If you are serving on a ship registered in the Australian International Shipping Register (AISR) and do not hold a primary certificate or certificate of recognition issued by AMSA, you will need to hold a certificate of equivalence. A certificate of equivalence is only valid for service on a ship registered on the AISR.

How do I get a certificate of equivalence?

When applying for a certificate of equivalence, you must:

• Hold a valid certificate of competency or proficiency (as Rating) issued by a flag administration that has a formal agreement with us. Read more about flag state administration.
• Provide evidence of an offer of employment on a ship registered in the AISR.
• Hold a passport valid for at least six months from the date of application for a certificate of equivalence.
• Demonstrate satisfactory competence in both written and spoken English. This may be achieved by completing one of the following:
  • Holding an STCW certificate of competence for which the examinations were in English
  • Passing the Marlins test at an approved testing centre
  • Passing an English language test as approved by us
  • Provide confirmation from your employer that the company is satisfied that you have an acceptable standard of English that will enable you to carry out your shipboard duties safely.
• Hold a valid Certificate of medical fitness approved by us.

Master and Deck officers are also required to hold a valid Global maritime distress and safety systems (GMDSS) radio operator’s certificate or GMDSS certificate of recognition.

Deck and Engineer officers must pass an assessment in Australian maritime regulatory framework. This is a supervised on-line assessment conducted at an approved examination centre.

Read more about the application and assessment processes for a certificate of equivalence PDF520.36 KB.

Apply for your certificate of equivalence using Application for a certificate of equivalence form 326.

There are charges for international certificates, read more about the schedule of charges.

Interim certificates of equivalence

If you apply for a certificate of equivalence, you may be issued an Interim certificate of equivalence. The Interim certificate of equivalence may be issued for a period up to three months. During this time you may serve on ships registered on the AISR. This allows you time to provide the necessary documentary evidence for issue of a certificate of equivalence.

Interim certificates of equivalence will not be issued if you hold a position as:

• Master
• Chief engineer
• Chief officer
• First engineer

Officers performing, or intending to perform, these duties on a ship registered on the AISR will need to hold a certificate of competency, a certificate of recognition or a certificate of equivalence issued by us.