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RPAS in Australian Skies 2026

Program

    Tuesday 10 March

    Time   Activity  Location
     1700-1900 AAUS Pre-Event Networking Drinks (inclusive for all registered delegates of the conference) Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
    Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm

    Wednesday 11 March

    Conference, National Ballroom, Hotel Realm


    Time   Activity / Presentation  Presenter
     0830 Registration and Barista Coffee
      Session 1:  Policy and Regulation
     0900 Welcome Andrew Crowe (AAUS President)
     0910  Keynote presentation Greg Cox (Department of Infrastructure)
     0920Keynote PresentationMatthew Pedler (Department of Home Affairs)
     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: Rob Weaver (AAUS Board)
     1105 Australian Digital Airspace Characterisation: Advancing Air Risk Modelling and Insights for Emerging Aviation Aaron McFadyen (QUT)
     1115 Simplifying AAM by designing it from both ends Marcus Carr (Metrops)
     1125 Learnings from Higher Up: Australia’s Integrated Airspace Journey
    James Kaminski (Flight Next)
     1135 US Flight Path to BVLOS Pelwinderpal Singh (OneSky Systems)
     1145 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
     1215 Lunch   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
      Session 3: Significant Activities and Updates  
     1315  Session Introduction Moderator: Paul Hardy (AAUS Board)
     1320 DASA Update LTCOL Charles Phillips (DASA)
     1335 Lessons from the Docklands swarm display investigation - AO-2023-033
    Michael Dawes (ATSB)
     1350 FRV BVLOS Trial  Wayne Rigg AFSM (FRV)
     1405 “POLAIR – Remote” – policing in a regional community Superintendent Chris Nicholson (NSW Police Force)
     1420The road to higher SAIL approvalsDavid Peterson (CASA)
     1435 Afternoon Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
       Session 4: RPAS Applications  
     1510 Session Introduction  Moderator: Cameron Devries (AAUS Board)
     1515 The future is wild - uncrewed systems and integrated autonomy supporting crocodile management and visitor safety in Kakadu National Park
    Renee Bartolo / Coleby Thew (DCCEEW)
     1525 Surf Life Saving NSW: Insights into UAV Adoption, Capability Building, and Social Acceptance in Public Safety
    Oliver Heys (Surf Life Saving NSW)
     1535  How Drones and Crewed Aircraft Work Together in Bushfire Operations
    Paris Cockinos (Sphere)
     1545 Wildu Aero: Hydrogen-Powered Drone Logistics Co-Designed for Remote Healthcare and Community Impact

    Anna Klis (ASAC Consultancy)

     1555 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
     1625 Conference Close (Day 1)   

     1830 - 

      2200

    AAUS Gala Dinner and Industry Awards (for all registered delegates of the Gala Dinner)

     National Ballroom, Hotel Realm




















    Thursday 12 March

    Conference, National Ballroom, Hotel Realm


    Time   Activity / Presentation  Presenter
     0830 Registration and Barista Coffee
      Session 5:  Training
     0900 Welcome Moderator: Aaron McKay (AAUS Board)
     0905 Industry Perspectives on Future Training Requirements Wayne Condon (Toll)
     0915 From Remote Pilot Licensing to Bachelor of Aviation Management: The Five-Year Journey of SuasRov and Swinburne University Toward Australia’s First UAS-Focused Degree Joe McMahon (SuasRov)
     0925 RPAS Training - The foundation of our industry needs better outcomes, more Inclusion
    John Fleming (FPV Australia)
     0935 Racing towards Australia's RPAS Future - The convergence of Dronesport and Industry
    William McCann (Aust. FPV Drone Racing Ass.)
     0945 AI-assisted Cognitive Load for Mission Aircrew
    Dr Oleksandra Molloy (UNSW / ADFA)
     0955 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
    1025 Morning Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
      Session 6: Developing Australian Capability  
     1055 Session Introduction Moderator: Sarah Carroll (AAUS Board)
     1100 The journey from Defence innovation programs to delivering capability into service Ross Osborne (SYPAQ Systems)
     1115 Defence UAS Program Delivery Models – Industry feedback
    Andrew McKinnon (Dept. of Defence)
     1130 Developing Australia's Commercial UAS Capability: RevAero’s Experience with Long Range Cargo Delivery Kristian Cruickshank (RevAero)
     1145 Australian-Made at Scale: Tackling the Challenges of Sovereign Drone Manufacturing
    Ross McKinnon (Grabba Technologies)
     1200 Structural Optimization & Lightweight Design
    Simon Bartlett (Evok3D)
     1215 Lunch   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
      Session 7: Building a Safer Drone Industry  
     1315 Session Introduction Moderator: Warren Ludwig (AAUS Board)
     1320 Building a Safer Drone Ecosystem: BVLOS Operations, Airspace Protection, and Geo-Awareness Adam Welsh - (DJI)
     1335 An Evaluation of Counter-UAV Technologies for Mitigating Threats from Small Drones in the Context of Civil Airport Operations
    Dr Man Liang (Dr Annie's Group)
     1350 SpraySafe Accreditation for Drones
    Matthew Harper (AAAA)
     1405 AAUS Drone Industry Accreditation - Strengthening Safety, Standards and Trust Greg Tyrrell (AAUS)
     1415 RPAS Insurance - Challenges and OpportunitiesMichael Dalton (Agile Underwriting Services)
     1425 Afternoon Tea   Melbourne Foyer, Hotel Realm
       Session 8:  Test Ranges and Sandboxes  
     1450 Session Introduction  Moderator: Andrew Crowe (AAUS President)
     1455 From Red Tape to Runways: Lessons from Australia’s Civil UAS Test Ranges Michael Roberts (Nova Systems)
     1505 ReefWorks Aerial Technology Test Range - The case for an RPAS Technology Sandbox Emily Sehu (AIMS)
     1515 Simplified SORA; Making Risk Assessment a Routine Part of Drone Operations Ravi Murty (Yarra Drones) 
     1525 Drones, Boats and Subs: Complementary Multimodal Autonomous Systems for Environmental Monitoring in Marine Science
    Shaun Barlow (AIMS)
     1535 Panel Discussion Session Speakers
     1600 Closing Remarks  
     1610 End of Conference  


    Sponsors 

    AAUS gratefully acknowledges the support of our event sponsors.  

    Platinum

    Platinum



    Gala Dinner



    Gold



    Gold



    Gold


    Silver


    Silver


    Silver


    Barista Cart

    Lanyard


    Networking Drinks



    Exhibitors 

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
















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