Master less than 24 metres near coastal

This domestic qualification lets you command a commercial vessel less than 24 metres long.

Master less than 24 metres 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 Master less than 24 metres near coastal will allow you to act as:

master on commercial vessels up to 24 metres long within the exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
chief mate or deck watchkeeper on vessels up to 35 metres long within the EEZ
chief mate or deck watchkeeper on vessels up to 80 metres long in inshore waters.

Am I eligible?

To be eligible for a Master less than 24 metres 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 (NSCV) 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

Equivalence

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 in a deck, or deck and engineering capacity. You must have completed either:

120 days on commercial vessels greater than or equal to 7.5 metres long with a completed approved task book.
600 days of which at least half must be on vessels greater than or equal to 7.5 metres long, at least half on commercial vessels, and up to half on recreational vessels greater than or equal to 5 metres long, 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.

If at least half of your sea service is not seaward of sheltered waters, your certificate will be restricted to sheltered waters.

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 Master <24m 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 Master less than 24 metres 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.

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

Provide evidence of sea service

There is no sea service requirement to revalidate a Master less than 24 metres near coastal certificate of competency.

Provide existing certificates

You must submit a copy of your:

existing certificate of competency
valid HLTAID003 Provide first aid certificate, or equivalent.

Complete and submit a certificate of competency application

You can complete a Certificate of competency application form 426 online or download a pdf version and then complete it.

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)
download and print the form
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 endorsement on your certificate:

Command a domestic commercial vessel less than 80 metres long operating in inland waters

What do I need to do?

To obtain this endorsement 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.

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

2. Provide evidence of sea service

You need to show you have experience working as a master under supervision on inland waters. You must have completed:

7 days on commercial vessels greater than or equal to 24 metres long and part 3 of the Master inland waters task book.

You must attach a copy of the seafarer details page from part 3 of the Master inland waters task book 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.

Get a task book

For this endorsement you must complete part 3 of the Master inland waters task book. You can get a Master inland waters 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.

Related information

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

Remove a daylight hours restriction on your certificate

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

What do I need to do?

To remove this 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
valid HLTAID003 Provide first aid certificate, or equivalent.

3. Complete and submit a certificate of competency application

You can complete a Certificate of competency application form 426 online or download a pdf version and then complete it.

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)
download and print the form
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.

Remove a sheltered waters restriction on your certificate

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

What do I need to do?

To remove this 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.

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

2. Provide evidence of sea service

You need to show you have experience working on a vessel to seaward of sheltered waters in a deck, or deck and engineering capacity. You must have completed either:

60 days on commercial vessels greater than or equal to 7.5 metres long with a completed approved task book
300 days of which at least half must be on vessels greater than or equal to 7.5 metres long, at least half on commercial vessels, and up to half on recreational vessels greater than or equal to 5 metres long, 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 Master <24m 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.

Equivalence

If you hold any of the following certificates, we will give you a Master less than 24 metres near coastal certificate.

Master class 5
Skipper grade 3
Master class5 / Skipper grade 3
Master class V (trading)
Master class V (fishing)
Master class 5 (trading and fishing)

If your Master class 5 certificate is restricted to smooth waters, your Master less than 24 metres certificate of competency will be restricted to sheltered waters. If your existing certificate is subject to any other restriction, your Master less than 24 metres certificate of competency will be subject to the same restriction.

If your existing certificate has an endorsement, your Master less than 24 metres certificate of competency will have the same endorsement.

What do I need to do?

To get a Master less than 24 metres 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.

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

Provide existing certificate

As part of your application for an equivalent certificate you must submit a copy of your:

existing certificate of competency
valid HLTAID003 Provide first aid certificate, or equivalent.

Complete and submit a certificate of competency application

You can complete a Certificate of competency application form 426 online or download a pdf version and then complete it.

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)
download and print the form
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