Marine Order 505 Review

Home>Projects>Marine Order 505 Review

Maritime

Marine Order 505 Review

This project reviewed the Maritime Training Package to better align products to regulation known as Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency – National Law) for domestic commercial vessels.

Latest update Project Commencement Consultation and feedback Endorsement Review Webinar Series Finalisation and submission
Completion due 30 August 2025
Latest update Finalisation 15 October 2024
Resources 3 Downloads
Committee Members 13
About the project

Project overview

This project reviewed the Maritime Training Package to align products with a new maritime regulation known as Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency – National Law) for domestic commercial vessels which came into effect on 1 January 2023, following industry consultation over a two-year period.

This has resulted in changes to Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) Certificates of competency including:

  • introduction of a new licensing category Coxswain Grade 3
  • replacement of the Master <35m with Master <45m
  • replacement of the Master <80m with Master <100m
  • phasing out of Mate <80m certificate of competency.

In response to MO505, AMSA and stakeholders have requested that training products for Near Coastal job roles be reviewed to reflect licensing and regulatory requirements.

This review includes:

  • updating qualifications, Skill Sets and Units of Competency for Near Coastal job roles to reflect MO505 licensing and regulatory requirements.
  • developing a new Training Package product for workers to achieve the new licensing category Coxswain Grade 3 to support occupational mobility for existing workers in the maritime industry.

To support learners and RTO’s, Industry Skills Australia (ISA) will also:

  • develop a MO505 Guide for AMSA approved providers to identify changes to the licensing and regulatory information in training package products.
  • map career pathways for Near Coastal job roles
  • update Training Package products as part of Training Package maintenance to align with the MO505 project.
  • replace superseded units as part of Training Package maintenance.
Why this matters

Consultation Strategy

Industry Skills Australia (ISA) will engage with stakeholders throughout the life of the project and consider all ideas, opinions, and feedback to the revised training products to ensure they meet the needs of industry. A consultation log containing a high-level summary of all feedback and ISA’s response will be maintained and available on our website.

ISA will facilitate three webinars at initial, development and post implementation stages of the project to support stakeholders in understanding the reason for the changes and how implementation of the changes will affect them.

Outcomes

What this project will deliver

1 1 new Skill Set
2 1 new Unit of Competency
Project timeline

Latest updates

Project Commencement

Project Commencement

The Marine Order 505 Regulatory Update project Technical Committee was established in November 2023.

Consultation and feedback

Public Consultation – Second Round

Second Round Public Consultation closed on Tuesday, 14 May 2024.

Public Consultation – Second Round

Draft Material

We are seeking feedback on revised draft training products that have been aligned with Maritime regulation Marine Order 505. A Technical Committee of subject matter experts updated the draft products following feedback from industry stakeholders.

The draft materials include the following new Skill Set and Unit of Competency:

  • Coxswains Grade 3 Skill Set
  • Command and manage a voyage on a vessel up to 45 metres (Near coastal)

The project has also updated 18 qualifications, eight Skill Sets and 81 Units of Competency.

Public Consultation – First Round

First Round Public Consultation closed on Tuesday, 9 April 2024.

Public Consultation – First Round

Draft materials aimed at aligning training products with a new Maritime regulation Marine Order 505 have been developed by a Technical Committee of subject matter experts and Industry Skills Australia would like your feedback.

The new regulatory and licensing requirements in MO505, which came into effect on 1 January 2023, aim to ensure that seafarers can continue to meet the highest standards of competence and safety in their roles and help safeguard the integrity and effectiveness of maritime training, benefitting both the industry and the seafaring community.

The draft materials include the following new Skill Set and Unit of Competency:

  • Coxswains Grade 3 Skill Set
  • Command and manage a voyage on a vessel up to 45 metres (Near coastal)

The project has also updated 18 qualifications, eight Skill Sets and 76 Units of Competency.

Endorsement

Endorsement

Skills Ministers have endorsed Maritime training products which have been aligned with Marine Order 505 for domestic commercial vessels.

The regulatory and licensing requirements in MO505 aim to enable seafarers to meet the highest standards of competence and safety in their roles and help safeguard the integrity and effectiveness of maritime training, benefitting both the industry and the seafaring community.

The revised Marine Order 505 (Certificates of Competency – National Law), came into force from 1 January 2023 and introduced 5 new certificates of competency:

  • Coxswain Grade 3 Near Coastal
  • Master <45m Near Coastal (replaces Master <35m, which will be phased out)
  • Master <100m Near Coastal (replaces Master <80m, which will be phased out)
  • Sailing Master Coastal
  • Sailing Master Offshore.

And phased out 3 old certificates of competency, which are no longer issued:

  • Master <35m Near Coastal (replaced by the new Master <45m Near Coastal)
  • Master <80m Near Coastal (replaced by the new Master <100m Near Coastal)
  • Mate <80m Near Coastal (replaced by the existing Master <24m Near Coastal)

The resulting qualifications framework and guidelines provide national consistency, improved qualification pathways, and better safety outcomes for Australian seafarers and domestic commercial vessel operators.

In response to MO505, AMSA and stakeholders requested that training products for Near Coastal job roles be reviewed to reflect licensing and regulatory requirements.

The revised training products include:

  • a new Skill Set to support the Coxswain Grade 3 licensing category, facilitating occupational mobility for existing maritime workers
  • a new Unit of Competency: Command and manage a voyage on a vessel up to 45 metres (Near coastal)
  • merging of the Certificate III in Maritime Operations (Master Inland Waters) with the Certificate III in Maritime Operations (Master up to 24 metres Near Coastal)
  • updated qualifications, Skill Sets and Units of Competency for Near Coastal job roles to reflect MO505 licensing and regulatory requirements
  • incorporation of Electronic Charting System (ECS) requirements into existing products

Skills Ministers endorsed the revised Maritime Training Package on 14 November 2024.

What does this mean for industry?

The revised training products are now compliant with Marine Order 505 and International Maritime Organization (IMO) guidelines.

To support the delivery and implementation of the revised training products, the Companion Volume Implementation Guide (CVIG) has been updated to assist assessors, trainers, RTOs and enterprises. The CVIG contains comprehensive list of all products in the Training Package; including mapping information which details the changes that have been made to the training products; implementation advice, and useful links to other information.

ISA will be conducting a webinar to explain the changes to training products and provide implementation advice. Subscribe to be kept updated.

The endorsed Training Package products are now available on training.gov.au.

Review Webinar Series

Marine Order 505 & Vessel Traffic Services Update

This is the second webinar to be facilitated by ISA to support stakeholders in understanding the reason for the changes and how implementation will affect them.

Marine Order 505 Update

Industry Skills Australia (ISA) hosted a series of webinars about projects to align Maritime Training Package products with AMSA regulatory requirements relating to Marine Order 505 and Vessel Traffic Services.

This is the initial webinar facilitated by ISA to assist stakeholders in understanding the upcoming changes and the impact of their implementation.

Finalisation and submission

Finalisation

The Training Package Assurance Body has recommended the draft training products for this project be endorsed by Skills Ministers.

Submission

Industry Skills Australia (ISA) has submitted final draft training products for the Marine Order 505 Project to the DEWR Assurance Body.

These products have been aligned with the maritime regulation known as Marine Order 505 (Certificates of competency – National Law) for domestic commercial vessels requirements.

The revised products include updates to 13 Qualifications, four Skill Sets and 82 Units of Competency.

Thank you to all who provided feedback during this project.

General updates

Timeline

The reviewed training products were due to be submitted to the Assurance Body by 30 August 2024.