Australian Vessel Traffic Service award

Who is eligible for nomination

The award is open to VTS authorities, VTS centres and individuals employed by a VTS authority. 

Nomination examples

The nomination may relate to a particular event or a contribution over a period of time, for example:

• An event showing how a VTS helped to prevent:
  • an incident from developing
  • an incident from developing into an accident
  • an accident from developing into a disaster
  • the consequences of incidents, accidents and disasters
• How the VTS helped another agency with a successful response activity (e.g. pollution response).
• Leadership and innovation that contributed to significant enhancements to the service provided or to the national or international framework for VTS.
• Demonstrated improvements to safety and/or efficiency, safety culture and delivery of service through performance monitoring.

Making a nomination

Any person or organisation can submit a nomination for the VTS award.

Nominations are submitted online, along with evidence supporting the nomination. 

Make your nomination by completing the Australian VTS award nomination form [1]. You should include evidence to support your nomination.

Tips for nominating

You can help the selection panel by making sure your information is complete. The panel will not contact you for more information. 

• Briefly explain the situation, the actions taken, and what was achieved.
• Use plain language and headings.
• Provide evidence. This may include photographs, reports, letters, witness contact details and multimedia files such as incident replays, voice files or screen captures (be careful not to share information without seeking consent).

Find a more detailed guide to what you should write in your nomination below.

Submitting the nomination

The nomination form and supporting evidence can be submitted electronically or in hard copy.

The VTS award selection panel is made up of people from AMSA and Australia’s VTS authorities.

The person making the nomination will receive a message from us advising the nomination has been received.

Nominations will be judged based on the information provided.

The decision of the selection panel will be final.

The award recipient/s will be notified before the presentation of the award to confirm their attendance and other details.

All nominations will be treated as confidential. The panel will not contact nominees unless asked to do so by the person making the nomination.

Each selection panel member will have three votes: preferred, second and third.

These votes will be collated and the highest score will determine the VTS award recipient.

The award will be presented during the VTS Advisory Group meeting.

If you have any questions about this process you can contact us at vts@amsa.gov.au [2].

You can use this guide to help you write about why you are making your nomination.

Your evidence can be of:

• The facts about the event or the contribution:
  • what was achieved
  • how this was more than ‘business as usual’
  • what would have happened if the VTS did not assist/intervene
  • number of people involved in the teamwork
  • who was helped
  • estimated costs saved
• How the activity contributed to one or more of the following:
  • safety of life at sea
  • safety of navigation
  • search and rescue
  • efficiency of vessel traffic movement
  • protection of the marine environment
  • supporting maritime security
  • protection of adjacent communities and infrastructure
  • supporting law enforcement
• How the VTS helped to prevent:
  • an incident from developing
  • an incident from developing into an accident
  • an accident from developing into a disaster
  • the consequences of incidents, accidents and disasters
• How the VTS helped another agency with a successful response activity (e.g. pollution response).
• How the event helped to improve safety, efficiency, safety culture or delivery of service.
• How leadership and/or innovation contributed to significant enhancements to the service provided or to the national or international framework for VTS.
• How the VTS showed the use of best practices.

Nominations will be judged based on the information provided. The VTS award selection panel will not contact the nominator or seek any additional information.