Service charter

Our charter:

• applies to everyone who interacts with us
• states what you can expect when you interact with us
• asks how you can assist us to provide you with an excellent service
• outlines the steps you can take if you want to provide feedback or make a complaint about our services.

Our role

We are a statutory authority established under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 (AMSA Act), with the primary role 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.

Our service commitment

We will:

• treat you with courtesy and respect
• invest in innovative and digital solutions to allow you to access our services at a time, place and on a device convenient to you
• be fair, open, and reasonable in all that we do
• give you clear, accurate and timely information or help you to find it
• collect, store, use and disclose your personal information 
• protect and handle your personal information in accordance with our privacy policy. 

Your responsibilities

You can:

• work with us to resolve your enquiry
• understand your requirements and gather information specific to your enquiry
• comply with Australian Government requirements relevant to your enquiry
• be honest, fair, courteous and respectful towards our staff 
• give us relevant, accurate and complete information, and where possible supporting documentation, in a timely manner
• inform us, as soon as possible, of any changes to your circumstances 
• let us know if you have specific requirement. We can arrange for an interpreter service or other assistance to help you understand or access our services
• not offer us gifts, money, or other favours
• report corruption, misconduct and behaviour that is unethical or lacking in integrity.

Our service standards

We aim to provide a consistent and reliable service.

We will strive to:

• acknowledge receipt of enquiries, feedback and complaints within 2 working days
• resolve your enquiry or complaint as soon as we can and within 20 working days. If it takes longer, we will keep you updated on our progress until your enquiry is resolved.
• process your application within the legislated timeframe.

Once you have received our response or solution, please let us know within 5 working days if you’re not satisfied with the outcome. Otherwise, we will assume you are satisfied.

Please note: Working days do not include public holidays, weekends and Christmas shut down period.

Feedback and complaints

Where you believe we have not met your expectations or not conducted ourselves as outlined in our service charter, we support your right to make a complaint.

Read more about making a complaint.