Drones are cutting-edge pieces of technology that are used in very innovative ways by the research community. Recent examples include condition monitoring of large pinnipeds, automated mapping of coral reef substrate and population estimates of sea cucumbers. Drones are slowly proliferating into non-research communities for the purposes of conservation (e.g. by local governments). However, the pace at which novel methods are developed by researchers is not matched by an uptake of those methods by the non-research community. If this technology is to benefit conservation outside of the research sphere it is imperative that barriers to its potential uses are identified so that they can be addressed. Ostensibly the best audience to determine what the barriers might be in this case are those working in non-research based conservation (e.g. at local governments and community groups). We conducted a survey that had 304 responses representing participants working at a range of organisations across Australia. The survey results offer a unique perspective not yet explored in academic literature. In this presentation we present survey results that include a practical path forward for increasing the reach of drones as a piece of technology with the ability to make conservation work more rapid and cost-effective.