Hypothetical question.
My friend is excited to see my Phantom 3, and invites me to his property to fly around. He would also like to see his property, and maybe get some pics.
So far.., nothing illegal right?

What if.., I said I don't have enough petrol. So my friend offers to pay for fuel. $30-$40. Anything illegal so far?
What if.., I said I needed to go shopping and pack lunch and snacks. So my friend offers to pay for lunch, drinks, and afternoon tea. $30 or so. Not illegal.

So that's a pretty good start. At least all costs are covered.
What if.., my friend simply wanted to offer me $50 as a token of gratitude? Would that be illegal? Like a donation.

I just noticed a whole bunch of farmers who are interested in getting shots of their property. Some have been in their families for generations.
What if.., I just made a whole bunch of "friends". Perhaps advertise in local papers that I am a hobby flyer, looking for aerial photography locations to fly.., I.e. Farms and houses.

I'm just toying with the idea at the moment, so I'm sure there are many problems to resolve. Just thought I'd put it out there for discussion.

You know what "they" say, the only crime is getting caught...

In the USA, most federal agencies consider ANY benefit to you a form of payment.  "I'll buy you lunch", "I'll give you some gas", etc.  That said, proving it is another story.

Just do a licence. This is not a rocket science.
By the way, you always learn something new.

do the pictures for free charge him for coming to his house.when you make five hundred a week claim taxes

Would be a good idea to check Australian law first to see where you stand

Thank you for the replies everyone.

Just another thing. If you re-read the OP.., but replace Phantom with anything else.., like a motorbike, PlayStation, lawnmower, ute/pickup truck, or handycam..., heck anything. Suddenly the scenario changes completely.

CASA have been working with industry to relax the rules governing commercial use of small (<2kg) UAV's. The legislation has been in the pipe works since April, we are just waiting for CASA to finalize and release it.

CASA have said that UAV's under <2kg will be exempt from obtaining the standard license currently needed to use drones for commercial use. There will however be restrictions on the uses

Although nothing is 100% guaranteed, i would expect these rules to come in very shortly as the use of drones are on the rise and its proving impossible to police, why not tax users who are making money from it anyway.

Perhaps sell yourself as a professional photographer, go to a farm to photograph it, the P3 footage is just a free give-away you give to the farmer, nod nod, wink wink
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