Entry & progression
Governing: Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency — national law) 2022, Schedule 1. Builds on: nothing — start here.
One order, four tickets
Every domestic commercial vessel (DCV) certificate in Australia comes from Marine Order 505 (2022), made under the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law and in force since 1 January 2023. The compilation current at the time of writing is Compilation No. 2 (1 June 2025). It replaced MO 505 (2013) and absorbed NSCV Part D, which used to hold the crew competency rules.
MO 505 calls GPH and the three Coxswain grades dual certificates — the holder works deck and engine. The ladder at the bottom of it looks like this:
| Certificate | Length | Inboard power | Outboard power | Waters (non-tender work) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Purpose Hand NC | assists on <100 m, <3000 GT | engine work <3000 kW | — | to EEZ limit, under general supervision |
| Coxswain Grade 3 NC | <12 m | <100 kW | <250 kW | marina, mooring area, inland, smooth waters, within 1 n mile of shore |
| Coxswain Grade 2 NC | <12 m | <100 kW | unlimited | sheltered waters or within 5 n mile of shore |
| Coxswain Grade 1 NC | <12 m | <500 kW | unlimited | inshore waters |
Each higher grade also covers the duties of the grades below it. Coxswain Grade 1 additionally lets you act as chief mate or deck watchkeeper on a vessel <24 m in inshore waters. The detail sits in the next three lessons.
The water words
MO 505 borrows its area definitions from NSCV Part B and state law. You must be able to place yourself on the chart against them.
- Smooth waters and partially smooth waters are designated by each State or Territory, not by AMSA. Together they are sheltered waters.
- Inland waters are non-tidal waters.
- Inshore operations (NSCV Part B) run along the coast from a base or regular port of departure, within 15 nm to seaward of the baseline of the mainland, Tasmania or a recognised island, or of sheltered waters limits. Inshore waters are inland waters plus everything landward of that limit.
- NC (near coastal) covers inland waters out to the edge of the Australian EEZ.
CAUTION — State maps matter Where smooth water ends in Pittwater, Moreton Bay or the Whitsundays is fixed in state instruments. Know the lines for your patch before you take passengers across one.
How power is counted
Section 5 of MO 505 settles an argument that used to run on every dock. For a vessel with more than one propeller shaft or propulsion unit, under 35 m, operating in inland waters or out to the EEZ, the propulsion power is the largest maximum continuous rating on a single shaft, as shown on the certificate of survey or operation. For any other vessel it is the total of all main propulsion machinery.
A worked check, using 1 hp = 0.7457 kW:
| Engine | kW | Inside Cox 3 outboard limit (<250 kW)? |
|---|---|---|
| Single 200 hp outboard | 149.1 | Yes |
| Single 300 hp outboard | 223.7 | Yes |
| Single 350 hp outboard | 261.0 | No — needs Cox 2 or Cox 1 |
Read the kW figure on the vessel's paperwork, not the decal on the cowling.
What changed in 2023
The AMSA change summary lists the headline changes: NSCV Part D folded into MO 505; five new certificates, including Coxswain Grade 3; three phased out (Master <35 m, Mate <80 m, Master <80 m); a new domestic medical standard; and a medical certificate required for every new certificate. The effect on each grade is covered in its own lesson.
For how the National Law and the Navigation Act divide the work, and the two medical systems, see Australia: AMSA, the National Law and STCW.