Exemption 2—Marine Safety (Certificates of survey)

This exemption is for owners of certain vessels who may not want to obtain a certificate of survey, or comply with certain conditions on a certificate of survey.

All domestic commercial vessels are required to have a certificate of survey unless exempt.

What this exemption will allow you to do

Exemption 02 exempts certain kinds of vessels from the requirement to have a certificate of survey, provided vessels comply with the conditions set out in Schedule 1 of this exemption.

Eligible vessels include some types of:

tenders (including auxiliaries)
vessels operating in sheltered waters (less than 12 metres long)
sailing vessels
human powered vessels
personal watercraft
volunteer marine rescue vessels
fire service vessels
vessels that weren’t required to have a certificate of survey on 30 June 2013

You do not need approval for this exemption if your vessel is:

a human powered vessel mentioned in item 2.3 of Schedule 1
a sailing vessel mentioned in item 2.4 of Schedule 1
a personal watercraft (PWC)—whether or not the PWC has an aerial freestyle device attached
an existing (grandfathered) vessel not required to have a certificate of survey on 30 June 2013.

You will need approval from us to use this exemption for all other vessels mentioned in Schedule 1.

You must:

apply to us for an exemption approval using Application for non-survey vessel (AMSA 579)
submit your application with the prescribed fee and
once approved, notify us of any changes relevant to the approval such as:
- transfer of ownership
- change of name and address of the owner
- any alterations to the vessel or changes to the vessel’s operation that may invalidate the vessel’s approval or ability to operate under this exemption.

Exemption for heritage vessels

A heritage vessel must have a certificate of survey unless it is an existing vessel that was not required to have a certificate of survey on 30 June 2013. This exemption may allow a heritage vessel to be exempt from some requirements mentioned in Marine Order 503 (Certificates of survey – national law) including:

survey inspection standards mentioned in section 5
vessel and equipment standards mentioned in sections 7 and 8
criteria for issue of a certificate mentioned in subsection 9(1)
standards that apply to the vessel in the National Standard for Commercial Vessel mentioned in paragraphs 9(2)(a)
conditions on certificates mentioned 11(1)(a) and 11(1)(f).

Approvals are subject to the following conditions:

you provide us with a vessel management plan
you maintain and operate your vessel in accordance with the vessel management plan
any changes made relating to your vessel management plan must be approved by us.