Interesting......Do you know where it says you can apply for an exemption in the regs and who has the 5m exemption??
The permission to fly closer in the case I'm referring to was done during the process of obtaining an Operators Certificate and did contain very strict conditions that I doubt many of us could achieve. I don't know if how it was done is confidential or not so I'd rather not be specific.
I'm in the process of applying for an OC now and I have been researching what I could do to make a safety case to CASA for an exemption to fly within 20 meters rather than 30. The advice I received from one consultant was that it would probably be very difficult for me to present a case until I have had the OC for some time to gain experience and demonstrate ongoing safety procedures. Fair enough.
I do have some ideas that I plan on presenting after about a year of flying that I hope will allow me to film closer. Most of the things that I'm thinking about have been discussed on this forum which is a great example of what a fantastic resource MRF is and how helpful others can be.
It's my understanding that getting exemptions from CASA isn't that unusual so long as you work with them, are following the rules carefully and ensure that safety is maintained.