Commercial drone use

Introduction

You must have a concession from DOC to fly a drone on public conservation land for any reason.

Get more information about using drones on public conservation land. 

Drones are considered an aircraft. They are controlled by DOC on or over public conservation lands and waters under the Conservation Act 1987 and by the Civil Aviation Authority under the Civil Aviation Act 1990. See Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) (external site) for more information.

If you’re planning on using your drone for non-commercial private use only, see recreational drone use.

Pre-application meeting

Applying for a concession for the first time can be a little tricky. To ensure your application goes smoothly we advise you to contact us to have a pre-application meeting. We’ll help you to:

  • Understand the concession you will need to apply for.
  • Navigate our statutory planning documents, so you can consider whether the activity you wish to undertake is consistent with them.
  • Understand DOC’s responsibility to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi, which requires consultation with Treaty Partners on most applications. If you wish, DOC can help you contact the local iwi, hapū, and whānau to assess whether your proposed activity will have any cultural effects. Often this consultation can enhance the activity you are considering.

Type of concession

Depending on what you want to do and when and how you want to do it, you will either need a one-off concession or a longer term concession: 

One-off concession – for drone activities for a period of no longer than 3 months.
Your activity also must:

  • have only minor environmental effects that can easily be managed
  • have clearly defined limits (i.e. number of flights)
  • not take place in the same location more than once in any three-year period.

Longer term concession – for any other drone activities.

Your DOC advisor will advise you what concession you will need in your pre-application meeting. You can also talk to them about areas where drone use is likely to be approved.

Apply for your concession

Fill in the relevant concession application form – the form relating to the primary reason you are flying your drone. Choose from the following options: 

One-off activity

Your application must include the conservation area you want to access. It may be returned if you do not identify the specific location by conservation area name. Use DOC maps to help you identify this.

See also Areas we recommend you apply to use a drone.

Find out more about the process and how to prepare your application.

Permissions application process

Preparing a permission application

If your application is approved we will send you a contract which you must sign and return before proceeding with your activity.

Longer term activity

Your application must include the conservation area you want to access. It may be returned if you do not identify the specific location by conservation area name. Use DOC maps to help you identify this. See also Areas we recommend you apply to use a drone.

Find out more about the process and how to prepare your application.

Permissions application process

Preparing a permission application

If your application is approved we will send you a contract which you must sign and return before proceeding with your activity.

Timeframe

Your application should be processed within 10 working days of receipt. The timeframe may be longer where iwi consultation is required. If your application is approved we will send you a contract which you must sign and return before proceeding with your activity.

Complex applications could take a number of months to be processed. If your proposed activity has to be notified to the public because there are likely to be significant environmental effects over the duration of your activity, this will impact your application processing time.

How long it takes to process an application

Fees

One-off activity

We will invoice you once we have processed your application. Your processing fee is likely to be $230 plus GST ($264.50 including GST) for each region you apply to use your drone.

Longer term activity

We will invoice you once we have processed your application. The processing fee for a standard application is likely to be $2065 plus GST ($2374.75 including GST). If your application is assessed as complex, covers multiple regions, or includes more than 20 individual locations, this fee is likely to be higher. We will send you an estimate of costs once we have received your application.

If your proposed activity has to be notified to the public because there are likely to be significant environmental effects over the duration of your activity your fee will include the cost of public notification and hearings. We will provide an estimate of the likely application processing time and cost when your application is received.

Other ongoing fees

You are also required to pay ongoing concession fees for a longer term concession.

See filming and sporting events for the fees relating to these activities. If your activity does not relate to filming and sporting, your DOC advisor can advise you of your fee.

Contact us

For more information or assistance with your permission contact permissionshamilton@doc.govt.nz.

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