Drone guidelines

Upper Hutt City Council permits unmanned aircraft/or drones to fly over it’s roads, parks and reserves provided the drone operator complies with Civil Aviation Rules and the operation of the drone does not:

  • Damage or cause damage to the Council’s property, parks and reserves
  • Damage or cause damage to the property of road users, and parks and reserves users
  • interfere with organised activities
  • interfere with the operation of the road or roads
  • create a hazard or increase risks to road users in terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
  • put road users or parks and reserves users at risk of injury

Refer to our Parks and Reserves Rules(PDF, 137KB) for more information including flying or landing model aeroplanes or any other kind of flying machine or glider.

Civil Aviation Authority Rules (CAA) rules may change from time to time. For the latest updates, visit the Civil Aviation Authority website.

The Civil Aviation Authority works closely with Airways, Callaghan Innovation, and aviation participants to promote RPAS/model aircraft safety. Airways have created a website airshare™ to be an information hub for remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators, owners, agents and manufacturers.

For more information on how to operate your drone safely, plan all your UAV flights and request access to controlled airspace, visit the Airshare website.

Who do we call when drone rules are being broken?

Police and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) work together to ensure a consistent response to problems involving drones. The CAA’s Regulatory Investigation Unit follows up safety-related complaints with assistance from investigators including former Police staff, pilots and others from the aviation industry.

To report an incident involving a drone, email details to isi@caa.govt.nz, or use the CAA Online Reporting Form

If the drone operation causes a safety risk to persons, property or other aircraft – potentially breaching the rules, police can respond and take all the details for forwarding to the CAA.

Find out more on the CAA website.

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