We conduct oral exams to assess your knowledge and skills for:

• new international certificates of competency
• new high complexity domestic certificates of competency
• international certificates of recognition for foreign seafarers, including those applying for skilled migration assessment
• renewal of your certificate, if you choose this option when you don’t have enough sea service.

The oral exam is usually the last requirement you need to meet before we issue your certificate. You need to pass an oral exam applicable to the level of certificate you are applying for. 

We offer online and face-to-face oral exams.  

• We conduct online exams via MS Teams.  We provide instructions on how to join the meeting in your booking confirmation. 
• We conduct face-to-face exams at a limited number of AMSA offices (see locations below).
• We schedule these exams on a case-by-case basis depending on examiner availability.  

How to book your oral exam

Use this process to book your oral exam.

1. Have your sea service assessed.

• For international STCW Certificates of competency or recognition complete Seafarer form 419.
• For near coastal certificate of competency complete form 426.

1. Lodge your application at a participating Australia Post outlet. Make sure to include all the required documents with your application.  
    
2. Receive your eligibility letter. When we’ve assessed your sea service we’ll send an email confirming you are eligible to sit the exam.
    
3. Read the policy and rules for conduct during oral exams. Contact us if you have any questions.
    
4. Book your exam by emailing seafarerexams@amsa.gov.au or calling AMSA Connect.
    
5. Pay the exam fee. See information on fees for international certificates or fees for domestic certificates. We do not accept bookings without payment.

Note: You cannot book your oral exam until you have received your eligibility email.

We'll let you know the first available slots for your examination and give you options to choose from. Our wait times vary depending on the time of year. During peak periods, wait times can be up to 3 months.

Face-to-face exam locations

Note: We only perform steam examinations in Sydney or Newcastle

Exam fees

There are charges for oral exams. Find out more about our fees and charges. You must pay the fee at the time of booking. 

We may cancel your online exam if your internet connection is too poor to support the exam. In this case, we may charge a new exam fee when you rebook.

Getting to your exam on time

It is your responsibility to make sure you are: 

• on time
• well rested
• prepared for your oral exam. 

We only conduct oral exams during Australian business hours. Australia is in time zones UTC+10, UTC+9.5 and UTC+8, and has daylight savings in some states. 

We'll confirm the time zone your exam is in when booking. You must check your local time zone conversion before accepting your exam time.

Cancelling or changing your exam booking

You can change your booking up to 5 working days before the exam date. 

If you cancel your exam 5 working days or more before the exam date you may be entitled to a refund. 

You will lose your exam fee if you cancel or reschedule within 2 working days of the exam date. 

Under special circumstances we may consider a refund if you cancel or change an exam within 2 working days of the exam date.  But we’ll need supporting evidence and the decision is at our discretion.   

If you miss or fail to turn up for your exam, we will not give you a refund. 

Visa applications to attend a face-to-face exam

We do not help with visa applications to attend face-to-face exams in Australia. But you may be able to use your examination booking email as evidence that you need to enter Australia.

Contact us

Contact AMSA Connect for more information or to answer questions about booking exams.