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janrinok writes:

Australian privacy law needs to be updated to take into account potential breaches of privacy by remotely piloted aircraft, a report by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs has recommended.

[....]

The report stated that while remotely piloted aircraft can offer economic benefits and safety improvements, there were a number of incidents reported that raise questions about the safety of drones, and the potential privacy intrusions associated with the use of drones. Although the total number of drones in Australia is unknown, according to the Civil Aviation and Safety Authority (CASA) there are 110 commercial drone operators with 40 more applying to be drone operators in Australia as of June this year.

The report noted that Australian privacy law was limited in the protections offered against the invasive use of drones federally, with some state laws offering some protection by making it illegal in some circumstances to use a surveillance device to record or monitor private activities."The complexity of privacy laws generates considerable uncertainty as to the law's scope and effect. Evidence suggested that Australia's current privacy laws may not be sufficient to cope with the explosion of technologies that can be used to observe, record and broadcast potentially private behaviour," the report stated.

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