Searching for drone photography in Melbourne turns up dozens of operators, quotes from $250 to thousands, and not much help deciding. This is a plain guide to what drone photography costs here, what the rules actually require, and the questions that quickly sort professionals from hobbyists.
Typical Melbourne rates
- Simple stills package (residential, single site): $250–$450
- Stills + edited video: $450–$900
- Half-day commercial shoot: $800–$1,500
- Specialist work (mapping, inspection, thermal, progress documentation): quoted per job — the deliverable is data, not just pictures.
Cheap quotes usually mean an unlicensed pilot, no insurance, or no airspace approvals — which in Melbourne is a real problem, because much of the metro area sits under controlled airspace from four airports.
The rules in one paragraph
Paid drone work falls under CASA regulation. Operators either hold an RePL (remote pilot licence) flying under a certified operator, or fly excluded-category with accreditation and tighter limits. Controlled airspace needs approvals; people, roads and built-up areas carry separation rules. None of this is a problem for a licensed operator — it’s Tuesday. It is a problem when the person you hired doesn’t know it applies.
Five questions that sort the field
- Are you CASA-licensed, and can I see evidence?
- Do you carry public liability insurance covering drone operations?
- What’s the airspace situation at my address, and what approvals will you obtain?
- What exactly do I receive — how many images, what resolution, what rights?
- What happens if weather scrubs the flight?
Photography vs aerial data
One distinction worth knowing: drone photography gives you images that look right; aerial data capture gives you measurable outputs — orthomosaics, elevation models, volumetrics — built for engineering, planning and site management. We do both, but our foundation is the data side, which is why the photography comes with flight logs, airspace compliance and repeatable capture positions as standard. For beautiful images backed by an operation that treats compliance seriously, talk to us.