A drone can survey a roof in minutes, but flying it legally over a live site is a job for a certificated operator, not whoever owns the gear
On 22 December 2025 the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) updated its rules for drones and advanced aviation, and it has signalled the rules will keep moving. For a building firm, a drone now does real work.
It surveys a roof, tracks progress across a pour, inspects a facade or checks a site after hours, often in minutes and without putting anyone at height. What decides whether that work is lawful is a single line the rules draw between routine flying and the rest.
That line is the difference between Part 101 and Part 102. Most low-risk flying sits under Part 101, the rule-based path that needs no certification, and it comes with firm limits.
The aircraft must weigh under 25kg, stay within the operator’s line of sight, and stay below 120 metres (400 feet). It must not fly within 4km of an aerodrome without meeting set conditions, must fly only in daylight, and must have the consent of anyone it flies over and the owner of any property beneath it. Controlled airspace needs air traffic control clearance.
The moment a job cannot be done inside those limits, it needs a Part 102 certificated operator. Flying over people or property without consent, flying beyond line of sight, or operating in controlled airspace all cross into Part 102 territory, and a live construction site tends to cross at least one of those lines.
CAA is blunt about the order. You follow Part 101, and if you cannot, you must hold Part 102 certification.
That certificate is exactly the kind of proof the rest of a well-run site already asks for. It is the drone equivalent of a certificated scaffolder or a licensed removalist, and the compliant answer is to engage an operator who can produce the certificate rather than assume the person holding the drone has one.
The rules are also a moving target. The December 2025 package added a new Part 107 framework that lets approved organisations test emerging aviation technology in defined areas, and CAA has a trial advisory circular due early in 2026 to help operators adjust. Reading the current rules as the floor, and best practice as the standard, is how a firm stays clear as the framework keeps changing.
A site drone answers to more than the CAA. The footage it gathers is personal information, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner treats a camera drone much as it treats CCTV.
The operator has to think about what is being filmed, whether that collection is necessary, and how the people on and around the site are told it is happening. The drone is also equipment working over a live site, so a firm’s duties under the Health and Safety at Work Act apply as they would to any plant. WorkSafe expects workers to be told when and where a drone is operating, and clear boundaries kept between the aircraft and the people below.
A provider who understands all three regimes is doing the job properly. One who only knows how to fly leaves the privacy and safety exposure sitting with the firm that hired them.
Before the next drone job goes ahead, the questions are plain. Does the work stay inside Part 101, and if not, can the operator show current Part 102 certification.
Is there proof of insurance. How will the footage be handled and stored.
The authoritative rules sit with the CAA at aviation.govt.nz and the privacy guidance with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner at privacy.org.nz. Ask for the paperwork, and keep it.
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