Drones and privacy
4.1 Remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) have the potential to pose a serious threat to Australians’ privacy. They can intrude on a person’s or a business’s private activities either intentionally, as in the case of deliberate surveillance, or inadvertently in the course of other activities like aerial photography, traffic monitoring or search and rescue. As RPAs become cheaper and more capable, and as the instruments they carry become more sensitive, they will provide governments, companies and individuals with the cost-effective capability to observe and collect information on Australians, potentially without their knowledge or consent. 4.2 This chapter will examine Australia’s existing regulatory environment in relation to RPAs and privacy and examine issues to be taken into consideration to ensure that Australian privacy laws adequately address the risks posed by RPAs.
A ‘fractured landscape’ – RPAs and privacy laws
4.3 Australia’s privacy regime is complex. There is a range of Commonwealth, State and Territory statutes and common law principles. However, the laws are complex, at times outdated by emerging technology, and significant variations exist between jurisdictions. The Committee has heard Australia’s privacy regime variously described as a ‘fractured