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RPAS in Australian Skies 2025


Dates: June 16-18, 2025

Location: Canberra (Hotel Realm)

The AAUS RPAS in Australian Skies conference has established itself as a landmark event for the Australian RPAS  industry drawing interest from key government personnel, industry leaders and academia.

The 2025 conference held in conjunction with the AAUS Gala Dinner promises to provide participants with important strategic information and valuable networking opportunities.


Conference Themes

  • RPAS related policy and regulatory updates from Australian and international government bodies
  • UAS Traffic Management (UTM), low level airspace and integrated airspace systems
  • Industry challenges and perspectives
  • Continuing development of a professional and safe industry
  • Emerging technologies and innovative solutions enabling RPAS integration in Australian airspace
  • Emerging applications benefits, viability and social acceptance
  • Case studies of drone use and challenges in emergency services, infrastructure inspection, delivery, mining, science and agriculture
  • Advanced Air Mobility
  • Drone cyber security threats and management


Event Format

The conference will take place over two days and will be launched with networking drinks on the evening prior to Day one.

Monday 16th June - Pre-Event Networking Drinks
Tuesday 17th June - Conference Day 1 / Gala Dinner and Industry Awards 
Wednesday 18th June - Conference Day 2 


Program

Monday 16 June

Time   Activity  Location
 1700-1800 AAUS Pre-Event Networking Drinks (inclusive for all registered delegates of the conference) Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm

Tuesday 17 June

Conference, National Ballroom, Hotel Realm


Time   Activity / Presentation  Presenter
 0800 Registration and Barista Coffee
  Session 1:  Policy and Regulation
 0900 Welcome Andrew Crowe (AAUS President)
 0910  Keynote presentation Department of Infrastructure (invited)
 0930  Keynote presentation Pip Spence (CASA)
 0950  Keynote presentation  Rob Sharp (Airservices Australia)
 1010  Q&A Session Session Speakers
1030 Morning Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
  Session 2:  Airspace Integration  
 1100 Session Introduction Moderator: Reece Clothier (Boeing)
 1105   Sharon Marshall-Keeffe (Airservices Australia)
 1125  Australian Digital Airspace Characterisation: Accelerating Regulatory Processes and Airspace Initiatives for the Emerging Aviation Technology Sector Aaron McFadyen (QUT)
 1145   Christine Boag-Hodgson - AFAF - invited
 1205  
 1225 Lunch   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
  Session 3: AAM  
 1315  Session Introduction Moderator: Natasha Santha (LEK)
 1317  Solving regional connectivity in Australia through air mobility – how RPAS and AAM are key to Australia’s future Peter Smith (Swinburne University)
 1329  Advanced Air Mobility Simulator: Opportunities on the way to commercialization of VTOLS  Mirjam Wiedemann (UNSW)
 1341 Hydrogen in the Advanced Aviation Landscape - Regulatory and Industry Perspectives Steve Smyth (CAANZ) 
 1353 City Vertiport Management: Getting Reay for the Future  Natalie Davies-White (HoverSafe)
 1405  The AURA-e Electric Flight Demonstrator: ultra-long range with ultra-short takeoff and landing to unlock cost-effective regional cargo at scale
Graham Doig (UNSW) 
 1417 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
 1445 Afternoon Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
   Session 4: Agricultural Applications  
 1515 Session Introduction  Moderator: 
 1518 High-Tech, High-Risk!  The Case for Smarter RPAS Policy in Agriculture John Fleming (FPV Australia)
 1530 More than spraying – maintaining social licence Matt Harper (AAAA)
 1542  Are rural BVLOS regulations blocking emerging industries? 
Luke Chaplin (SkyKelpie)
 1554


 1606 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
 1630 Conference Close (Day 1)   

 18:30 - 

  2200

AAUS Gala Dinner and Industry Awards (for all registered delegates of the Gala Dinner)  National Ballroom, Hotel Realm
















Wednesday 18 June

Conference, National Ballroom, Hotel Realm


Time   Activity / Presentation  Presenter
 0800 Registration and Barista Coffee
  Session 5:  Innovative Applications
 0900 Welcome Moderator: Jackie Dujmovic (Hover UAV)
 0905 The Birth of an Industry: Wash Drones’ Journey to Redefine Cleaning
Craig Lamont (Wash Drones)
 0917 From Prototype to Production: Rapid Innovation in Sovereign UAS Capabilities
Ross McKinnon (Grabba Technologies)
 0929 Transforming Powerline Inspections: From Crewed Flights to Scalable Drone Operations
Ben Dawson (Endeavour Energy)
 0941Scaling Drone-in-a-Box Operations: From Pilot Projects to Full Deployment Adam Welsh (DJI) 
 0953 Sentinels of Sea Country – How drones and AI are supporting for First Nation-Led action in managing Ghost Nets and Marine DebrisAndrew Jansen (DCCEEW), Tiwi Rangers, Northern Territory and Nanum Wungthim Rangers, Narpranum (Qld)
 1005 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
1030 Morning Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
  Session 6:  Challenges for RPAS as First Responders  
 1100 Session Introduction Moderator: Paul Hardy (DCCEEW, AAUS)
 1105Wayne Rigg (FRV)
 1117 Ten years on: Australia’s Challenges in BVLOS RPAS for Emergency Response
Andrew Duggan (Insitu Pacific)
 1129 Drone as a First Responder (DFR) Case Study: Brinc Drones and Codan DTC Rob Garth (Codan / DTC)
 1141 Docks in the Dust - The path forward where the road stopsRenee Bartolo & Coleby Thew (DCCEEW)
 1153 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
 1220 Lunch   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
  Session 7: Training  
 1320 Session Introduction Moderator: 
 1323 "Tiered Approach to RPAS Licensing” and “AAM Skills Gap Analysis" Mori Hajizadeh (Industry Skills Australia)
 1335 Uncrewed Training into the future "A professional and safe Industry" Wayne Condon (TOLL Aviation)
 1347 Removing ambiguity of performance for human and machine Keith Thomas (EPE)
 1359    
 1411 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
 1435 Afternoon Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
   Session 8: Industry Compliance  
 1500 Session Introduction  Moderator: Alana Flack (Trendspek)
 1503 Flying into Compliance: What the New Privacy Law Reforms Mean for the Drone Industry Tom PIls (Macmillan Lawyers and Advisors)
 1515 Drone Cybersecurity: An Overview of Key Vulnerabilities Ben Luther (Nova Systems)
 1527  Stakeholder Engagement: More Than a Box to Tick Luke Horjus (RocketDNA)
 1539 AAUS announcement - Industry Initiatives Greg Tyrrell (AAUS Executive Director)
 1551 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
 1620Closing Remarks 
 16:30 End of Conference  



Registration 

 Delegate TypeEarly Bird Price Normal Price 
 AAUS Member $660 $770
 Non-Member $760 $895
 Government $660 $770
 Student** $500 $500
 Gala Dinner$180  $205

  • All pricing exclusive of GST
  • ** please email events@aaus.org.au for registration access code
  • Early Bird ends 14 March 2025
  • Normal Pricing from 15 March 2025
  • All delegates must agree to AAUS Terms and Conditions and Code of Conduct
Register Now


Gala Dinner

The Gala Dinner, featuring the AAUS Industry Awards will be celebrated on the evening of day one, Tuesday 17th June. Please note tickets for the Gala dinner are in addition to the RPAS registration price.


Sponsorship and Exhibition

AAUS has a number of sponsorship and exhibition packages available for the RPAS in Australian Skies conference and Gala Dinner, including the opportunity to exhibit at the conference. 

Sponsorship Prospectus


Accommodation

AAUS has secured 15% discounted accommodation across the DOMA Hotel group in Canberra for the conference attendees. Bookings can be made online or by contacting DOMA Hotels reservations. For more details, download the information sheet.


Sponsors 

AAUS gratefully acknowledges the support of our early event sponsors.  (Sponsorship opportunities still exist).


Platinum Sponsor


Platinum Sponsor



Gold Sponsor


Gold Sponsor



Silver Sponsor



Networking Drinks Sponsor


Barista Coffee Sponsor


Lanyard Sponsor


Exhibitors 

AAUS gratefully acknowledges the support of our early event exhibitors.  (Limited Exhibition opportunities exist).


















Contact Us

PO Box 496
Glen Waverley VIC 3150

Australia

info@aaus.org.au
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