With our paucity of SAR assets in Victoria it is quite normal for other machines to assist in a search, especially Media helicopters who will benefit from headlining "Missing Cabinet Minister found by Channel 7 helicopter" or similar
Inevitably done in the knowledge of the Search authority (VicPol for overland searches in Victoria), I've assisted in quite a few searches and recoveries for missing skiers/snowboarders in our Alpine High Country.
For missing aircraft the search will be done under Aussar control, and registered civilian assets (fixed wing and rotary) are called upon as required. In most cases there will be as many (if not more) 'civilian' helicopters searching as Police or EMS machines, but always with a briefing and an assigned area, plus observers on board to do the searching. Aussar also pay an agreed hourly rate for the registered machines.
With such a large land mass and relatively small number of Police/EMS aircraft, this system works well
