Published on Australian Maritime Safety Authority (https://www.amsa.gov.au)
To be eligible for a General Purpose Hand near coastal certificate (GPH CoC) you must:
This certificate is required when an otherwise uncertified crew member is not under the direct supervision of a suitably qualified crew member and:
Crew who are not undertaking deck or engine room tasks, or are directly supervised when undertaking such tasks, do not need to hold a General Purpose Hand certificate of competency.
Crew who already hold a certificate like the Coxswain Grade 1, and deck certificates such as the Master <24, Master (Inland Waters), Master <45m and Master <100m do not need to hold a General Purpose Hand certificate of competency.
General supervision is when the person being supervised:
Direct supervision is when the person being supervised:
To learn more about the differences between general supervision and direct supervision including examples, see Supervisory definitions.
Anyone can undertake the tasks of a General Purpose Hand provided they are directly supervised by an appropriately certified seafarer.
If a seafarer is not directly supervised and holds no other seafarer certificate of competency, then the General Purpose Hand certificate of competency means that the seafarer can undertake the following tasks whilst under general supervision.
This means operation or lookout tasks for any of the following:
This means tasks related to main or auxiliary machinery used for any of the following:
Note: If you don't perform these deck or engine tasks on a domestic commercial vessel (including fishing vessels) you may not need a GPH CoC.
These instructions are summary information only. We make decisions about seafarer certificates under Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency — national law) 2022. This document has full details of the eligibility and other requirements for certificate applications.
Change your name on your certificate of competency
Replace your lost, stolen or damaged certificate of competency
Download the:
The Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers form 1850 lets us know that you are medically fit for working at sea.
If you are colour blind, you will be restricted to performing lookout duties during daylight hours only, unless you are working under direct supervision.
Provide the medical practitioner with the Guidelines for the medical assessment of near coastal seafarers and have them complete the Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers form.
If you have a current AMSA medical (Certificate of medical fitness form 303) you can use this instead.
You must submit your completed form as part of your Certificate of competency application form 426
Complete a General Purpose Hand near coastal course at a registered training organisation.
You will need to submit your course completion certificate with your Certificate of competency application.
You need to show you have experience working at sea on board commercial vessels. You must have completed:
There is no task book for a General Purpose Hand.
You need to submit at least one of the following as proof of qualifying sea service:
Read more about qualifying sea service.
You must also hold a:
A candidate may complete an AMPA for the General Purpose Hand (GPH) certificate of competency although this is not a requirement for certification.
Completing the GPH AMPA may however have practical benefits, as a candidate is only required to complete the AMPA for a particular unit of competency once. Therefore, a candidate who has completed the GPH AMPA is not required to complete the AMPA for those units of competency again for another certificate of competency.
To apply, complete and submit the Certificate of competency application form 426.
Read more about completing and submitting your application for a domestic certificate.
A General purpose hand near coastal certificate of competency is generally valid for 5 years. To keep working using your certificate you need to renew it every five years.
To renew your certificate you will need to:
You must complete a declaration of medical fitness on the Certificate of competency application form 426. This lets us know that you are medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.
If your existing General Purpose Hand certificate has a daylight hours restriction, this restriction will also be on your renewed certificate.
You do not need sea service to renew a General purpose hand near coastal certificate of competency.
You must submit a copy of your:
To apply, complete and submit the Certificate of competency application form 426.
Read more about completing and submitting your application for a domestic certificate.
If you hold a General Purpose Hand certificate, issued by a State or the Northern Territory, in the five years previous to your application, you will be eligible to apply for a General Purpose Hand near coastal certificate.
If you hold any of the following AMSA certificates, you will also be eligible to apply for a General Purpose Hand near coastal certificate:
To get a General Purpose Hand near coastal you will need to:
Download the:
The Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers form 1850 lets us know that you are medically fit for working at sea.
If you are colour blind, you will be restricted to performing lookout duties during daylight hours only, unless you are working under direct supervision
Certificate of medical fitness for (a domestic) near coastal certificate form 1850
Provide a medical practitioner with the Standards for the medical assessment of domestic seafarers and have them fill out the Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers form 1850. If you have a current AMSA medical (Certificate of medical fitness form 303) you can use this instead.
As part of your application for an equivalent certificate you must submit a copy of your:
To apply, complete and submit the Certificate of competency application form 426.
Read more about completing and submitting your application for a domestic certificate.