If you hold valid foreign seafarer qualifications under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), and you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident or hold a current Australian work visa you can apply for a Certificate of recognition. A Certificate of recognition allows you to work in Australia without having to complete some or all of the required courses because it recognises the skills you already have.
A Certificate of recognition will be valid for the same period as the primary certificate.
Am I eligible?
To be eligible for a Certificate of recognition you must come from an eligible country, and you must meet medical, sea service and course requirements. Read Country eligibility for Certificates of recognition.
Important disclaimer
These instructions are summary information only. We make decisions about seafarer certificates under Marine Order 70 (Seafarer certification) 2014, Marine Order 71 (Master and deck officers) 2014, Marine Order 72 (Engineer officers) 2014, Marine Order 73 (Ratings) 2014 and Marine Order 74 (Master and deck officers – yachts) 2015. Please refer to these marine orders for full details of eligibility and other requirements for certificate applications. If you need formal assessment for a qualification, you must apply in writing to us using Seafarer form 419. We will not process any applications that do not include all required documents in their original form, or are true certified copies. If you have forgotten to provide any documents, or have not provided originals or certified copies, you may need to pay a new application charge.
What do I need to do?
To obtain this certificate, you need to:
How to revalidate a Certificate of recognition
To revalidate your certificate of recognition, you need to start by revalidating your primary certificate of competency. You must show us evidence that you have completed the same requirements as an Australian certificate of competency. You can then submit an application using Seafarer form 419.
