine grapes · almonds · citrus · maize · cotton
Nut corridorQLD / NSW
Bundaberg · Gympie · Northern Rivers, Queensland into New South Wales
Macadamias · avocados · citrus
Wet Tropics banana beltQLD
Tully · Innisfail, Queensland
Bananas · sugarcane

S.02Launch regions

We started where the work repeats.

01 · The Riverina

Griffith · Leeton · Deniliquin, New South Wales

Rice · wine grapes · almonds · citrus · maize · cotton

NSW

The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area and the Murray Valley together are the largest irrigated cluster in the country, and the one place where aerial application is already normal rather than novel. Rice top-dressing is flown today by fixed-wing aircraft, so nobody here needs convincing that the job can be done from the air. Wine-grape fungicide runs about nine passes a season, and almond bloom, maize armyworm, cotton defoliation and citrus fill in most of the rest of the calendar. New South Wales licensing is the clearest in the country, which is why this is where we started.

02 · The nut corridor

Bundaberg · Gympie · Northern Rivers, Queensland into New South Wales

Macadamias · avocados · citrus

QLD / NSW

Bundaberg and the Northern Rivers are the first and fifth macadamia districts in the country and together grow most of the national crop. A nut orchard is high value per hectare, and the canopy is exactly the geometry a drone is good at and a boom is not, which is why this is our second region rather than our fourth. Husk spot needs about four passes through nut set, lace bug and fruit-spotting bug are sprayed as hot spots rather than blanket-treated, and the avocado blocks alongside run to a dozen rounds a year.

The corridor crosses the border, so an operator working the length of it needs the Queensland licences and the New South Wales licences. Both are live.

03 · The Wet Tropics banana belt

Tully · Innisfail, Queensland

Bananas · sugarcane

QLD

About 70% of the national banana crop grows here, and leaf-spot control runs on a programme of roughly twenty rounds a year rather than on the weather. It is also the only horticultural crop in the country with low-volume aerial application written into a registered label. There is work in every single month of the calendar here, which matters more than peak size if you own the aircraft. Sugarcane is a secondary line, because most cane herbicide labels say the product is not to be applied by aircraft.

Not in one of these three? Send the block anyway. We are live across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and the launch regions are where we have the most operators, not the only places we cover.

S.03Coverageevery state and territory

Where we are live, and where we are not.

LiveNew South Wales
Our clearest licensing pathway, and the Riverina launch region.
LiveVictoria
Licensing confirmed. No application before sunrise or after sunset.
LiveQueensland
Two launch regions: the Bundaberg end of the nut corridor, and the Wet Tropics.
Not yetSouth Australia
Licensing for aerial application sits with SA Health rather than with the agriculture department, and we have not confirmed the pathway. We will not register operators there until we have.
Not yetWestern Australia
No operators registered yet. Register your interest and we will come back to you.
Not yetTasmania
The pathway we have been shown would need an aeroplane licence and an air operator’s certificate, which is a dead end for a drone business. We are checking it with the regulator before we say anything more.
Not yetNorthern Territory
No operators registered yet. Register your interest and we will come back to you.
Not yetAustralian Capital Territory
No operators registered yet.

“Not yet” means we have no registered operator there and we have not finished checking the licensing. It is not a statement about what the law allows. If you know the pathway in your state better than we do, tell us.

S.04For operatorswhat you need, by state

What an operator needs, by state.

Everywhere in Australia

An active ABN — company, trust or sole trader
A remote pilot licence with the multirotor class above 25 kg, for spray drones above 25 kg maximum take-off weight
An operator certificate — your own, or flying under ours — with the aircraft listed on it by make and model
An aeronautical radio operator certificate as well, if you enter controlled airspace
Insurance: hull at full replacement value, third-party cover that includes chemical drift of at least amount not yet fixed, and aviation liability of at least amount not yet fixed

New South Wales — confirmed
In this state you also need both of:
- RPA applicator pilot licence (NSW EPA)
- RPA applicator business licence (NSW EPA)
In New South Wales, a product whose label permits fixed-wing aircraft only cannot be applied by a multirotor.
Victoria — confirmed
In this state you also need both of:
- RPA pilot (chemical rating) licence (Agriculture Victoria)
- RPA agricultural aircraft operator licence (Agriculture Victoria)
An agricultural chemical user permit does not cover paid application. No application before sunrise or after sunset.
Queensland — confirmed
In this state you also need both of:
- Pilot chemical rating licence
- Aerial distribution contractor licence (Agricultural Chemicals Distribution Control Act 1966)
Most sugarcane herbicide labels say the product is not to be applied by aircraft. Check the label before you quote.
South Australia — to be confirmed
Licensing for aerial chemical application sits with SA Health rather than with the agriculture department. We are confirming the correct combination before we register operators here. Register your interest and we will come back to you with the answer, whatever it turns out to be.
Western Australia — to be confirmed
We have not finished checking the requirements for aerial application by drone. Register your interest and we will come back to you.
Tasmania — to be confirmed
The pathway we have been shown would require an aeroplane licence and an air operator’s certificate. We are checking that with the regulator before we say anything further. Register your interest and we will come back to you either way.
Northern Territory — to be confirmed
We have not finished checking the requirements. Register your interest and we will come back to you.

Licence names and fees change. We check the evidence for every operator before they can take enquiries, and we ask for the certificate, not the claim. If a licence lapses, tell us within number not yet fixed business days.

S.05Not your state yet?

Register your interest and we will come back to you.

Tell us where you are and which side of the fence you are on. We open a state when there are enough growers asking and enough licensed operators to answer them, and we would rather hear from you early than guess.