Reporting Period 2020-21 and timelines

Australian Maritime Safety Authority is a Corporate Commonwealth Entity, operating under the Public Governance Performance and Accountability Act 2013.

It was established by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990.

It is part of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport,  Regional Development and Communications Portfolio of the Australian Government.

General Structure

AMSA’s organisational structure is made up

1. the AMSA Board appointed by the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and consisting of a
   1. Chairperson,
   2. Deputy Chairperson,
   3. CEO,
   4. A person occupying an office in the portfolio department, and
   5. five other members,
2. the Executive team, and
3. four operational and service areas:
   1. Operations
   2. Response
   3. Policy and Regulation
   4. Corporate Services

Australian Business Number

AMSA’s hold the ABN 65 377 938 32 number on the Australian Business Register.

AMSA does not own or control any other entities.

Registered office and locations

AMSA head office is 82 Northbourne Ave Braddon ACT 2612

AMSA has another 20 office locations across Australia.

Primary Role

AMSA is Australia’s national agency responsible for safety of commercial vessels and ships, preventing and responding to ship based marine pollution marine and search and rescue.

AMSA’s primary role is to:

• promote maritime safety and protection of the marine environment
• prevent and combat ship-sourced pollution in the marine environment
• provide infrastructure to support safe navigation in Australian waters
• provide a national search and rescue service to the maritime and aviation sectors
• provide, on request, services to the maritime industry on a commercial basis
• provide, on request, services of a maritime nature on a commercial basis to the Commonwealth and/or states and territories.

AMSA has a role in ensuring international conventions such as to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) are maintained while international vessels are in Australian waters. 

Employees and representatives

AMSA has approximately 440 employees, including a permanent representative in London, United Kingdom. 

AMSA also delegates powers to officials within relevant State maritime agencies and police forces to enable compliance activities.

Countries of operation

While AMSA is primarily based in Australia and servicing Australia’s territorial waters it also

• conducts education and training campaigns within the pacific region,
• assists in regional search and rescue activities where requested, 
• is responsible for conducting flag State control inspections (Australian ships) in overseas ports and

It has 21 offices throughout Australia.

Investments

AMSA has a single investment fund with Commonwealth Bank Australia which is to provide a ready source of income in the event of a major pollution incident.

AMSA’s Stakeholders

AMSA’s stakeholders include, but are not limited to:

• our regulated community—domestic commercial vessel industry, shipping industry and seafarers
• Maritime service providers and partners—including navigation, pollution response, maritime and aviation search and rescue and contractors
• Australian Government, state and territory governments and their agencies
• International maritime community
• Australian community

Types of supply chains

AMSA’s supply chains are with various suppliers and specialists from Australia and internationally, including those with expertise in search and rescue, environmental emergencies, maintaining aids to navigation regulating domestic commercial vessels and international vessels entering Australian waters.

Control of supply chains

Supply chains are controlled with strict contracting arrangements as defined by the Commonwealth Procurement Rules.

Suppliers to AMSA are required to comply with any laws, statutes, regulations, by-laws, ordinances or subordinate legislation in force from time to time.

Disclosures: AMSA contracts valued at or above the relevant reporting threshold value of AUD$400,000 (GST inclusive) are reported on AusTender: https://www.tenders.gov.au/.

AMSA contracts valued at or above AUD$100,000 (GST inclusive) are published on the AMSA website biannually as required under the Murray Motion: https://www.amsa.gov.au/about/reporting-and-accountability/tenders-and-contracts.

Major suppliers

Our major services are listed in the table below. These services provide long term and stable supply, enabling AMSA to achieve its objectives.

Major service required

Source country (where known)

Aerial Search and Rescue Services

Emergency Towage capability and Aid to Navigation (AtoN) maintenance through a dedicated vessel

Australia and international using the whole of Government travel arrangements