Coxswain grade 2 near coastal

This domestic qualification lets you command and operate engines of a vessel less than 12 metres not carrying passengers in sheltered waters.

Coxswain grade 2 near coastal is a domestic certificate of competency issued under Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency — national law) 2013.

What will this certificate allow me to do?

The Coxswain grade 2 near coastal will allow you to command, and operate the engines of, a vessel less than 12 metres long with unlimited outboard engine propulsion, or inboard engines less than 100 kilowatts:

in sheltered waters or within 5 nautical miles from point of departure, shore base or aquaculture lease
as a tender or auxiliary vessel operating within 3 nautical miles of a parent vessel within the exclusive economic zone.

If you have a Coxswain grade 2 near coastal certificate, you are not allowed to operate a vessel carrying passengers unless you are endorsed to do so.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for a Coxswain grade 2 near coastal certificate you must:

be at least 16 years old on the certificate issue date
meet medical, eyesight, sea service and course requirements.

Important disclaimer

These instructions are summary information only. We make decisions about seafarer certificates under Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency — national law) 2013 and National Standard for Commercial Vessels Part D—Crew competencies. These documents have full details of the eligibility and other requirements for certificate applications.

What do you need to apply for?

New certificate

Revalidation

Endorsements and restrictions

Equivalent certificate

Change your name on your certificate of competency

Replace your lost, stolen or damaged certificate of competency

New certificate

What do I need to do?

To obtain this certificate you will need to:

Meet medical and eyesight requirements

Download the:

1. Eyesight test certificate

The Eyesight test certificate form 542 lets us know that your eyesight meets the necessary standard for working at sea.

If you are colour blind, you will be restricted to working in daylight hours only.

2. Guidelines for the medical assessment of near coastal seafarers.

Provide the medical practitioner with the Guidelines for the medical assessment of near coastal seafarers.

If you have a current AMSA medical (Certificate of medical fitness form 303) you can use this in place of the Eyesight test certificate.

You must submit your completed form as part of your Certificate of competency application form 426.

Within the Certificate of competency application there is a declaration of medical fitness that you must complete. This lets us know that you are medically fit to work at sea.

Provide evidence of sea service

You need to show you have experience working at sea on board commercial or recreational vessels. You must have completed either:

7 days with a completed approved task book
60 days without a task book.

You must complete at least half of the qualifying sea service required for the certificate in the five years before the application.

If you have completed a task book you must attach a copy of the seafarer details page to your application.

You need to submit at least one of the following as proof of qualifying sea service:

Record of sea service form 771
an approved sea service log book
the on board sea service record from your task book
a letter from the vessel operator, owner, master or chief engineer detailing your sea service.

If you want a task book

You can get a Coxswain grade 2 task book from us or from some registered training organisations. To order a task book directly from us, use the AMSA chargeable publications order form.

Certificate revalidation

A Coxswain grade 2 near coastal certificate of competency expires five years after it is issued or revalidated. To keep working using your certificate you need to revalidate it every five years.

What do I need to do?

To revalidate your certificate you will need to:

Meet medical and eyesight requirements

Within the Certificate of competency application form 426 there is a declaration of medical fitness that you must complete. This lets us know that you are medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.

Provide evidence of sea service

There is no sea service requirement to revalidate a Coxswain grade 2 near coastal certificate of competency.

Provide existing certificate

As part of your revalidation application you must submit a copy of your existing certificate of competency.

Complete and submit a Certificate of competency application

Download and complete a Certificate of competency application form 426.

You need to complete all sections of the form. You must:

respond yes or no to all questions and statements in the application form
complete all boxes (if the information requested is unknown or not applicable insert N/A)
attach copies of all required documents
sign the declaration
submit your application and pay a fee at an AMSA-contracted Australia post outlet
provide proof of identity when you lodge your application.

Endorsements and restrictions

You may apply for the following endorsements to your certificate:

Endorsement to command a vessel that is carrying passengers
Endorsement to command a vessel with inboard propulsion power up to 500 kilowatts

Endorsement to command a vessel that is carrying passengers

What do I need to do?

To obtain an endorsement to command a vessel that is carrying passengers you will need to:

1. Meet medical and eyesight requirements

Within the Certificate of competency application form 426 there is a declaration of medical fitness that you must complete. This lets us know that you are medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.

2. Provide evidence of sea service

You need to show you have experience working in a deck, or deck and engineering, capacity on commercial vessels greater than or equal to 5 metres long. You must have completed either:

30 days with a completed approved task book
240 days sea service without a task book.

You must complete at least half of the qualifying sea service required for the certificate in the five years before the application.

If you have completed a task book you must attach a copy of the seafarer details page to your application.

You need to submit at least one of the following as proof of qualifying sea service:

Record of sea service form 771
an approved sea service log book
the on board sea service record from your task book
a letter from the vessel operator, owner, master or chief engineer detailing your sea service.

If you want a task book

You can get a Coxswain grade 2 task book from us or from some registered training organisations. To order a task book directly from us, use the AMSA chargeable publications order form.

Endorsement to command a vessel with inboard propulsion power up to 500 kilowatts

What do I need to do?

To obtain an endorsement to command a vessel with inboard propulsion power up to 500 kilowatts you will need to:

1. Meet medical and eyesight requirements

Within the Certificate of competency application form 426 there is a declaration of medical fitness that you must complete. This lets us know that you are medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.

2. Complete a training course

Complete the coxswain grade 1 engineering units from the maritime training package at a registered training organisation.

You must submit a copy of your certificate or document that shows you have completed these units with your Certificate of competency application form 426.

3. Provide existing certificates

You must submit a copy of your existing certificate of competency.

4. Complete and submit a certificate of competency application

Download and complete a Certificate of competency application form 426.

You need to complete all sections of the form. You must:

respond yes or no to all questions and statements in the application form
complete all boxes (if the information requested is unknown or not applicable insert N/A)
attach copies of all required documents
sign the declaration
submit your application and pay a fee at an AMSA-contracted Australia post outlet
provide proof of identity when you lodge your application.

Related information

If you would like to find out more about endorsements, refer to the National Regulator Endorsements Approval 2014.

Daylight hours only restriction

If you have a restriction on your certificate you may apply to have the restriction removed.

What do I need to do?

To remove a daylight hours restriction you will need to:

1. Meet medical and eyesight requirements

Within the Certificate of competency application form 426 there is a declaration of medical fitness that you must complete. This lets us know that you are medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.

You must also get your eyesight tested by a qualified medical practitioner, and 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.

2. Provide existing certificates

You must submit a copy of your existing certificate of competency.

3. Complete and submit a Certificate of competency application

Download and complete a Certificate of competency application form 426.

You need to complete all sections of the form. You must:

respond yes or no to all questions and statements in the application form
complete all boxes (if the information requested is unknown or not applicable insert N/A)
attach copies of all required documents
sign the declaration
submit your application and pay a fee at an AMSA-contracted Australia Post outlet
provide proof of identity when you lodge your application.

Equivalent certificate

If you hold a Coxswain inland waters certificate of competency we will give you a Coxswain grade 2 near coastal certificate. Any restrictions or endorsements that your certificate has will transfer to your new certificate.

What do I need to do?

To get a Coxswain grade 2 near coastal you will need to:

Meet medical and eyesight requirements

Within the Certificate of competency application form 426 there is a declaration of medical fitness that you must complete. This lets us know that you are medically fit, and that your eyesight meets the necessary standard, to work at sea.

Provide existing certificate

You must submit a copy of your existing certificate of competency for which you want an equivalent certificate.

Complete and submit a Certificate of competency application

Download and complete a Certificate of competency application form 426.

You need to complete all sections of the form. You must:

respond yes or no to all questions and statements in the application form
complete all boxes (if the information requested is unknown or not applicable insert N/A)
attach copies of all required documents
sign the declaration
submit your application and pay a fee at an AMSA-contracted Australia post outlet
provide proof of identity when you lodge your application.

Last updated:

Friday 20 July 2018