The Board visited SmartShip, Pacific Tug Group, Aus Ships and engaged with local AMSA staff, Maritime Safety Queensland staff, and industry stakeholders.
The visits and stakeholder forum assist the Board in maintaining a contemporary knowledge of the diverse operating environments, different maritime industries, and awareness of the innovative new and emerging technologies in maritime sectors, particularly those that offer improved safety, environmental and operational outcomes. Additionally, they provide the opportunity for direct engagement with stakeholders.
The Board’s visit to Brisbane took place during the first week of AMSA's new organisational structure. This gave Board and Executive members a valuable opportunity to hear directly from staff about how the transition is progressing and discuss early experiences.
This meeting
- The Board received an update on AMSA’s progress against the 2024-26 Ministerial Statement of Expectations and our proposed Statement of Intent in response to the 2026-28 Statement of Expectations.
- The Board received their six-monthly Payment Times Reporting Scheme report which showed an improved small business payment performance over the reporting period.
- The Board received their standing report on Work Health and Safety at AMSA, noting the additional support and resources available to frontline staff.
- The Board noted the update on AMSA’s dedicated airborne Search and Rescue (SAR) and Medium-altitude Earth Orbit Search and Rescue (MEOSAR) system capabilities.
- The Board received a presentation on AMSA’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) role and the strategic importance of Australia being reappointed, noting the key role Australia plays at IMO as a founding member and elected representative on the 40-member IMO governing Council for more than 50 years.
The Board welcomed a presentation from Industry Skills Australia on the maritime skills program, noting ISA’s role in coordinating national workforce planning and initiatives to address skills shortages, an ageing workforce, limited diversity, training capacity constraints and competition for skilled seafarers, and to strengthen workforce supply, career awareness, qualification and certification pathways, training quality and accessibility, and collaboration across industry, unions, training providers, AMSA and government to support a resilient, skilled and future-ready maritime workforce.
The Board noted correspondence received by the Maritime Union of Australia regarding the Carnival Cruise Line crew petition and noted AMSAs action in accordance with its role as port State control authority and responsibilities under the Maritime Labour Convention, the Navigation Act 2012 and relevant Marine Orders.
Next meeting
The next Board meeting will be held via MS Teams on 23 September 2026.
Capt. Jeanine Drummond
Chair, AMSA Board