Economic Benefit Analysis of Drones in Australia

Deloitte Access Economics was commissioned by the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC) to investigate the economic benefit of drones in Australia.

The report outlines the findings and analysis of use cases for drones over the medium to long term as well as cost savings from the application of drones across different sectors in the Australian economy.

Economy wide modelling was used to estimate the broader economic impacts of uptake of drone technology on the Australian and regional economy in terms of jobs and output. The regulatory environment is also briefly considered in terms of its importance in achieving the potential economic benefits estimated.

Key findings include:

• Creation and support of 5,500 full time equivalent jobs
• $14.5 billion increase in GDP over the next 20 years – of which $4.4 billion would be in regional areas across New South Wales, Queensl and and Victoria
• Cost savings of $9.3 billion over the next 20 years, with $2.95 billion of this in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, $2.4 billion in mining and $1.34 billion in construction.