Josh Matica was at the controls on his first training flight when the Jabiru J-170 light plane lost power. The J-170 is a kit plane that seats two.
Instructor Doug Field took over when the engine started to fail.
"We're at 1,100 feet, we've got about a bit under two minutes before we're going to hit the ground at this point in time," he told ABC News.
The duo calmly looked for a safe place to land. They were flying near Victoria Point, south-east of Brisbane, at the time.
Field told ABC News that "there weren't too many good options there".
The plane made a bumpy landing and ended up in a barb wire fence.
The duo were praised by flight school Pathfinder
The video is below, and there's more on ABC News.