“A Drone by any other name”

Professor Catherine Ball (1)
  and
Professor Merlin Crossley AM FRSN (2)

(1) Scientific Futurist, Tech Influencer, Robotics Expert, Adjunct Professor
(2) Deputy Director, Future Flight, InnovateUK

Date and Time: Wednesday, 8 April 2026, 6.00–7.30 pm AEST
Venue:  Michael Crouch Room, Mitchell Building, State Library of NSW, Shakespeare Place, Sydney
Pre-meeting drinks: A cash bar will operate from 5.30 pm
Post-meeting supper: An optional supper will be available from Balcon by Tapavino, 17 Bligh Street, Sydney, following the OGM
Registration:  OGM: Please register before 2.00 pm AEDT on Tuesday, 7 April
Supper: Please register (link to follow) before 5.00 pm AEST on Thursday, 2 April
Entry: OGM: Members, $20; Non-members, $30; Students, $0
Supper: $110 per person (non-refundable) for a fixed menu meal
All are welcome

Please click here to register for
the OGM and Open Lecture

OGM Agenda:  The Agenda for this meeting will be available on the Meetings Page of the website.

Summary: For a decade, Australia was the global drone rule-maker, and the UK was still warming up.

This presentation tells the story of a regulatory power shift. Australia got out fast, with CASA’s 2016 reforms making commercial drone operations easier and more accessible well before many markets caught up. It was bold, practical, and business-friendly. In many ways, Australia wrote the early playbook for modern drone regulation.

But being first is not the same as staying first.

The UK arrived later, then surged ahead by pairing regulation with serious national investment. It moved into a more advanced risk-based framework, aligned drone policy with broader aviation reform, and backed it with a Future of Flight strategy designed to scale real-world operations, including beyond visual line of sight. In short, the UK did not just regulate drones; it funded the future they needed.

This session compares the two countries side by side, showing how Australia led on early regulatory innovation, while the UK built the stronger long game through capital, policy alignment, and industry mobilisation.

If Australia proved drones could be regulated, the UK is proving they can be scaled.

And that difference is now shaping who leads the next decade.

Dr Catherine Ball is an award-winning company director, bestselling author, futurist and adjunct professor working across global projects where emerging technologies meet humanitarian, education and environmental needs.

Working to protect the natural environment and empowering all members of society through mutual education and respect are core aspects of her chosen projects. As well as supporting start-ups and leaders from all generations across the globe, Catherine is particularly passionate about social mobility and equity.

Catherine is proud to be an advisor to a broad range of enterprises and philanthropic organisations, including being an XPRIZE visioneer and member of their Global Brains Trust.

Simon Masters is the Deputy Director, Future Flight at InnovateUK, leading the Innovate UK Future Flight program that was established in 2019 to stimulate the growth of the UK drone and emerging aviation sector.

He is passionate about innovation and working with industry and researchers in delivering new technologies that transform markets and create breakthrough opportunities. Simon has a background leading complex technology programmes in aerospace and aviation, with experience in both industry and public sectors and across defence and civilian markets.

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