Chasing Light Collective

Built for operators who want to run properly.

CLC helps small commercial operators navigate permits, risk documentation, insurance requirements and authority pathways for paid activities on public land. Built from real photography workshop operations across council land, national parks, reserves and protected areas.

91%
of workshop locations require commercial permits
20 of 22 locations across the active schedule. The compliance requirement is the rule, not the exception.
5+
jurisdictions navigated — first attempt, no rework
QLD · TAS · NT · WA · NZ. Real applications, real approvals.
Practical support for small operators
Most compliance help is either too broad, too legal-heavy, or built for larger tourism operators. CLC focuses on the messy permit pathway and documentation layer small operators actually need.
The problem

The moment you charge for a service on managed land, the rules change completely.

National parks, reserves, council land — every jurisdiction has its own permit system, safety requirements, fee structure, and renewal cycle. A coastal photography workshop in Queensland, a guided hike in Tasmania, and a tour through a New Zealand national park are three entirely separate compliance projects.

Most operators are either winging it and hoping nothing goes wrong, or they've given up before they started. Neither is a good outcome.

Most capable operators do not fail because they lack skill. They get stuck because the approval pathway is unclear, scattered across authorities, and difficult to price before they start.

What a compliant operator has to manage

Permit holder
Safety officer
Risk assessor
Compliance writer
Insurance manager
First aider
Authority liaison
Renewal tracker
D&A policy holder
Emergency planner

CLC solves the compliance side so you can focus on what you're actually good at.

What CLC does

Three things. Done properly.

02

Digital products

Permit templates, safety plan frameworks, authority email guides, jurisdiction-specific checklists, and risk assessment tools. Built for operators who want to do the work themselves but need a proven starting point. Not written by lawyers — written by an operator who's been through the process and come out the other side.

03

Workshops

Small-group landscape, seascape, and astrophotography workshops across Australia and New Zealand — operated by Dylan Knight Photography to the CLC standard. Fully permitted, professionally run, mentorship-led. The compliance backbone CLC was built on is the same backbone that runs every workshop in the network.

Who CLC helps

For small operators using public land.

Photography is where CLC was built. The same permit, risk and authority problems affect many small operators running paid activities on managed land.

If your activity needs a commercial permit, licence, authority approval or risk documentation before you can operate, CLC exists for you.

  • 📷
    Photography workshop and tour operatorsCommercial shoots, tuition, tours and workshops across national parks, reserves, council land and managed coastal areas.
  • 🥾
    Guided hiking and walking operatorsDay walks, overnight trips and small-group trail experiences in managed public spaces.
  • 🌿
    Nature-based tourism operatorsSmall tourism experiences using parks, forests, reserves, protected areas and public recreation sites.
  • 🧘
    Outdoor wellness and fitness operatorsYoga, retreats, bootcamps and wellness activities that rely on council or managed public land.
  • 🦜
    Eco-tourism and wildlife operatorsNature, birdwatching, wildlife and environmental experiences in conservation or protected areas.
  • 🗺️
    Small commercial tour operatorsOperators who need help understanding which authority, permit type, documentation pack and operating conditions apply.
Proven track record

Real permits. Real approvals. No fabricated case studies.

The examples below show permits, licences, approvals and application pathways CLC has personally built or navigated through Dylan Knight Photography. This is the methodology CLC brings to client engagements.

Tasmania
Parks Tasmania NBT Business Licence
11-document submission. Bay of Fires + Freycinet. 3-week turnaround.
Approved · No rework
Queensland
QPWS Commercial Activity Permit
Original application plus amendment work across multiple national park sites, participant limits, operating frequency and activity conditions.
Approved · Amendment pathway
Northern Territory
Uluru-Kata Tjuta Cultural Tourism Permit
Cultural permit including CDU TAFE accreditation pathway and SEIT step-on guide compliance.
Approved pathway
New Zealand
DOC Concession — Aoraki/Mt Cook NP
Pre-application package including ROSA safety audit, externally reviewed against ISO 45001.
Pathway prepared
Western Australia
DBCA Operator Licence — The Pinnacles
Commercial astrophotography pathway for Nambung National Park. Preparing application pathway and operating model.
In preparation
Queensland
Sunshine Coast Council Commercial Activity Permit
Commercial operator permit across six Sunshine Coast coastal sites, amended to increase approved participant capacity and operating flexibility.
Approved · Amendment completed
Digital products · Coming soon

The compliance knowledge — as a product.

Permit templates, safety plan frameworks, authority email guides, and jurisdiction-specific checklists. Built for operators who want to do the work themselves with a proven starting point — not start from zero and learn by failure.

CAP application templates NBT licence frameworks Safety Management Systems Risk assessment tools Authority email guides Jurisdiction checklists · QLD / TAS / NT / WA / NZ
Photography workshops

Small-group. Fully permitted. Properly run.

Landscape, seascape, and astrophotography workshops across Australia and New Zealand — operated by Dylan Knight Photography to the CLC standard. Every location is permitted, every session is planned around real conditions, and every participant gets mentorship-led instruction in a group small enough to actually learn in.

Typically 4–6 participants
Mentorship-led field tuition
AUS + NZ locations
All permits held

Upcoming workshops

Tasmania East Coast
Feb 2027 · 5 days
Sapphire Coast
Apr 2027 · 4 days
New Zealand Winter Astro
Aug 2027 · 8 days
The Pinnacles + Turquoise Coast
Oct 2027 · Astrophotography
All workshops →
Dylan Knight
The founder

Dylan Knight

Founder · Chasing Light Collective

I'm a Sunshine Coast–based landscape and astrophotography specialist who built all of this compliance infrastructure for my own photography business — and got tired of watching great operators get buried in red tape or give up before they started.

Life's too short and too hard for that. If you've got real talent and you want to take people into the field and share what you know, the compliance system shouldn't be the thing that stops you. That's the problem CLC exists to fix.

Every permit, safety plan and risk assessment in the CLC track record was built for real commercial operations and reviewed through genuine authority processes, permit conditions, insurer requirements and external safety audit pathways.

  • Certified Professional Photographer (CPP, PPAQ)
  • Nikon School Australia lecturer
  • Authorised reseller — NiSi Filters + Leofoto Tripods
  • $20M public liability coverage maintained for commercial workshop operations
  • Permits held across QLD · TAS · NT · WA · NZ
  • Safety documentation reviewed through an external ISO 45001-aligned audit pathway for NZ DOC preparation
Get started

Ready to run your operation properly?

Start with one activity, one location and one authority pathway. We'll map what applies before you spend weeks guessing.