Our three Botanic Gardens and Botanic Park offer some of the state’s most spectacular filming locations with a wide range of natural scenic backdrops, glasshouses and period architecture.
Providing these incredible destinations comes at a significant cost, with ongoing maintenance, plant curation and a lot of tender loving care by our team.
As well as daily horticultural work, there are also a wide variety of events, weddings and other activities taking place in the Gardens and Park throughout the year.
To protect the Gardens and Park, provide a great experience for all, and to help manage events and other activities, you may require a Filming and Photography Permit if you wish to use these iconic destinations for your photography/filming.
Recreational photographers do not require a permit to take photos or videos for personal use.
While fees do not always apply for student or not-for-profit photography and filming, students/not-for-profit organisations are required to apply for a Filming and Photography Permit so that we can determine if the shoot can go ahead, and coordinate accordingly.
Commercial shoots – where the photographer/videographer/business intends to make a profit from the shoot or use it to promote their products – requires the purchase of a Filming and Photography Permit from the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium.
The cost involved will depend on the size of crew and the amount of gear involved, access and vehicle requirements, the day and time of shooting (weekends and after hours will attract additional rates) and whether Botanic Gardens staff supervision and logistical support is required.
Please refer to our Filming and Photography Rate Card for permit costs.
Filming and Photography Permit Application Form
Carefully complete the above application form with as much detail as possible about your proposed shoot. Please contact us with as much notice as possible (at least 3 -5 business days) for the best chance of your application being approved.
Download a copy of the relevant Garden’s visitor map (Adelaide , Mount Lofty, Wittunga or Botanic Park) and use this to fill in the map coordinates of your proposed shoot on the form.
Note: If you're applying for a wedding or engagement photography permit, please see the "Wedding photography" section below, as this requires a different process.
Filming and photography requests the Gardens deems integral to the promotion of our work are typically approved at discounted or no cost. If you are a media outlet, such as from a news team or magazine, please contact the Media Communications team with as much notice as possible to ensure your request is approved in time for the shoot.
Wedding and wedding-related shoots - for example, engagements - are handled by our on-site Function Coordinators, at Blanco Horner. Visit the Botanic Gardens Weddings website for details on obtaining a permit for your shoot.
For the safety and enjoyment of all visitors and to protect botanical collections, wildlife and heritage-listed buildings, drone use by the general public is not permitted in any of the Botanic Gardens (Adelaide, Mount Lofty or Wittunga) or Botanic Park under section 22 of the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium (BGSH) Regulations.
Drones are only occasionally permitted for use by garden staff for inspection of trees, or on the odd occasion by third parties for specific activities.
If you want to make a request to fly a drone in any of the gardens, you are required to seek BGSH Board approval to operate a drone in the Gardens or Park and must have an aviation reference number (ARN), a remote pilot licence (RePL) and apply for a commercial photography permit (see above).
For more complex drone operations outside of the drone safety rules, additional permissions and approvals will be required including remotely piloted aircraft operator's certificates ReOC.
For further information, please contact our Media Communications Coordinator on (08) 8222 9345 or BGSHComms@sa.gov.au.
