Major boost to shark-spotting drones to improve beach safety with $120 million shark program
Media Release /Sunday, 28 June 2026
The Minns Labor Government is significantly expanding its investment in shark-spotting drone technology to help keep people safer in the water with year-round coverage that will deliver the largest expansion of aerial shark surveillance in the world.
The Government will invest an additional $34 million in drones including harnessing artificial intelligence and emerging technology in a major scale-up of drone coverage across beaches in Sydney and along the NSW coast.
Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales, and Tara Moriarty, Minister for Agriculture, joined representatives from Surf Life Saving NSW, Surfing NSW, and the NSW Department of Primary Industries to announce the expansion of the NSW Shark Management program.
Under the expanded program, around 70 beaches will benefit from drone monitoring 365 days of the year, including at least one beach in every coastal local government area.
This additional monitoring by Surf Life Saving NSW will prioritise beaches with high numbers of swimmers, surfers and paddlers including in Sydney and the North Coast, where shark incidents have become more frequent.
This expanded monitoring will start 1 July and include year-round coverage across all Sydney beaches expanding from 26 to 38 beaches – from Palm Beach to Cronulla. The enhanced shark program also includes two SharkSmart listening stations in Sydney harbour to alert swimmers to the presence of tagged sharks.
No government can promise there will never be another shark incident. What we can do is keep investing in the technology, research and education that help reduce risk and better protect people using our beaches.
This boost in funding brings the Government’s total investment in the Shark Mitigation Program to more than $120 million over the next two years. It will see more beaches covered, longer daily patrols from dawn till dusk and year‑round monitoring at key locations across the state.
Expanded regional operations along the coast will for the first time include:
- flights every weekend throughout the year
- daily flights from 1 December to 30 April
- extended daily flight hours to cover dawn to dusk
This is additional to the existing school holiday drone program along the coast.
Importantly, coverage will not be limited to patrolled beaches, ensuring protection extends to popular, unpatrolled surf locations.
Surf Live Saving NSW will continue to lead drone operations which will be scaled to reflect seasonal demand with increased coverage during summer and school holidays, flexible deployment based on beach usage and targeted monitoring during periods of higher recreational activity.
Like all mitigation measures, drones have limitations, including weather conditions, visibility and battery constraints, but they remain a vital tool in protecting water users.
Harnessing artificial intelligence and emerging technology
The NSW Government will continue to partner with Surf Life Saving NSW but will also partner with external providers to drive the adoption of emerging technologies to enhance drone monitoring across the state.
This will include trials of at least two new artificial intelligence systems over summer, harnessing automation to improve shark detection, with the ambition of making new technologies standard practice at our beaches. The NSW Government will also work with Surf Life Saving NSW and CASA to pursue regulatory approvals to introduce more autonomous drone operations.
The funding for Surf Life Saving NSW will also enable them to upgrade their remote pilot and operating facilities, support deployment of new technology, and pave the way for a future of daily, automated flights from surf club rooftops and other purpose-built infrastructure.
Premier of New South Wales Chris Minns said:
“We know people love getting out to our beaches, and they should feel confident doing it.
“While no one can ever promise no shark interactions, this investment is about putting more eyes in the sky so we can spot sharks earlier and give people a clear heads-up when they’re in the water.
“More drones in the air means we’re getting a better picture of what’s happening offshore and it means we’ll get better at seeing them.
“We’re backing practical technology that helps keep families, surfers and swimmers safer right across the coast.”
Minister for Agriculture and Regional NSW Tara Moriarty said:
“NSW has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and we want people to enjoy them safely.
“This investment will deliver the most extensive aerial shark surveillance program we’ve ever had.
“We are significantly expanding drone coverage across Sydney and regional NSW, increasing the number of beaches monitored, extending operating hours and introducing new technology like AI, and these innovations will help extend drone coverage to more beaches at lower cost over time.
“While no measure can completely remove the risk of shark interactions, this program is about doing everything we can to reduce that risk and keep people safe in the water.
“This investment builds on the Minns Government’s commitment to a modern, science-based shark management program focused on early detection, innovation and education.”
CEO Surf Life Saving NSW Steve Pearce said:
“This package from the Minns Government is the largest ever funding commitment to shark management in Australia, and the largest uplift of funding to SLSNSW for the enhancement of coastal safety in NSW.
“This is an incredible investment in community, safety, confidence and ensuring NSW has cutting edge technology and capacity to provide world class safety to NSW coastal users.
“The SLS NSW Shark UAV surveillance program has proven to be an extremely effective component of the NSW Shark Management Program, having this year alone identified and prevented over 2000 sharks interacting with swimmers and surfers, and conducting over 100,000 flights.
“Even with the greatest technology and expanded presence of drones, we cannot prevent all shark interactions, however this funding will allow the development of a safety program that will give the greatest opportunity to prevent these from occurring.”
President of Surfing NSW, Lusus Townsend said:
“Surfing NSW supports this additional funding for expanded drone surveillance for sharks, which will play a critical role in keeping surfers safer across Sydney and regional communities.
“This is a win for surfer safety all along our coast, with increasing coverage across more beaches, for more hours, and more days of the year.
“We welcome the NSW Government’s commitment to aerial shark surveillance, which is helping to make surfing as safe as it can be for our thousands of surfers along the NSW coast.”
Drone schedule 2026/27
North Zone – Tweed, Clarence Valley, Kempsey, Byron, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie-Hastings, Ballina, Bellingen Shire, Richmond Valley, Nambucca Valley, Mid Coast Council, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens, Central Coast, Newcastle
- Every LGA has at least one beach with coverage 365 days per year
o A number of other beaches will be covered:
o daily from 1 December to 30 April
o daily in winter and spring school holidays, and
o every weekend throughout the year.
Sydney Zone – Northern Beaches, Randwick, Waverley, Sutherland
- 365 days a year at every ocean beach from Palm Beach to Cronulla
o From July 1 – 6:45am – 4:15pm
o September – 6:15am – 5:00pm
o October – 6:15am – 6:30pm
o November – 6:00am – 6:30pm
o December/January/February – 6:00am – 7:30pm
o March – 6:30am – 7:00pm
South Zone – Wollongong, Kiama, Eurobodalla, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Bega Valley
- Every LGA has at least one beach with coverage 365 days per year
- A number of other beaches will be covered:
o daily from 1 December to 30 April,
o daily in spring school holidays, and
o every weekend throughout the year.
