The Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law Act 2012 allows us, in certain cases, to grant exemption from parts of the national law where:
- it is unreasonable to require full compliance, or
- transitional arrangements are required.
Exemptions may be granted as either general or specific exemptions.
Specific exemptions are typically granted for an individual person or vessel. These generally require an application to be submitted in accordance with Marine Order 501 (National law - administration) 2023 through an application for a specific exemption (form 547).
General exemptions typically apply to a class of vessels, persons, or operations that meet specified eligibility criteria and conditions. Some general exemptions require an application to be made before the exemption can be accessed, whilst others are available ‘as of right’.
For further information on how we consider applications, see our policy on exemptions from the domestic commercial vessel national law.