The federal aviation authority is getting at least one complaint every week from Canberra residents about the use of drones in the capital.
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The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has said it was regularly receiving complaints about drones flying close to houses in residential areas.
A spokesman for the authority said the number of complaints has surged since CASA established an online form to report potential illegal drone use.
"We're currently getting about one complaint per week from the ACT about drones," the spokesman said.
"[We] can't compare to previous years, as the system we have now wasn't in place."
CASA has issued 12 fines relating to drone use this year, including one for a drone flown over an Easter egg hunt at the National Library.
Drone users are not permitted to fly at night or in foggy conditions, are not allowed to fly within 30 metres of other people, and must not fly in populous areas under regulations laid out by the authority.
CASA has also ruled drone users must not fly higher than 120 metres off the ground and must be at least 5.5 kilometres away from airfields and helicopter landing sites.
"Penalties can range from hundreds of dollars to more than $10,000 for people who are fined for breaching the drone safety rules," the spokesman said.
A Gordon resident, who spoke to The Canberra Times on the condition of anonymity, was one of the people who made complaints to CASA.
She said drones have been flying around her house and shining lights into windows every night since June.
"I just find it highly intrusive and they're not supposed to be flying around at night," she said.
"You can see them all the time flying over Banks and Gordon. They're not even discrete about it."
She said the drones had been flying in a similar pattern every night around the Tuggeranong suburb, and has resorted to screening off her pergola area to prevent the cameras and lights attached to the drones from being able to see inside her home.
"They've been shining lights into bedrooms, and you get up and you can't see anything," she said.
"All our privacy has been breached and they have cameras as well."
Vice-chair of the Australian Privacy Foundation Roger Clarke said concerns regarding the use of drones had increased over several years as drone technology improved and became more accessible.
"Concerns have been increasing in a number of respects. The issue is getting worse," he said.
"The great problem is that there's nothing in Australian law that prevents this. Recreational users of drones know the chances of getting fined are only fractionally bigger than zilch."
A spokeswoman for the ACT Justice and Community Safety Directorate said the "emerging issues" of drones was being monitored closely in Canberra.
"Civil surveillance is justifiable where it has a legitimate use and is conducted in a way that is reasonable and protects people's rights and privacy," the spokeswoman said.
"However, safeguards are important to prevent the improper use of surveillance technologies."
The government commissioned a review in 2016 to determine if further legislative changes were needed to protect people against the improper use of drones.
The spokeswoman said the government was considering the 10 recommendations made in the review as well as public submissions.
"Governments across the country are considering the issue of the use of drones."
Drones could become a more common sight around Canberra, with Google sister company Project Wing seeking approval from CASA to extend testing in Australia.
The company has recently completed a two-week test of an autonomous drone delivery system in nearby Googong.
