Australia can create world leading unmanned aircraft privacy law regime

Australia has an opportunity to create a world leading privacy regime for the effective management of unmanned aircraft flown for commercial purposes according to the Australian Certified UAV Operators Association (ACUO), the peak national body for the emerging industry.

An ACUO submission last Friday to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs outlines a proposed four tier architecture for the development of effective privacy controls that protect individual human rights while still facilitating industry growth. The ACUO submission was well received by the ministers.

The proposed approach would see Australia’s existing Privacy Act and other extant national laws undergo minor modification to recognise that imagery, the primary output of unmanned aircraft used for commercial purposes, needs to be accorded the same status as data. This issue has been loosely explored by the Australian Law Reform Commission in past examinations of privacy law but remains unaddressed at the legislative level.

The second layer of the system would be to use existing Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations controlling the use of unmanned aircraft in commercial applications to be strictly monitored and where necessary enforced. Existing CASA regulations do not contain privacy provisions nor is this appropriate; however those same regulations effectively act to provide geo-fences where commercial unmanned aircraft are not allowed to operate. Geographic separation of commercial unmanned aircraft from direct human activities will be a major factor in ensuring privacy breaches do not arise in the first instance.

ACUO believes that the greatest risk of privacy breaches caused by commercial unmanned aircraft will be where illegal operators, who do not hold CASA certification, choose to fly and film regardless of consequence. ACUO holds that CASA needs to take a firm approach to illegal operators and prosecute swiftly to ensure the social licence of the Australian unmanned aircraft industry is not destroyed while the industry remains in its growth phase.

The third layer of the system would be the utilisation of existing State and Territory Laws , particularly those which deal with prowler type activities. ACUO notes that the Federal Attorney General last year asked all State and Territory Governments to review the status of their laws, as potentially applied to commercial unmanned aircraft operations, and welcomes this effort to ‘sharpen’ existing law. However ACUO notes that there is little dialogue between State and Territory governments and the unmanned aircraft industry as part of this review process and urges meaningful steps be taken to counter this situation lest unworkable legislative proposals emerge to the detriment of not only the industry but also the overall Australian privacy law framework as now exists.

The final layer of the system would be the adoption of the Australian Privacy Commissioner’s ‘Privacy Impact Assessment’ process as a standard element of operational planning and mission execution by certified unmanned aircraft operators. ACUO holds that privacy should be accorded respect as part of basic airmanship and accepts that there is an obligation on the industry to ensure it achieves its commercial objectives with due consideration of community concerns.
The development of an effective national privacy regime for the Australian unmanned aircraft industry should not be approached on an onerous basis. ACUO assesses the broad structure is already in place and requires no new measures, simply a tailoring of existing laws and regulations, coupled with a clear focus on enforcement activity by the national regulator. Australia has already proven it is a pioneer in privacy law measures; the tailoring of the existing national structures in a purposeful way yet again provides opportunity for global leadership.

About ACUO: ACUO was established as a legal entity in March 2010 and currently represents one third of all entities holding Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority unmanned aircraft operator certificates. It is chartered to promote the growth and the expansion of the commercial unmanned aircraft industry in Australia and to ensure the safe and orderly growth of the sector. ACUO represents Australia globally as part of the International Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Coordination Council, the pre-eminent global policy coordination body for this important sunrise industry.

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For further information, please contact:
Joe Urli
President
ACUO
Email: president@acuo.org.u
Brad Mason
Secretary
ACUO
Email: secretary@acuo.org.au