» HOW TO REGISTER YOUR WEATHER BALLOON IN AUSTRALIA «
You want to register the ascent of a weather balloon, or a so-called “unmanned free balloon” in Australia? No problem, here you are right! In just a few steps, we will show you how you can register your mission into the stratosphere with the Australian aviation authority CASA, just like many other of our customers from Australia:
In summary, to verify the ascent of your weather balloon in Australia, CASA requires three things from you by mail: “Notification of a Balloon Release”, “Risk Assessment” and proof of insurance. You will mail these three documents to CASA, who will review your documents and issue your ascent permit.
Below you will find helpful information of our own ascents in Australia including examples and template for risk assessment, so that nothing stands in the way of a successful registration of your weather balloon in Australia:
„Notification of a Balloon Release”: This document asks for all the information about your mission. All information about your equipment etc. you will find in our product descriptions and in the Tutorial.
“Risk Assessment”: Using this document, you must provide CASA with a risk assessment of your project and risk management strategies to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. For example, the ascent should be away from airports and a NOTAM should be issued (a NOTAM will be issued for you by CASA). The Excel document provided here serves as a template and is to be adapted by you.
Filled example: Balloon Release Risk Assessment v1.1
Proof of Insurance: As in almost every country in the world, the ascent of your weather balloon must be insured, in most cases the insurance is called “aviation liability insurance”.
Send documents: After you have completed both documents and obtained proof of insurance for your unmanned free balloon launch in Australia, mail all documents to: sport@casa.gov.au
Contact details of the competent authority:
CASA Australian Airtraffic Control, Civilian Airtraffic
Web: https://www.casa.gov.au/aircraft/sport-aviation
Mail: SPORT@casa.gov.au
Please note:
The review of your documents can take up to 28 days, so start early with the preparation! The review of your documents by CASA takes about 2-3h and costs about 160 AUD / hour.
Continuing Legal Basis:
The section important for your mission: 101.E – Unmanned free balloons: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2022C00697/Html/Volume_3#_Toc108879644
Download section (PDF)
All data is for informational purposes only and does not claim to be accurate or complete.
Disclaimer:
This internet presence is constantly updated and checked. Despite all care, however, information may have changed in the meantime. Therefore, no liability or guarantee can be assumed for the correctness, completeness and up-to-dateness of the information published on these pages.
