New shark surveillance drone tech rolling out as coverage is boosted for school holidays

This Minns Labor Government’s $120 million Shark Management Program is delivering the largest and most comprehensive program of its kind and includes the world's largest and most advanced aerial shark surveillance program.

For the present school holidays, the drone program operated by Surf Life Saving (SLS) NSW is increasing coverage hours from 6:15am to 5:00pm in September, to 6:15am to 6:30pm in October.

Following an additional $34 million investment into drones by the Minns Labor Government in June, drones operated by SLS NSW over winter at 72 beaches for the first time. Between 1 July and 31 August 2026, drones conducted 49,000 flights, for 16,150 flight hours and 343,000 kms.

Over this period drone operators detected 1,225 sharks resulting in 360 shark safety countermeasures such as sounding the drone siren or PA to alert swimmers and surfers, activating shark alarms, evacuating the water, or deploying inflatable boats and jet skis.

By alerting swimmers and surfers to the presence of sharks these early intervention measures are critical to better protecting beachgoers up and down the NSW coast.

Drone-in-a-box technology

The Minns Labor Government is also investing in new technology, termed drone-in-a-box (DIAB) which will be deployed at seven beaches this summer.

Following research from the NSW Government’s shark team, DIAB technology has the potential to transform coastal monitoring by allowing drones to fly more often, remain operational for longer and reduce the need for pilots on site.

Currently, drones are flown by trained pilots on the beach, who need to keep the drone within eyesight. This means a drone and the pilot are exposed to on-beach weather conditions, need to manually recharge, and flight time is limited.

A significant new benefit of DIAB technology is the capability for an off-site pilot to manage several flight operations remotely. SLS NSW can operate a mobile docking station that launches the drone, lands, recharges, plus can upload and download data without an on‑site operator. This remote capability greatly expands options for how to get more eyes in the sky, and quickly.

The first of the seven DIAB beaches will be: Crowdy Head, Avalon/Bilgola, and Mona Vale/Bungan.

An additional four will be deployed following approval from the relevant local Councils.

Artificial intelligence for species identification

Researchers in the NSW Government’s shark team have demonstrated that the use of AI-analysis can provide a valuable tool for drone pilots with real-time detectability and species identification.

Work is underway to procure and build a trial operational system of AI technology inside the Shark Management Program, that can eventually be rolled out along beaches and the coast over the coming years.

AI developers have done the required foundational work to confirm the concept works on a small-scale, and this summer the Minns Government is busy implementing the next stage of trials at the beach on a larger scale.

This spring and summer, NSW beachgoers will benefit from:

• Extended drone surveillance hours from 6:15am to 5:00pm in September; from 6:15am to 6:30pm in October; 6am to 6:30pm in November; and from 6am to 7:30pm in December, January and February.
• Expanded drone surveillance from 26 September to coincide with the commencement of NSW school holidays.
• A record 73 drones operating across NSW, with drone surveillance at 97 beaches statewide.
• Year-round SLS NSW operated drones at 72 beaches.
• Drone surveillance resourced to more than 120 Surf NSW boardrider clubs.
• Daily deployment of 305 SMART drumlines across 19 local government areas.
• An extensive network of 39 tagged shark listening stations, including two new Sydney Harbour locations at Balmoral and Lady Bay.
• The Shark Meshing Program operating at 51 beaches from September to March.
• Community Shark Bite Kits, shark research programs, and SharkSmart education program.

Minister for Agriculture, Regional NSW and Western NSW Tara Moriarty said:

"Our aim is to make beaches as safe as we can by investing an historic $120 million into delivering the best and most comprehensive shark management program in the world.

“A foundational platform in our new program is drone technology, that is delivering eyes in the sky across our state’s popular beaches, looking out for the target sharks – white, bull and tiger – and then enabling countermeasures.

“We are rolling out next generation drone technology, from the mobile Drone-In-A-Box that gets drones up into the sky more often and for longer – to taking our AI work to the next stage by trialling it out in an operational beach setting.

“Drone-in-a-Box technology can transform the way we monitor our beaches, allowing drones to launch, land and recharge automatically, and operate remotely.

“While the new work with AI tech will help in better detecting and identifying sharks in real time, giving us faster information and improving our ability to respond quicker.

“These innovations will strengthen the world's largest aerial shark surveillance program and complement the outstanding work already being carried out by SLS NSW drone teams.

Surf Life Saving NSW Chief Executive Officer Steve Pearce said:

"The partnership between Surf Life Saving NSW and the NSW Government has created the largest drone surveillance operation of its kind anywhere in the world.

"Our pilots are flying more often, covering more coastline and providing real-time intelligence that helps safeguard swimmers, surfers and other beach users.

"When a shark is sighted, our operators can quickly notify swimmers and surfers, relevant rescue services, implement appropriate safety measures and distribute alerts through the SharkSmart app.

"The Shark Management Program combines world-leading science, technology and community education to reduce risk and improve public safety.

“Scientists are currently tracking more than 1,700 white sharks, nearly 950 tiger sharks and nearly 380 bull sharks, while targeted research into bull sharks in Sydney Harbour and coastal waters is improving our understanding of bull shark behaviour.

“Beachgoers are encouraged to download the SharkSmart App for real-time shark alerts, tagged shark detections and information about local shark mitigation measures.”