Checklist · Aviation, Drones & Space
Optical surveillance check for a drone flight in Victoria
Check of a proposed drone flight in Victoria against section 7 of the Surveillance Devices Act 1999 (Vic) and the definitions of optical surveillance device, private activity and party.
- Kind
- Checklist. Steps or checks to work through and tick off.
- Where it applies
- Victoria
- AI use
- Yellow You and the tool draft together, with you directing. You check every statement you rely on.
- Law stated as at
- 22 October 2026
- Status
- Maintained. Checked on 22 October 2026 against the 2 authorities it cites, for Victoria.
- Version
- 1
- Source
- Written for this library
When to use it
Use when a business proposes to record or observe from a drone in Victoria, before the flight, and alongside the civil aviation rules rather than in place of them.
Used for these tasks
Each task page says how far AI may help with the task and what the lawyer must review.
How AI may be used
The tool sets out the section 7 questions and the instructions the lawyer supplies, and the lawyer decides whether an offence is in issue.
AI may
- Record the location, whether the activity is inside a building, and whether the operator is a party to it.
- Quote the definition of private activity, including the exclusion for an activity carried on outside a building.
- List the section 7(2) exceptions that were read, each marked as applying or not applying on the lawyer's instructions.
AI must not
- Do not advise that the flight is lawful.
- Do not apply a surveillance statute of another State. None was opened.
- Do not apply a listening-device or publication offence. Those sections were not opened.
The lawyer checks
- Section 7(1) is limited to a private activity to which the person is not a party, without the express or implied consent of each party.
- Private activity does not include an activity carried on outside a building. Apply that exclusion before treating an outdoor flight as within section 7(1).
- Section 7(2)(b) excludes use in accordance with a law of the Commonwealth. No Commonwealth aviation law was read for this check.
- The maximum penalties in section 7(1) are stated below as the section states them. They were not converted to dollars.
Method: how the Green, Yellow and Red levels are decided. This is guidance for planning, not legal advice.
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