
A groundbreaking project is trialling the use of drone technology to deliver critical medical supplies to remote Aboriginal communities in the Top End of Australia.

Led by the North Australia Centre for Autonomous Systems (NACAS) at Charles Darwin University (CDU) in collaboration with the Red Lily Health Board, FlyFreely and the RFDS, the three-month trial will assess the effectiveness of ‘BiBi planes’ (autonomous electrical vertical take-off aircraft) in overcoming geographical and logistical barriers that cause significant delays and costs in medical transport to remote communities.
The project will establish a 58-kilometre ‘airbridge’ between health clinics in the communities of Jabiru and Gunbalanya in West Arnhem, safely enabling the delivery of medical supplies and transport of pathology samples.
Upon arrival, trained staff will offload the supplies, change the BiBi plane’s battery, reload new cargo, and return the plane to Jabiru—streamlining an hours-long process into less than 30 minutes.
A team of experienced pilots, who have undergone additional specialist drone training, will remotely pilot the aircraft.
“Remote communities in West Arnhem are often cut off by road due to seasonal flooding and therefore rely on costly crewed aircraft from Darwin for medical transport,” RFDS Executive General Manager Medical & Retrieval Services Dr Mardi Steere said.
“This project will bypass those challenges, ensuring faster and more efficient delivery of critical health supplies, including temperature sensitive medications.

We're proud to be part of this innovation, marking the fist time cargo-delviery drones will take off and land from remote Aboriginal communities in the NT.
Dr Mardi Steere, RFDS
While similar aircraft have been deployed in Rwanda, India and low- and middle-income countries to deliver blood, vaccines and medical items, due to stricter aviation regulations and much greater distances, project lead Professor Hamish Campbell said Australia needed to develop its own solution.
“By investigating the scalability of BiBi-plane operations across West and East Arnhem, we can hopefully provide a blueprint to effectively integrate drone medical deliveries into remote healthcare delivery across Australia,” Professor Campbell said.
“With its extensive experience and deep roots in remote health care, the RFDS is uniquely positioned to logistically and operationally manage these innovative operations.”
Red Lily Health Board CEO Brad Palmer said collaboration with local Traditional Owners, through cultural consultation and community-led decision-making, has been key to getting the project off the ground.
“Road access to Gunbalanya can be severely restricted, meaning all medical transport must be done by plane or helicopter, which is a hugely expensive and inefficient process. Being able to deliver supplies from Jabiru to Gunbalanya in 30 minutes could be life-changing,” he said.
“We are excited by the doors this project could open for our region and the Gunbalanya community shares that excitement.”
Building on four years of research, the $796,000 trial is funded by the Australian Government’s Emerging Aviation Technology Partnership Program. Logistics planning is underway and test deliveries will commence from August 2025.
Learn more about the Flying Doctor.