Eyesight and medical requirements for a domestic certificate

To be eligible for a certificate of competency, you need to meet the eyesight and medical requirements specified in Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency – national law) 2022.

Eyesight and medical requirements for new certificates

If you're applying for a certificate of competency for the first time, you'll need to submit a completed Certificate of medical fitness for domestic seafarers.

This certificate of medical fitness must be completed by a qualified medical practitioner, such as a general practitioner, and includes both medical and eyesight tests.

You should download the Standards for the medical assessment of domestic seafarers [1] and provide this to your medical practitioner along with the medical form.

You can use a Certificate of medical fitness for international seafarers (AMSA 303) [2] if you have one.

If your certificate has a colour vision requirement and you do not meet the standard, your certificate will be restricted to operating or performing duties in daylight hours only.

Eyesight test requirements and medical requirements—all other application types

Other application types include:

renewal
replacement
removing restrictions
adding endorsements
change of name.

Low complexity certificates

If you are applying for a low complexity certificate of competency, you must complete the declaration of medical fitness in the Certificate of competency application form 426 [3]. This lets us know that you are still medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.

The low complexity certificates are:

General purpose hand near coastal
Coxswain grade 3 near coastal
Coxswain grade 2 near coastal
Coxswain grade 1 near coastal
Marine engine driver grade 3 near coastal
Sailing master coastal near coastal
Sailing master offshore near coastal
Master (inland waters)
Master less than 24 metres near coastal
Marine engine driver grade 2 near coastal.

If you have any of the medical conditions listed in the form or you are applying to have a daylight hours restriction removed, you must also get a qualified medical practitioner to complete the Certificate of medical fitness for a near coastal certificate form [4]1850 [5].

If you are applying to have a daylight hours restriction removed and you do not meet the colour vision requirements of the eyesight test you must 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.

High complexity certificates

If you're applying for a high complexity certificate of competency, you'll need to get a qualified medical practitioner to complete the Certificate of medical fitness for a near coastal certificate form [4]1850 [5].

The high complexity certificates are:

Master less than 45 metres near coastal
Marine engine driver grade 1 near coastal
Master less than 100 metres near coastal
Engineer class 3 near coastal