Police expand automated surveillance drones across Australia amid privacy gaps
WA Police is expanding automated drone fleets to reach emergencies in under a minute, while privacy law remains untested.
WA Police is rolling out more Drone as First Responder aircraft. The drones launch remotely from Perth's CBD to emergency scenes in less than a minute.
The drones send high-quality video before officers arrive. NSW is also testing automated drones in regional Moree.
Controllers are stationed more than 600km away in Sydney, responding to property crime and theft. Civil liberties advocates warn the technology is expanding faster than laws designed to protect it.
A core question remains unsettled: what privacy rights exist when drones film private property while travelling to a callout? Under Australian common law, property owners have limited rights to airspace above their land.
Digital rights expert Tom Sulston said most people will be unaware they have been filmed from above, and Australia needs transparency rules and independent oversight before rollout accelerates.
- Seconds
- Response time
- Perth CBD
- Drones launch from
- Sydney
- NSW controllers based
- Tom Sulston, Digital Rights Watch
- Expert
Why it mattersPolice surveillance drones are now operating under aviation safety rules alone; privacy protections in most states predate automated robotics and leave significant legal gaps.
AustraliaWA and NSW are the first Australian states rolling out automated police drones. Australians in these regions now risk being filmed from above with no clear legal framework protecting their privacy.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 3 h ago
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