Phone: (202) 833-1460 Washington DC Farragut North Metro
Center for UAS
in Public Safety

Negotiating a utility MOU for drone inspections

Drones can give public safety teams faster information about damaged power lines, flooded substations and inaccessible terrain. Utility partnerships work best when aircraft, crews and information have clearly defined owners.

Negotiating a memorandum of understanding with a utility company for drone inspections can prevent confusion over who directs a flight, who authorises access and who may use the resulting imagery. It must clarify arrangements without replacing statutory powers, licences or emergency directions.

Australian agencies must account for differences between a metropolitan response in Sydney or Melbourne and a regional operation across Queensland or Western Australia. The agreement should fit CASA rules, applicable state or territory privacy law, utility safety protocols and local community expectations.

Clarify the partnership before negotiation

Issue Utility company Public safety agency Agreed position
Authority Owns the asset and work program Holds public-safety powers Neither party delegates statutory duties
Access Controls sites, escorts and permits May need urgent entry Written activation and site-access process
Information Defines the asset and maintenance need Defines the operational task Common collection, use and disclosure rules
Cost and risk Bears work it commissions Bears flights it directs Cost sharing, indemnity and incident reporting

Choose the operating model before drafting: the utility may commission a flight for asset assessment, or the agency may request support during an emergency. State whether the flight supports utility restoration, public safety operations or both. The negotiation brief should cover:

Record these points in plain language, then attach site contacts and technical standards as schedules. A clear scope prevents the MOU from becoming an open-ended promise of assistance.

Set roles, access and operating authority

Keep institutional authority separate from flight command. The utility controls its network, contractors and work permits; the agency controls its personnel and statutory functions. Name an incident lead for each organisation and state who may activate, pause or cancel a mission.

For routine work, require utility authorisation, escorts where needed, traffic management and exclusion zones. Assign responsibility for locking out electrical equipment, identifying gas hazards and excluding the public. A drone must not replace de-energisation, atmospheric testing or structural inspection.

Recognise local differences: Ausgrid infrastructure in Sydney, Powercor assets in Melbourne and Energex assets in Brisbane face different operating environments, while remote Western Australian sites can require extra communications, medical support and Traditional Owner permissions. Consult early about culturally sensitive land or community impacts.

Build privacy and information safeguards

Drone imagery can reveal homes, customers, security arrangements and critical infrastructure. Define the data collected, including photographs, thermal readings, video, coordinates, flight logs and metadata. Set collection limits so crews avoid areas or premises outside the task.

Name the legal basis for collection and sharing. Depending on the agency, this may involve the Privacy Act 1988 and Australian Privacy Principles, state or territory public-sector laws, records duties and secrecy rules. Define disclosures to media, courts, regulators, investigators or other government entities.

Specify custody, permitted use, storage, access, retention, secure transfer and deletion. Include notification for lost devices, unauthorised downloads or cyber incidents. For public release, use a verification process that protects personal information and sensitive network details without concealing the basis for public-safety action.

Coordinate emergency use and communications

Define an emergency, who may request support and how priority is assigned. Reference state disaster-management arrangements and emergency directions, while stating that the MOU creates no powers beyond law. Set expectations for callout, weather assessment, launch approval, mission completion and handover.

Use a common operating picture and a nominated incident-command liaison. The mobile drone operations centre model shows how a shared workspace in a mobile command vehicle can connect pilots, analysts and incident managers. Adapt it to Australian command structures, radio limitations and utility control rooms rather than importing an untested procedure.

Set protocols for lost communications, diversion, bad weather, battery failure and conflict with aircraft. After each task, record imagery custody, decisions, utility findings and public advice. This creates an audit trail while keeping routine operational records from becoming open information.

Set training, safety and equipment standards

Every flight must comply with CASA requirements, including registration where required and the appropriate remote-pilot accreditation, operator certificate or specific approval. Operations near people, structures or emergency areas may need further authorisation. Apply the same standard to agency staff, utility employees and contractors, and retain approvals and risk assessments.

Train crews in utility hazards, radio discipline, privacy, incident command and emergencies. Conduct joint exercises before night flights or operations in storms, floods, smoke and remote sites. Cover batteries, alternate landing sites, emergency procedures, near misses and damage reporting.

Specify payload, security, weather, redundancy and maintenance standards. For imported aircraft or parts, confirm the customs classification, applicable GST and duty, and any permit, quarantine or trade restrictions before clearance under Australian Border Force rules. The local market includes Australian inspection providers such as Sentire, utility contractors and accredited pilots; compare support, repairs and data hosting before choosing equipment.

Agree costs, insurance, records and review

State who funds aircraft time, personnel, travel, permits, maintenance, storage and replacement equipment. Cover urgent callouts, cancellations and repeat flights, and require notice of foreseeable cost changes. Make clear whether the agency absorbs contractor callout costs.

Specify public liability, aviation liability, workers’ compensation and utility-required insurance. Allocate responsibility for third-party injury, property damage, data breach and regulator action, without purporting to indemnify conduct that law does not permit. Legal review should confirm the MOU’s intended binding effect.

Attach schedules or keep references to:

Set dispute escalation for operational, legal and privacy concerns. Review after the pilot and regularly thereafter; either party may propose amendments. Measure tasking time, sorties, safety events, data requests and complaints.

Finalise the MOU and launch a controlled pilot

Obtain authorised approval from both organisations, attach contacts and technical schedules, and state commencement, expiry and termination. Decide whether confidentiality, costs, insurance, indemnity and data-protection clauses bind the parties even if the wider MOU does not. Complete legal, aviation, safety, privacy, records and procurement review before signature.

Approve a time-limited pilot now: assign a lead in each organisation, sign the MOU, conduct a joint exercise and schedule review. Publish a plain-English explanation of its purpose, oversight, complaint contact and public-disclosure rules so residents understand how imagery supports safety and how their information is protected.