Behind the controls is Barry Burke, a pilot from Origin Energy who is learning to fly drones weighing up to 25kg and capable of soaring further, faster and with more on board than any consumer device.

Mr Burke is one of eight pilots at the energy giant who fly its collection of 17 drones to help maintain Australia's energy network.

It's one of many unexpected ways drones are being deployed in Australian skies, according to aviation experts, where the unmanned aerial vehicles are being used for everything from saving koalas to finding lost hikers and dropping off emergency supplies.

Origin chief remote pilot Matt Jeffs said the electricity generator started using drones in 2017 but only formalised its program in 2020.

The company and its pilots deploy drones to inspect gas fields as large as 50km long and 30km wide, saving time and identifying problems when and sometimes before they occur.

"Using photos with artificial intelligence you can identify if there is a leak or if there is a spill of some sort," Mr Jeffs said.

"You can also use thermal imaging to determine temperature differences which could show a problem you weren't expecting.

"And if we're looking at a site to develop a solar farm, we'll map the site out with photos and develop full topography maps. In a day, we can cover off what would take a surveyor three or four weeks."

In March alone, Mr Jeffs said, a group of Origin pilots planned to visit and fly drones over 30 gas fields and pipelines between Melbourne and Brisbane.

Air Support Queensland chief executive Wayne Condon, who teaches drone pilots through the company's UAV Training Australia arm, said the flying machines were well suited to accessing hard-to-reach sites and scanning large areas.

But in addition to surveying land, he said the technology was increasingly being used to save people and animals from harm.

Firefighters regularly asked the company to fly drones over blazes and back-burning operations, and the technology had transformed search-and-rescue missions.

"The traditional way of finding someone is to go out on foot but the first thing we do now is to get a drone up and start the search," Mr Condon said.

Even koalas were in their sights, he added, after timber firm HQPlantations hired the company to pinpoint at-risk animals.

"Whenever there's a harvest, they send in our team to fly the corridor looking for koalas.

"We'll fly at night but you can see koalas clear as a bell with thermal imaging and you can see them picking gum leaves."

Mr Jeffs said Origin planned to expand its drone program, eventually seeking approval to use drone-in-a-box solutions to fly the aircraft from remote hubs.

"In that case, we would have a control centre in Brisbane where we could hit a button and conduct a mission, which is pretty exciting," he said.

Australian Associated Press