Filming and Photography in Penrith

Penrith is an extraordinary place to make a movie or create some unique still shots. It’s a developing, diverse and versatile region. It’s rural and city all in one location.

Penrith is a vibrant city nestled at the foot of the Blue Mountains on the outskirts of Sydney. This ideal location combines the best of city life in a peaceful and picturesque setting. Penrith has numerous buzzing restaurant precincts. The Penrith region has classic Australian suburbia entwined with stunning rural settings.

The Nepean River, Nepean Gorge and Penrith Lakes are all important natural features used for a wide range of recreational activities including fishing, kayaking and rowing.  Penrith’s rich history can be seen in the many heritage buildings, churches, museums, galleries and landmarks across the city. 

Penrith has strong community-arts support, making Penrith the perfect location for your next shoot.

Penrith City Council encourages filming and photography activity and welcomes artists interested in discovering our cities diverse locations. Council has implemented the Local Government Filming Protocol which is designed to cut through red tape and make approval processes easier, faster and more streamlined than ever before.

Penrith has already provided the backdrop to well known TV shows and commercials:

• McDonalds
• Home and Away
• The Bachelor
• Beauty and The Geek
• Telstra 
• Optus 
• Married At First Sight 

Filming and Photography Application Form

You can use the Filming and Photography Application Form to apply for approval to undertake filming or still photography within the Penrith Local Government Area.

Please note that if this application form is submitted with less than 7 working days notice prior to shoot date, approval is not guaranteed. Applications that require a Traffic management Plan (TMP) can take up to 6 weeks to be processed.

Application for filming and photography

Filming and Photography Feeds

As of 1 July 2023, Penrith City Council have implemented Fees and Charges for Filming and Photography within the Penrith LGA on Council owned and managed land.

Traffic Management Plans

Applications requiring Traffic Management Plans (TMP’s) require a minimum of 14 days notice, however if the TMP requires the Traffic Committees approval, please allow 6 weeks. The Traffic Committee meets once a month.

Temporary Road Reserve Occupancy Application Form can be located here.

Please ensure you have ALL required documents before applying, failure to do so may cause delays in your application processing time.

Insurance Requirements

All film projects must have public liability insurance of $20 million and a copy of the certificate of currency must be provided along with the application before any approvals can be provided.

Drone/RPA use for Filming and Photography

All commercial drone/remotely piloted aircraft use regardless of size or type requires Penrith City Council approval to take-off or land on public land.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority no longer requires formal certification of drone/RPA operators for drones under 2kg. All commercial operators of a drone/RPA under 2kg must instead register their details with CASA online before any use.

Commercial operators of a drone/RPA under 2kg are still required to follow the standard operating conditions for commercial drones, which include:

• only flying during the day and in line of sight
• no flying within 30m of people
• no flying above 120m
• no flying within 5.5km of a controlled airport
• no flying over busy areas such as beaches, river, parks and sporting ovals
• all activities on public land must be pre-approved by the local council/authority.

You must be CASA certified to operate a drone/RPA over 2kg for a commercial purpose.

Drone/RPA application

For all commercial RPA use the following documentation must be submitted for all applications:

• filming production and photography application form
• CASA issued RPA operators certificate (ReOC) (drones over 2kg)
• CASA issued remote pilot licence (RePL) for each proposed operator (drones over 2kg)
• aviation specific public liability insurance certificate
• flight risk assessment
• pedestrian management plan with the proposed pedestrian exclusion zone illustrated (30m and so on, depending on the operator’s licence)
• flight plan if operations are to deviate out of the 30m ground exclusion zone once airborne (maximum altitude must not exceed 400ft or 123m).

No take-off/landing sites on public land are permitted that cannot satisfy the basic conditions of a standard operators certificate.

All standard RPA operator certificates require an exclusion zone of 30m be enforced for all take-off/landing sites, with no operations permitted within 30m of any member of public at any time. As such, the take-off/landing site proposed must be able to satisfy this minimum requirement with scaled exclusion zones illustrated upon a pedestrian management plan to be included with all applications.

Additional restrictions of use 

Further documentation must be submitted for all additional operations as listed below:

• within 3 nautical miles or 5.5km of an airport requires specific CASA approval
• at night requires specific CASA approval
• within restricted airspace requires specific approval from the controlling authority
• within military airspace requires military approval (LOA) and CASA approval
• out of visual line of sight require specific CASA area approval
• within less than 30m of a member of the general public requires a specific CASA issued operators exclusion.

All UAV operators must ensure that flights remain in line with the requirements of privacy legislation.

Unauthorised commercial use 

All operators found to be operating in breach of a Penrith City Council issued approval, in breach of CASA conditions of their operator's certificate or operating without an approval will be stopped, possible infringement notices issued and all details provided to CASA for further action.

Further information and licensing procedure queries can be directed to the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority or phone 13 17 57.

Notify the Police

Filming activities on public land may need to be approved by NSW Police to discuss traffic control, user-pays police personnel and working around other activities that may be planned in the area at the same time. Police must also be notified if the filming project involves firearms, police uniforms or any other law enforcement-related props.

Penrith Area Command can be contacted on  02 4721 9444

Neighbour Notification

Before you start filming you need to letterbox drop the area around your location letting the neighbours (business/residential) know about your production plans. A sample letter can be found here.

Parking

Parking for Filming and Photography projects in the Penrith City Council Local Government Area will be assessed on a case by cases basis and may incur a fee.

Private Property

If you are filming on private property you do not require Council consent. However, it is appreciated that you notify Council of your intent.

Other authorities

Not all areas of the City are under our control. Some areas require permission from other authorities listed below:

Transport NSW– Roads  13 22 13

Transport NSW– Maritime  13 12 36

National Parks  02 9585 6082

Civil Aviation Safety Authority  13 17 57

Contact

If you require advice about your location, application or have any additional requirements please contact 1300 736 836 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.