Frequently asked questions

TAS DroneXchange is Australia's drone marketplace from Timed Automation Solutions. You can buy and sell equipment, hire drones, book certified operators, and engage verified service providers, with CASA-aware listings and trust workflows built in.

Select Register, choose your primary marketplace role (renter, host, operator, or service provider), and complete your profile. You can add roles and verification details later from your account settings.

• Buy / sell: purchase or list drones and accessories for sale.
• Rental: request date-based hires with optional security deposits.
• Operator services: book quoted drone work from certified operators.
• Service providers: engage businesses for surveying, mapping, inspections, and related services.

Use Search to filter by workflow, category, location, and trust badges.

No. Search and listing detail pages are public. You need an account to create listings, place orders, send messages, submit service requests, and manage bookings from your dashboard.

After logging in, open List your drone/service, pick the workflow (sale, rental, operator, or service provider), complete the required fields (title, location, photos, specifications), then publish or save as draft.

Strong listings typically include:

• Clear title, brand, model, and condition
• For new sale listings: range, speed, flight time, payload
• For used or refurbished sale listings: flight hours and battery cycles
• For dock listings: compatible aircraft, operating radius, charge time, network, IP rating, power, and deployment
• Accurate location (suburb, state) for search and fulfilment
• High-quality photos and optional specification documents
• CASA compliance flags and operator credentials where relevant
• Pricing (sale price, daily rental rate, or quote-based service description)

Yes. Drafts appear in your dashboard until you publish. You can quick-edit title, location, and price from the dashboard without opening the full listing editor.

Sale listings may be deactivated automatically when a purchase completes or an active buy order is in progress. Rental and service listings stay live unless you unpublish or delete them.

Choose pickup or shipping on the listing page and submit a purchase request. Payment is requested after the seller accepts. Track progress from your dashboard or the order detail page, and message the seller through the linked conversation thread.

• Pickup: coordinate suburb, time window, and handover with the seller.
• Shipping: seller confirms shipping charge; buyer provides delivery address after acceptance.

Message the seller with clear questions about condition, accessories, and inclusions. If you want a closer look, request a video call before payment. Keep pickup or delivery details in Messages so both of you have a clear record.

Describe condition accurately and disclose known defects. Before handover, share photos in Messages if helpful, and clearly highlight any existing scratches, marks, or damage.

Yes. When an order reaches a completed status, buyer and seller can rate each other (1 to 5 stars) with an optional comment. Reviews appear on the seller's listings and in your dashboard.

On a hire listing, select start and end dates, add optional notes, and submit a booking request. The host reviews the request from their dashboard. Rental subtotal and any security deposit are shown before you confirm.

Some rental listings include a security deposit held for the hire period. It is released after a successful return unless damage is reported and reviewed under the deposit workflow.

Open your dashboard, then Bookings for outgoing and incoming rentals, or open the linked order for full timeline and actions (accept, handover, return, etc.).

Ask questions in Messages and request a video call before payment if you need a closer look. Take photos at collection, and again at return if anything needs to be discussed.

Before each handover, photograph the item and share those photos with the renter in Messages. Highlight any existing scratches, marks, or damage. At return, compare condition with your handover photos and report damage only with clear evidence.

Browse operator listings or service providers. Submit a service request from a provider's public profile with project location, dates, and details, or place an order from an operator listing workflow.

After a request is submitted, the provider reviews it in their dashboard, sends a quote, and you accept to proceed to deposit or payment. Job progress (scheduled, in progress, completed) is tracked on the order timeline.

Register with a provider-capable role, complete Provider setup (business name, service areas, logo, portfolio), pass business verification (ABN), and set your profile to Live when ready to appear in search.

No. TAS DroneXchange does not currently charge a marketplace platform fee on bookings or sales. Order totals show the item or rental amount, plus any shipping or security deposit where they apply.

For physical sales, payment is typically due after the seller accepts your request. Rentals and quoted services may require a deposit or full payment at acceptance; see the order summary on each listing or order page for exact amounts.

Card payments are processed through Stripe Connect when enabled. Charges are created on the payee's connected Express account (the merchant of record). TAS is not an escrow agent. Card details are not stored on TAS DroneXchange servers. See our Terms of use: Payments and Privacy policy.

After order completion, payouts are released on a manual schedule following a hold window (currently 7 days unless configured differently). Stripe or TAS may delay payouts for risk, refunds, or disputes.

See Terms of use: Cancellations and refunds and the cancellation FAQs below. The payment screen also shows a short policy disclosure you must agree to before paying.

Paid marketplace orders use three tiers:

• Free cancellation before you pay.
• After payment, before scheduling: full refund of the commitment payment if either party cancels. For bookable orders, the provider should schedule within 24 hours or the buyer is fully refunded.
• After scheduling: if the buyer cancels, a 25% cancellation fee applies to the commitment payment and the remainder is refunded. If the provider cancels, the buyer receives a full refund. Rental security bonds are still refunded on cancel.

Full legal wording is in the Terms of use. Privacy of refund and cancel records is covered in the Privacy policy.

Before any commitment payment is completed, cancellation is free under the free-cancel tier. Open the order from your dashboard and use Cancel when the action is available.

Either party may cancel for a full refund of the commitment payment. For bookable rentals and services, the provider is asked to schedule within 24 hours (with reminder emails at payment, 12 hours left, and 2 hours left). If still unscheduled after 24 hours, the buyer is fully refunded automatically.

If the buyer cancels after scheduling, a 25% fee applies to the commitment payment and the remainder is refunded. If the provider cancels, the buyer receives a full refund. Rental security bonds are still handled under bond refund rules when you cancel. Some in-progress statuses cannot be cancelled in-app.

For eligible rentals and quoted services, you may request a reschedule while the full-refund (pre-schedule) tier applies. The counterparty reviews the request from the order timeline. See the order Actions panel for availability.

Yes where shown. The payment screen includes a cancellation policy disclosure and requires acknowledgement before you pay. Without acceptance, checkout cannot proceed.

Hosts and operators should mark listings accurately and hold appropriate credentials for the work offered. Renters and buyers remain responsible for verifying that operations meet their mission and regulatory requirements. CASA-compliant badges on listings indicate self-declared compliance at listing time.

• Identity verified: government ID and selfie check completed (Didit where configured, or manual review where that path is used).
• RePL: operator flight credentials where applicable.
• ABN verified: registered business details matched for service providers (required with identity).
• ReOC: optional organisation credential for service providers when they hold one.

Manage verification from your profile or provider verification pages. Documents stay private.

Where Didit is enabled, you start an ID check from your verification page, then capture a government-issued ID and selfie (often on your phone via QR code). The page updates when the check finishes. Identity files are not shown on public profiles. See the Privacy policy and Terms of use for how verification data is handled.

Complete identity verification and submit ABN and business name for review. Those two checks are required for service providers. Company profiles may also need a business authority document. ReOC is optional. Requirements appear under Company verification in your service provider workspace.

After a completed transaction, buyers and sellers can leave star ratings and comments. Average ratings appear on listings and dashboards, helping you assess counterparties before you transact.

Conversations are linked to listings or orders. Open Messages from your dashboard or use the message action on an order to contact the buyer, seller, operator, or provider. Email notifications can be configured under notification settings.

Go to Account to update contact details, location, operator credentials, avatar, and primary roles. Provider-specific fields are in the provider setup and verification flows.

Visit our Contact page for support channels, response times, and compliance enquiries. Include your order or listing reference for faster resolution.