Published on Australian Maritime Safety Authority (https://www.amsa.gov.au)
If you work on a domestic commercial vessel and need to renew your certificate of competency please go to our information about qualifications.
A certificate of operation sets out the conditions under which a domestic commercial vessel—or fleet of vessels—must operate, including:
It is a condition of the certificate of operation that the vessel must have a safety management system that complies with the requirements in marine order 504.
We may check that you are meeting the conditions of your certificate of operation at any time. If we believe that you are not meeting the conditions of your certificate of operation we may suspend or revoke your certificate.
To apply for a new certificate of operation, renew an existing certificate, or to vary a certificate of operation you will need to submit the application for a certificate of operation for a domestic commercial vessel form 504.
If you would like to renew your current certificate of operation, can provide a copy of the current certificate, and do not want to make any changes, you can submit an application to renew a certificate of operation form 553.
To suspend or revoke a certificate of operation you will need to submit the application to suspend or revoke a certificate or approval form 600.
If you operate or intend to operate a vessel that is ≥80m or ≥3000 GT or ≥3000 kW, you must apply to AMSA for an appropriate crewing determination as part of your application for a certificate of operation. More details on how to apply for a crewing determination can be found on the appropriate crewing page.
Recent changes mean you may now be exempt from having a certificate of operation. Please check Exemption 03 Marine Safety (Certificates of operation) before applying to renew your certificate.
If you are unsure if you are eligible for this exemption, please contact AMSA Connect.
If you sell your domestic commercial vessel, you are required to notify AMSA within 14 days. Please see transferring ownership of a domestic commercial vessel for information on how to notify AMSA.
You can transfer any current certificates of survey or exemption approvals (such as Exemption 02 and Exemption 40) to yourself or an organisation by using the AMSA 1780 Application for change of certificate holder for a vessel permission. Please note if the vessel is an existing vessel as per Marine Order 504 you will still need to submit the AMSA 1780 form.
Certificates of operation cannot be transferred between operators. If you are purchasing a domestic commercial vessel, you will need to apply for a new certificate of operation using the AMSA 504 Certificate of Operation application form. You are able to use this form to apply for a new certificate of operation or to vary an existing certificate of operation. If you already hold a certificate of operation, you may add a vessel to that existing certificate of operation using the AMSA 504 Certificate of Operation application form.
An existing vessel:
All existing vessels will still be required to obtain a certificate of operation, unless exempt.
Read Marine Order 504 (Certificates of operation and operation requirements - national law).
An existing vessel may operate with the crewing requirements that applied to the vessel on 30 June 2013, but must otherwise comply with the current operational requirements in Marine Order 504.
We may decide that a vessel is no longer an existing vessel if:
We may also determine a vessel is not an existing vessel upon application by the owner of a vessel. In this case, the vessel, would need to meet all the current national law requirements.
You can request a replacement copy online.
Vessels used for certain kinds of operations may be exempt from the requirement to have a certificate of operation, or from certain conditions on a certificate of operation.
Details about the types of operations that may be exempt are contained in:
The rules about certificates of operation are contained in: