Through the IMO, regional forums and technical cooperation programs, Australia works to improve ship and seafarer safety, protect the marine environment and strengthen search and rescue capabilities.
Summary
- We strengthen regional capability to improve maritime safety, environment protection, search and rescue and spill response.
- We are a committed maritime partner in the Indo-Pacific. We support a stronger IMO presence in the Pacific.
- We lead regional cooperation, including through APHoMSA and PACSAR, bringing countries together to address shared maritime challenges.
IMO capacity building
Australia is a strong supporter of the IMO Integrated Technical Cooperation Program, an initiative for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
It helps build the human, institutional and legislative capacity to effectively implement and comply with IMO conventions, regulations and standards.
Australia continues to work towards providing a Senior Professional Officer to support the establishment and early program delivery of the IMO Regional Presence Office (RPO) for the Pacific.
The RPO will strengthen the IMO’s understanding of the unique needs of Pacific Island countries and enhance its ability to deliver tailored assistance across the region.
The Asia Pacific Heads of Maritime Safety Agencies (APHoMSA) forum meets annually to strengthen cooperation between maritime agencies and develop regional approaches to shared challenges.
These challenges include maritime safety, seafarer welfare, environmental protection, incident response, regional cooperation and women in maritime.
Australia is the permanent secretariat to APHoMSA.
Australia is a metropolitan member of the Pacific Search and Rescue Committee (PACSAR).
The committee is a regional cooperation mechanism comprising the search and rescue agencies of Australia, Fiji, France, New Zealand and the United States, which collectively hold responsibility for significant search and rescue regions across the central and south-eastern Pacific.
Members work closely with Pacific Island countries, territories and regional partners to strengthen search and rescue capability across the Pacific.
Australia is the primary source of assistance for 6 Pacific Island countries under Pacific Islands Regional Marine Spill Contingency Plan (PACPLAN): Tuvalu, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
PACPLAN provides a framework for cooperative regional responses to major marine spills in the Pacific Islands region. It sets out how Pacific Island countries can request assistance from Australia, New Zealand, France or the United States of America.
Australia for IMO Council
Category B 2028-2029 biennium
