Policy statement by the Deputy Prime Minister on arrangements from 1 July 2018 for the National System for Domestic Commercial Vessel Safety
The Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 (National Law Act) establishes the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) as the National Marine Safety Regulator for domestic commercial vessels.
On 1 July 2018, AMSA assumed full responsibility for service delivery under the National System for Domestic Commercial Vessel Safety (national system), replacing seven state and territory service models.
This transition was the final step in implementing a truly national and consistent approach to maritime safety regulation and service delivery across Australia.
The national system is Australia’s single regulatory framework for the certification, construction, equipment, design and operation of domestic commercial vessels inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone. It enables operators, seafarers and vessels to move seamlessly between jurisdictions.
Benefits
AMSA’s delivery of the national system, ensures that standards, rules and subordinate legislation (such as regulations and Marine Orders) are applied consistently for vessels and seafarers across the country.
AMSA’s delivery of the national system benefits transport, tourism and fishing operators across Australia through nationally consistent services and standards, better mobility for labour and vessels, efficient service delivery and increased certainty for industry.
Costs and Charges
Fees for AMSA’s services to individuals, such as certification of vessels and seafarers, replaced state and territory charges for these services on 1 July 2018. Fees are set out under the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Regulations 2013.
On 2 July 2018, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the Australian Government will provide an additional $10 million funding for the national system, increasing the Government’s total contribution to $65 million over ten years, and increasing total funding by all governments to $112.4 million.
This additional funding means no cost recovery levy will be charged to industry for the first three years of AMSA’s service delivery to assist all operators as services transition.
A review of all national system costs and charges will be conducted in 2020-21 and involve wide public consultation. The review will consider the appropriateness of charges in an informed manner, with the benefit of two years nationally consistent data on the risk and effort required to implement the national system.
More Information
Further information about the national system is available on the AMSA Website.