Published on Australian Maritime Safety Authority (https://www.amsa.gov.au)

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Uniform Shipping Laws code

The Uniform Shipping Laws code (USL code) provides standards for the design, construction and operations of domestic commercial vessels in Australia.

The USL code was first published in 1979 in response to the need for a common national safety standard for commercial vessels. The National Standard for Commercial Vessels [1] has largely replaced the USL code for all new domestic commercial vessels.

Access the My Boat system [2] for guidance on how to keep your vessel compliant.

Section Title Year of publication Applicable region
1 Introduction, definitions and general requirements 1993

All regions (PDF 1.29 MB) [3]
2008

Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia (PDF 58.24 KB) [4]
2008

Queensland (PDF 57.5 KB) [5]
2008

South Australia (PDF 57.45 KB) [6]
2 Qualifications and manning: trading vessels 1991

All regions (PDF 3.48 MB) [7]
2008

All regions (PDF 159.83 KB) [8]
3 Qualifications and manning: fishing vessels 1991

All regions (PDF 2.75 MB) [9]
2008

All regions (PDF 137.5 KB) [10]
5

Construction

    
5A Preliminary 1989

All regions (PDF 243.58 KB) [11]
2008

All regions (PDF 20.01 KB) [12]
5B Structural strength 1989

All regions (PDF 311.7 KB) [13]
2008

All regions (PDF 10.47 KB) [14]
5C Watertight subdivision of passenger vessels 1993

All regions (PDF 3.48 MB) [15]
2008

All regions (PDF 171.03 KB) [16]
5D Watertight subdivision of class 2 and class 3 vessels 1989

All regions (PDF 1.58 MB) [17]
2008

All regions (PDF 94.26 KB) [18]
5E Passengers, passenger accommodation, guard rails and bulwarks 1989

All regions (PDF 332.68 KB) [19]
2008

All regions (PDF 296.96 KB) [20]
5F Structural fire protection 1989

All regions (PDF 986.5 KB) [21]
2008

Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia (PDF 25.69 KB) [22]
2008

Queensland (PDF 26.58 KB) [23]
2008

South Australia (PDF 25.67 KB) [24]
5G Design loading 1989

All regions (PDF 645.74 KB) [25]
2008

All regions (PDF 327.06 KB) [26]
5H Aluminium 1993

All regions (PDF 56.79 KB) [27]
2008

All regions (PDF 11.62 KB) [28]
5I Copper nickel 1989

All regions (PDF 314.65 KB) [29]
2008

All regions (PDF 44.38 KB) [30]
5J Ferro-cement 1989

All regions (PDF 2.79 MB) [31]
2008

All regions (PDF 706.63 KB) [32]
5K Fibre reinforced plastic 1993

All regions (PDF 96.76 KB) [33]
2008

All regions (PDF 19.44 KB) [34]
5L Steel 1989

All regions (PDF 1.6 MB) [35]
2008

All regions (PDF 788.25 KB) [36]
5M Timber 1989

All regions (PDF 4 MB) [37]
2008

All regions (PDF 2.01 MB) [38]
6 Crew accommodation 1989

All regions (PDF 504.59 KB) [39]
2008

All regions (PDF 34.91 KB) [40]
7 Load lines 1989

All regions (PDF 5.46 MB) [41]
2008

All regions (PDF 422.33 KB) [42]
8 Stability    
8A Preliminary 1993

All regions (PDF 2.5 MB) [43]
2008

All regions (PDF 258.61 KB) [44]
8B Simplified presentation of stability 1993

All regions (PDF 40.51 KB) [45]
8C Stability criteria 1993

All regions (PDF 2.01 MB) [46]
9 Engineering 1993

All regions (PDF 4.79 MB) [47]
2008

Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia (PDF 17.25 KB) [48]
2008

Queensland (PDF 25.66 KB) [49]
2008

South Australia (PDF 17.03 KB) [50]
10 Life saving appliances 1993

All regions (PDF 2.9 MB) [51]
2008

Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia (PDF 47.38 KB) [52]
2008

Queensland (PDF 292.57 KB) [53]
2008

South Australia (PDF 155.33 KB) [54]
11 Fire appliances 1989

All regions (PDF 7.18 MB) [55]
2008

Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia (PDF 26.43 KB) [56]
2008

Queensland, South Australia (PDF 396.48 KB) [57]
12 Radio equipment 1989

All regions (PDF 813.9 KB) [58]
2008

All regions (PDF 42.94 KB) [59]
13 Miscellaneous equipment 1989

All regions (PDF 2.59 MB) [60]
2008

Commonwealth, New South Wales, Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia (PDF 159.89 KB) [61]
2008

Queensland (PDF 172.62 KB) [62]
14 Surveys and certificates of survey 1993

All regions (PDF 1.83 MB) [63]
2008 All regions (PDF 1.76 MB) [64]
15 Emergency procedures and safety of navigation 1993 All regions (PDF 1.15 MB) [65]
2008 All regions (PDF 1.17 MB) [66]
16 Collision regulations 1989 All regions (PDF 2.42 MB) [67]
2008 All regions (PDF 2.45 MB) [68]
17 River Murray traffic regulations 1989 All regions (PDF 1.15 MB) [69]
2008 All regions (PDF 1.06 MB) [70]
18 Hire and drive vessels 1989 All regions (PDF 714.34 KB) [71]
2008 All regions (PDF 114.41 KB) [72]
  Amendments 1993 Amendment list 1 (PDF 303.62 KB) [73]
1996 Amendment list 2 (PDF 853.62 KB) [74]
1996 Amendment list 3 (PDF 228.08 KB) [75]
1997 Amendment list 4 (PDF 357.03 KB) [76]
2007 Amendment list 5 (PDF 83.52 KB) [77]
2007 Amendment list 6 (PDF 170.03 KB) [78]
Amendment list 6 attachment A (PDF 154.74 KB) [79]
2008 Amendment list 7 (PDF 203.05 KB) [80]
2010 Amendment list 8 (PDF 214.91 KB) [81]
2010 Amendment list 9 (PDF 62.51 KB) [82]
Source URL:https://www.amsa.gov.au/about/regulations-and-standards/uniform-shipping-laws-code

Links
[1] https://www.amsa.gov.au/about/regulations-and-standards/national-standard-commercial-vessels-nscv [2] https://apps.amsa.gov.au/MyBoat/ [3] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/972/download?token=PJgtqxNw [4] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/973/download?token=65ySvQiw [5] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/974/download?token=rlJOLf_M [6] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/975/download?token=7dnulc_c [7] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/976/download?token=tl-luAdz [8] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/977/download?token=-JRYVtX- [9] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/978/download?token=c1D0CclD [10] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/979/download?token=wO1JYDZq [11] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/980/download?token=ECA0mCdE [12] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/981/download?token=taNHp_63 [13] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/982/download?token=ik1RMnjJ [14] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/983/download?token=m2jFsJ-E [15] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/984/download?token=A_PxK8w- [16] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/985/download?token=XeUoo1Hx [17] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/986/download?token=PopHRjMp [18] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/987/download?token=t3Bl1bD_ [19] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/988/download?token=Xxsz4XM0 [20] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/989/download?token=9T6bsH_e [21] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/990/download?token=2vNZJWuY [22] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/991/download?token=S1Lb9O_W [23] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/992/download?token=K0z5-ncI [24] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/993/download?token=w0xjiGyX [25] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/994/download?token=BPVQFJIQ [26] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/995/download?token=DCLcTUgt [27] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/996/download?token=2LnfnLt3 [28] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/997/download?token=u3Vf2c9l [29] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/998/download?token=8hWPorHM [30] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/999/download?token=juEyppb6 [31] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/1000/download?token=znVVb6Km [32] https://www.amsa.gov.au/file/1001/download?token=p2vquf0j [33] 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