UAVNZ responds to proposed changes for routine agricultural drone operations
23 August 2026
UAVNZ has submitted its response to the Government’s proposal to establish a simplified regulatory pathway for “routine” agricultural drone operations.
UAVNZ supports the objective of making regulation more proportionate and reducing unnecessary administrative burden for well-understood agricultural operations. However, we do not support treating agricultural drone operations as inherently low-risk, or removing meaningful safety oversight in the process.
Agricultural UAS operations can involve large and increasingly capable aircraft, significant payloads, hazardous chemicals, people, public roads, powerlines, difficult terrain and changing weather conditions. UAVNZ’s view is that simpler regulation should not mean less regulation.
A simpler pathway, with clear boundaries
UAVNZ supports a prescribed operating pathway for genuinely predictable and repeatable agricultural operations. Operators who meet defined requirements should be able to operate without the full burden of individual Part 102 certification.
The proposed framework would be based around:
Licensed and appropriately trained operators
Clearly defined competency standards
CAA-approved aircraft and application systems
Mandatory inspection and maintenance requirements
Documented operating procedures
Defined operating, airspace and separation limits
Appropriate chemical application requirements
Comprehensive operational records
Active CAA monitoring and enforcement
Operations that fall outside the prescribed standard—such as more complex operations involving people, public roads, significant controlled airspace, unrestricted BVLOS, swarming or novel aircraft—should remain subject to Part 102 certification.
Better regulatory visibility
A key part of UAVNZ’s response is that a notification system must provide CAA with genuine visibility of the sector.
Rather than simply registering an operator and accepting a declaration that they intend to conduct agricultural operations, UAVNZ proposes that operators maintain meaningful information about their aircraft, pilots, operations, flight areas, application activity, maintenance, defects and incidents.
Where practical, digital flight records could provide CAA with valuable information about how the sector is operating and allow risk-based surveillance to identify emerging problems, repeated non-compliance and operators requiring greater scrutiny.
Supporting a growing industry
Agricultural UAS technology is developing rapidly, with aircraft becoming larger, more capable and more widely used. UAVNZ believes this makes consistent national standards for operators, aircraft and maintenance increasingly important.
The objective should be to reduce unnecessary regulatory burden while maintaining - and ultimately improving - safety and regulatory visibility.
UAVNZ’s full submission sets out our recommendations in detail.