Board meeting communique of matters - 22 April 2026

The Board continues to look for opportunities to operate efficiently and ensure public resources are used responsibly, including through more considered approaches to travel where appropriate.  

This meeting

• The Board reviewed AMSAs February performance report, and in particular focused on the in-year budget position.  The Board noted the forecast that unexpected incident response costs may increase the loss for this year, without which AMSA was expected to remain within budget. Disruption in the Middle East had not caused an impact on levies, although it was anticipated that changes in maritime traffic would eventually flow through to levy revenue.
• The Board discussed the organisational risks for AMSA stemming from the ongoing Middle East conflict and noted the impacts Australia’s maritime sector will see, including pressures on costs, capability, safety, regulatory effectiveness, and Australia’s maritime reputation. The Board also acknowledged the growing humanitarian and workforce implications for international seafarers transiting the region, whose safety, welfare and ability to move freely are increasingly affected, with potential flow on effects for vessel operations and compliance outcomes in Australian waters.  
• The Board also noted the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) ongoing work to deescalate impacts to commercial shipping and seafarers in the Middle East.
• The Board acknowledged the progress in implementing AMSA’s 
  Organisational Strategy, which outlines strategic goals for the next five years and explains how AMSA will deliver public value within a constrained funding environment while meeting Ministerial, Board, and statutory requirements.
• The Board received their standing report on Work Health and Safety at AMSA, noting the release of Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice: Managing the risks of biological hazards at work, and the steps AMSA will undertake to ensure best practice standards are reflected in divisional risk registers. The Board also noted the work undertaken to identify AMSA’s psychosocial risk by developing a Psychosocial Risk Register and providing Divisions with psychosocial risk profile information from the APS Census results.
• The Board reviewed changes to AMSA’s Corporate Authorisation Summary (CAS) and noted that the changes that have been made reflect current organisational structures and responsibilities and support timely decisionmaking while maintaining appropriate governance controls.  
• The Board reviewed AMSA’s annual Regulatory Program and agreed the priorities for management to progress.
• The Board noted the commencement of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) consultation process for the reform of the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 (OSH(MI) Act) and look forward to participating in the review when appropriate. 

Next meeting

The next Board meeting will be held in Canberra on 22 June 2026. 

Capt. Jeanine Drummond 

Chair, AMSA Board