At the time of developing our last Corporate Plan AMSA, like the rest of Australia and the world, was dealing with the first wave of the global COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic, and the initial responses to control the spread, challenged how AMSA delivered its vision of safe and clean seas, saving lives.
In 2020 the Prime Minister said, “we would not let this virus break our Australian spirit”, and at the beginning of 2021 he reflected “it hasn’t, and it won’t”.
I echo this overarching sentiment, but there is no doubt COVID-19 continues to cause significant disruption.
The broader global outlook is also uncertain. Pandemic aside, the geopolitical environment remains very challenging with tensions spilling over into trade – impacting maritime trading activity, AMSA's levy base and business.
Like many organisations, AMSA has learned a lot over the past year – and will look to leverage these lessons as we navigate our way through 2021-22.
With adversity comes opportunity. Our focus for 2021–22 is delivering the new business as usual—whatever that may look like—as quickly as possible. The pandemic accelerated the introduction of new ways of working, and while the changes may have been a little disconcerting at the time, we will not be looking back. Where they improved the services we deliver without impacting safety, they will become part of our new normal.
The Government has outlined a number of priority areas for Australia’s economic recovery, including: cementing our economic recovery to create jobs; continuing to guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on; and protecting and securing Australians’ interests in a challenging world. The domestic and international maritime industry has an important role to play in all.
It is obvious that both the international and domestic commercial vessel sectors have been significantly impacted by the pandemic, and we will continue work with all tiers of government and industry to provide support where we can.
Following a significant review and update, this corporate plan describes our nine new strategic objectives, and the key activities we will undertake over the next four years to deliver them, with a specific focus on 2021-22. It also outlines our core business—that together with the key activities—will help us deliver on our vision of safe and clean seas, saving lives.
As a safety regulator, our actions must be proportionate to the risk being managed – and should not unnecessarily impede the efficient operations of those we regulate. Unfortunately, serious incidents are still too common in the maritime industry and finding the right balance between managing the risks and not getting in the way continues to be a focus for us. We can only improve safety by working closely with industry to develop a culture that values and manages safety.
As an island nation and an active member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), reducing the impact of shipping on the environment, and managing the impacts of climate change are vitally important. We are ready and able to contribute to the whole-of-government response to climate change. This is particularly relevant this year, as 2021 sees the first phase of the Government’s healthy oceans plan, giving effect to Australia’s commitment to sustainably manage 100 percent of the ocean within our national waters.
We cannot achieve our vision and mission without the collaboration and input of others. We will continue to maintain and build public confidence in our ability to perform our vital public service. We will do this by maturing our international and domestic stakeholder engagement framework and improving our consultation, contact, education and communication initiatives.
Our stakeholders expect simple digital interaction with us anytime and anywhere. Where practicable, AMSA will continue to look to embrace technology and innovation to deliver these expectations. The effective use of data is key for AMSA to continue to demonstrate the positive impacts of our interventions and the positive contributions we make to maritime safety and protection of the marine environment. AMSA will continue to invest in and develop our capability to manage information and data and take advantage of opportunities presented by new technologies.
In line with the recommendations of a Senate inquiry into AMSA’s performance in respect to the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 (the National Law), the Government has agreed to conduct an independent legislative review in 2021 to determine if the National Law is fit for purpose and delivers the desired safety outcomes across all Australian jurisdictions in the years since AMSA assumed responsibility from the states and territories. AMSA welcomes a review into the National Law as it will give us an invaluable opportunity to help simplify and improve how AMSA regulates. We are working closely with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications to make the most of this opportunity.
In response to the release of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s draft Regulator Performance Guide in April 2021, we reviewed our suite of non-financial performance measures to better demonstrate performance against the three new principles of regulator best practice. From 2021-22, regulator performance will be an integral part of our overall non-financial performance reporting under the PGPA Act.
The past year has shown us how important it is to be flexible and responsive. AMSA has professional people dedicated to delivering its vision, and I am confident that we are up to meeting current and future challenges and seizing opportunities —whatever they may be—while continuing to deliver our core business.
Stuart Richey AM
Chair