Published on Australian Maritime Safety Authority (https://www.amsa.gov.au)
You have three options for qualifying as a Coxswain Grade 3:
As a Coxswain Grade 3 you can command and operate the engines of domestic commercial vessels under 12 metres, with limits depending on the type of operation.
As a Coxswain Grade 3 you can operate a vessel that meets these criteria:
| Length | Less than 12 metres. |
|---|---|
| Propulsion power | Inboard engine under 500 kilowatts. Any outboard engine. |
| Operating hours | Daylight hours only when carrying passengers. Any time when not carrying passengers. |
| Operating area |
|
As a Coxswain Grade 3 you can operate a tender vessel that meets these criteria:
| Length | Less than 12 metres. |
|---|---|
| Propulsion power | Inboard engine under 100 kilowatts. Outboard engine under 250 kilowatts. |
| Operating hours | Daylight hours only when carrying passengers. Any time when not carrying passengers. |
| Operating area | Based on the training pathway you choose:
|
As a Coxswain Grade 3 you can operate a vessel used for towing people (e.g. water skiing) that meets these criteria:
| Length | Less than 12 metres. |
|---|---|
| Propulsion power | Under 500 kilowatts. |
| Operating hours | Daylight hours only. |
| Operating area | Waters approved as a water ski area by a State or Territory authority. |
If you choose to qualify for marina and mooring operations only, you won’t be issued a physical card. Once you qualify, you can operate vessels that meet these criteria:
| Length | Less than 12 metres. |
|---|---|
| Propulsion power | Inboard engine under 500 kilowatts Any outboard engine. |
| Operating hours | Daylight hours only when carrying passengers. Any time when not carrying passengers. |
| Operating area |
|
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To qualify as a Coxswain Grade 3 you will need to:
To be eligible for this certificate you must be:
You will need to see a medical practitioner to check that you are medically fit for working at sea. They will assess you in line with our eyesight and medical requirements for domestic certificates.
Download the Certificate of medical fitness for near coastal seafarers (AMSA form 1850) and follow the instructions on the form.
If you have a current Certificate of medical fitness (AMSA form 303) you can use this instead.
If you have colour deficient vision, you will be restricted to working only in daylight hours.
You can choose to complete a training course or use a recreational boat licence to qualify as a Coxswain Grade 3.
You can complete any of the following:
If you want to apply using a recreational boat licence issued by a State or Territory, you will also need to complete both:
*Make sure your observer meets the requirements for the duties you want to qualify for. Check the AMSA form 1882 page for details.
Record your sea service on one of the following:
You must also hold a:
If your first aid or medical certificate expires within 90 days of submitting your application, we may request an updated certificate.
To qualify as a Coxswain Grade 3, gather the required documents:
While you carry these documents, you can operate as a Coxswain Grade 3 without an AMSA-issued certificate. You must keep copies of these documents on board whenever you are operating.
Make sure your certificate of medical fitness and first aid certificate are always valid while operating. If you are using the recreational boat licence pathway, you must also keep that licence valid.
If you want to get a physical Coxswain Grade 3 certificate:
Follow these steps if you would like to operate as a Coxswain Grade 3 in a marina or mooring area only.
Note: You will not be issued a certificate of competency. If you would like a physical certificate of competency, please follow the steps under ‘Qualify as a Coxswain Grade 3’.
To qualify as a Coxswain Grade 3 for marina and mooring area operations only, you will need to:
To be eligible for this certificate you must be:
You must also hold:
You will need to see a medical practitioner to check that you are medically fit for working at sea. They will assess you in line with our eyesight and medical requirements for domestic certificates.
Download the Certificate of medical fitness for near coastal seafarers (AMSA form 1850) and follow the instructions on the form.
If you have a current Certificate of medical fitness (AMSA form 303) you can use this instead.
If you have colour deficient vision, you will be restricted to working only in daylight hours.
You will need to complete both:
Record your sea service on one of the following:
To qualify as a Coxswain Grade 3, gather the required documents:
While you carry these documents, you can operate as a Coxswain Grade 3 in a marina or mooring area without an AMSA-issued certificate. You must keep copies of these documents on board whenever you are operating.
Make sure your certificate of medical fitness and first aid certificate are always valid while operating.
A Coxswain Grade 3 near coastal certificate of competency is valid for 5 years. To keep working, you need to apply to renew your certificate before it expires.
To renew your certificate you need to:
As part of the renewal application process, we will ask you to declare that you are medically fit to work at sea. This includes declaring any changes to your eyesight.
If your existing Coxswain Grade 3 certificate has a daylight hours restriction, this restriction will be carried across to your renewed certificate.
You will need to provide the following certificates:
To apply:
You can apply for this endorsement when applying for a new certificate, or add it to an existing certificate.
To add it to a new certificate, you must include evidence of 20 days sea service on a ferry-in-chains with your application for a new certificate.
To add this endorsement to a current certificate you will need to:
We will ask you to declare that you are medically fit to work at sea. This includes declaring any changes to your eyesight.
You need to show you have experience working in a deck, or deck and engineering role on a ferry-in-chains. You must have completed:
You need to submit at least one of the following as proof of qualifying sea service:
You will need to provide the following certificates:
To apply:
If you have this restriction on your certificate you may apply to have the restriction removed.
To remove this restriction, you will need to:
Download the:
The Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers form 1850 lets us know that you are medically fit for working at sea and includes the eyesight requirements to let us know you are not colour blind.
If you are colour blind, we will not be able to remove your daylight hours restriction.
Provide a medical practitioner with the Standards for the medical assessment of domestic seafarers and have them complete the Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers form 1850.
If you do not meet the colour vision requirements of the eyesight test you must also get the practitioner to provide a certificate or statement stating that you do not suffer any greater abnormality in colour vision than could be tested by the Ishihara Test.
If you have a current AMSA medical (Certificate of medical fitness form 303) you can use this instead.
You must submit your completed medical forms with your Certificate of competency application form 426.
You must submit a copy of your:
To apply, complete and submit the Certificate of competency application form 426.
Read more about completing and submitting your application for a domestic certificate.