Drone laws in Noosa & Queensland.

Anyone flying a drone over 250g in Australia must follow the CASA standard operating conditions. The big ones: keep it within visual line of sight at all times, fly no higher than 120m AGL, stay 30m clear of people not associated with you, only fly during daylight, and don't fly over populated beaches, parks or events.

If you're flying for any commercial purpose (paid work, social content tied to a business, real estate, etc.), you also need to register your drone with CASA and either hold a Remote Pilot Licence (RePL) or fly under someone else's operator certificate. The Mavic 3 Pro is 958g, so it's well above the sub-250g recreational exemption.

This is the one most visitors get wrong. Noosa National Park — including Tea Tree Bay, Granite Bay, Hells Gates, Alexandria Bay and the headland walks — is a Queensland Parks & Wildlife exclusion zone. You need a written QPWS commercial filming permit to fly there, and recreational flights are not approved at all.

Penalties are real. Park rangers patrol and they'll fine you. Don't risk it.

Generally permissible (always check OpenSky before launch): the southern end of Sunshine Beach away from people, Castaways Beach, Marcus Beach, the Noosa River east of Tewantin, Lake Cooroibah, Lake Macdonald, and most of the inland hinterland.

Avoid: anywhere near Hastings Street, Main Beach during daylight, Noosa Heli base airspace, and the strip directly north of the river mouth.

OpenSky is the free CASA-approved app that shows you live no-fly zones, controlled airspace, and warnings. Open it before every flight, type in your launch point, and it'll tell you what you can and can't do. It's the single best safety tool you have.

If you're flying around Coolum, Marcoola or Mudjimba, be aware of the Sunshine Coast Airport control zone. Within 5.5km of the runway you cannot fly above 45m AGL without ATC clearance. OpenSky shows the boundary clearly.