The commercial drone market in Australia, while at a nascent stage, has seen a surge of activity in recent years, particularly in service provider businesses. Drone applications are emerging in various sectors such as agriculture, mining, oil and gas (O&G), construction, utilities, and environmental conservation.

Technological advancements are making it easier to execute complex and diverse data gathering exercises. Innovation in packaged software products and data visualisation makes the process more accessible, efficient, and convenient to end users. There is also a growing perception of drones as a useful educational tool and high-potential area for future innovation. In addition, government-driven initiatives are helping develop capabilities in the country to support the long-term growth of the drone industry.

However, regulations restricting the use of drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) is limiting the market. Also, many companies keen on utilising commercial drone technologies may not have a good grasp of the ecosystem or requirements for integration into operations, platform capabilities and limitations, regulatory restrictions, overall investment required in equipment and people to transition from the traditional method of operations to one aided by drones. For many potential end users, a critical concern is the security and privacy of data collected and generated by drones. The increase in drone use is likely to raise industry and public focus on safety, especially as the risks are currently not understood adequately.

By 2022, new applications such as the use of drones in delivery services and extended use across existing applications are expected to emerge. With expanded use and awareness, drones are expected to become a key component in the “toolbox” of most industries. The mining and the O&G sector leads the market in terms of drone uptake and proven use cases; followed by the utilities and infrastructure sector. Asset inspection and monitoring is the fastest growing use case in the drone market.

In terms of product type, multi-rotors under-2-kilograms continue to dominate the market. However, the development of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drones is set to challenge this preference.

Australian capabilities are most visible in the services market, as evident from a surge in the number of certified drone operator organisations. The Australian commercial drone product market consists of established multinational original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and several home-grown companies. The majority of commercial drone activities are currently concentrated in New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria. Cost, performance, brand recognition, customer aftersales service and support, technology, platform reliability, ease of operation, and safety features are some of the leading competitive tools in the Australian commercial drone market.

Author: Ivan Fernandez