The rescue took place as life savers at Lennox Head, a beach popular with surfers south of the city of Brisbane, were preparing for a training session on using drones to pull swimmers to safety.
The practice turned into a real rescue when someone noticed that two people swimming outside safety flags were in trouble in a 3-metre swell.
Lifeguards launched the drone, steered it towards the swimmers and dropped a "rescue pod" into the water, where it expanded so the swimmers could grab it and swim to shore.
Ben Franklin, from the New South Wales government says he's proud the state government is investing in such technology.
