The state’s Police Minister has flagged more regional towns could benefit from drone response programs to tackle regional crime, after a trial was launched in the state’s north as part of a crackdown.
The PolAir-Remote drone trial was launched in Moree in January 2026, and promised to strengthen policing in regional areas.
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Jonathan Hall Spence, Principal Solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre, said there were serious privacy risks that needed to be accounted for before any further expansion of the drone trial.
“There’s been no indication of how the success or failure of the Moree trial will be measured, and whether the protection of rights to privacy and freedom from surveillance will form any part of that evaluation,” he said.
“Will community members be comfortable being filmed in their backyard? Or through their windows when they’re trying to have a peaceful moment at home? We haven’t been reassured there will be safeguards to prevent this technology being used in that way.”
Mr Hall Spence said the “great potential” of new technologies also carried significant risks, like overuse and mission-creep.
“NSW Police must do a lot more to explain the legal framework for its drone use in NSW, and what, if any, safeguards they’ve put in place,” he said.
“If the NSW government is serious about expanding this technology, we’d want to see clear laws restricting drone use to emergency or incident response – as helicopters and body-worn video are currently used by police.”
