Standardised observer aerial surveys have provided data on the distribution and abundance of the dugong in various parts of its range in Australia, including the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, since the mid-1980s. Analysis of the time series of surveys conducted in the southern Great Barrier indicate that the dugong population in this region is declining and a resurvey of the area is overdue. The emergence and rapid development of aerial imagery-based technologies, including the use of drones, have the potential to enhance the monitoring of dugongs and other species of marine megafauna in the Great Barrier Reef and globally. Pivotal to the use of such new survey approach is to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the state of knowledge of the technology and essential considerations for the transition from observer surveys to aerial imagery surveys, and to assess the applicability of new survey technologies to the survey of dugongs in the Great Barrier Reef. We will present the outline a strategy to transition from observer surveys to aerial imagery surveys and share our plan to survey dugongs in the southern GBR in the context of this transition.