Key dates

Consultation opens:

3 October 2023

Consultation closed:

27 November 2023

Proposed commencement of revised NSCV C7A:

TBA

Key proposed changes

The proposed changes to the draft NSCV C7A affect these standards.

Liferaft standards   

• Alternative options for liferaft type on <15m vessels in open waters.
• Provision for certain <7.5m open waters vessels the option of no liferaft, if they meet additional conditions.
• Clarification of when existing vessels that are not currently required to carry liferafts must carry liferafts and the timeframe to comply.
• Description of correct liferaft securing methods.

Lifejacket carriage standards 

• Carriage of infant-size lifejackets aligned with Australian and international standards (ISO, SOLAS, AS).  
• Greater choice of lifejacket type (ISO or AS of 275N) for vessels operating in B waters.  
• Carriage of spare gas cylinders and salt tablets for inflatable lifejackets to meet tables 2, 3 or 4 in C7A.
• Carriage of additional lifejackets for redundancy when all lifejackets carried to meet tables 2, 3 or 4 in C7A are of the inflatable type.
• End of grandfathering arrangements for kind of lifejackets vessels must carry. Existing vessels still carrying lifejackets that do not meet the NSCV standard will have 2 years from the start of the new NSCV C7A to carry ‘coastal’ lifejackets.
• To assist operators in remote areas carrying inflatable lifejackets to meet NSCV C7A, increased flexibility for location of annual servicing of inflatable lifejackets.

Note: Users of Exemption 39 (marine safety) – Lifejacket lights will need to comply with passenger lifejacket requirements once the exemption expires in 2025.

First aid 

• Updated first aid and medical scales to align with current Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) requirements, including for codeine, which now requires a prescription.
• Clarification that B-waters vessels must seek advice from medical practitioners or pharmacists to determine when they need to carry additional first aid / medical supplies.

Other proposed changes

• Updates to reflect recent advances in safety equipment technology, updates to international conventions and codes, and lessons learnt through industry experience
• Revised guidance on the use of personal locator beacons (PLBs) in high-risk operations and their registration with AMSA
• Consolidation into NSCV C7A of requirements from across multiple referenced documents into C7A (AMSA General Equivalent Solutions, Marine Order 25, SOLAS, IMO resolutions, and AMSA Exemptions)
• Updated standard for distress flares to comply with the SOLAS / LSA Code or AS2092:2004
• Clarified definitions and improved readability. 

View the changes in more detail.

Who these changes affect 

• DCV owners and operators
• Certificate of competency holders
• Anyone working or travelling on a DCV
• Accredited marine surveyors
• Safety equipment service agents.   

Find out more about the proposed changes to NSCV C7A

• Draft National Standard for Commercial Vessels Part C Design and construction Subsection 7A Safety equipment
• NSCV C7A regulatory costing analysis