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MASNSW has aksed us to publish the amended MOP015 (Heavy Model Inspection and Operation Procedure) and the corresponding Permit to Fly form. They can be downloaded by clicking on the links below:

MOP015

Permit to Fly (form 038)

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We've had a couple of incidents, recently, where lipo batteries have smoked/flared following an uncontrolled "landing". As a generalisation, lipos are pretty unstable until they are virtually fully discharged (ie a fraction of a volt per cell), so it's worth assuming that a plume of smoke followed by a period of calm might not be the last action you get from a lipo. 

Please, if you have an aircraft go down in the bush, spend the extra effort to find the battery and bring it out of the bush if you reasonably can, and please also treat the battery as dangerous until you have had time to check it. If the battery is undamaged and you are sure that it works normally, all well and good. If it doesn't, you can either discharge it in a mix of very salty water (eg 250g of salt in 4 litres of water) in a bucket (cut the cables one by one if you want to take the plugs off, and leave it in the water for a few days), or take it to a battery shop for them to dispose of it safely. 

Ed