Change in Policy on Unusual Aerial Sightings (UAS)

The Royal Australian Air Force had collected and investigated UFO/UAS reports from the 1950s through the 1970s and into the 1990s, primarily through the Department of Air and later Defence Intelligence. Analysis showed that nearly all sightings were attributable to aircraft, satellites, meteors, stars, planets, balloons, or other known causes. A very small percentage could not be explained due to insufficient data or remained listed as "unknown causes," but none indicated extraterrestrial activity or a defence threat. In the mid-1990s, the RAAF determined that continued investigation and archiving of such reports was not an appropriate use of Defence resources. The policy change directed that future sightings by military personnel or the public should be referred to civilian groups or police/civil aviation authorities if safety or security issues appeared involved. The decision was not publicly announced at the time to avoid unnecessary speculation. The records were later transferred to the National Archives of Australia and are available for public research.