Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)

The aim of the organisation is to protect the marine environment by administering regulatory programs for prevention of pollution. As a result, this organisation cooperates with Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre to further achievement its goal. 

AMSA roles and responsibilities:

·         Operating and maintaining the network of communication and marine aids to navigation;

·         Authorising the health and safety operation of Australian and foreign vessels in Australian waters;

·         Assessing the certification and skills of seafarers;

·         Developing and maintaining the safety regulation of commercial vessels and their operating system; and

·         Operating Australia’s rescue coordination centre of search and rescue.

The list of occupations assessed by AMSA can be found below: 

Skill Assessment Procedure for migration:

One of the responsibilities of AMSA is to assess the qualifications and skills of overseas professionals, who wish to pursue their careers in Australia and migrate through the General Skill Migration programme.  The foreign marine qualifications are assessed against the eligibility criteria for a Certificate of Recognition. AMSA only accepts applications from applicants that hold a Certificate of Competency issued by a country that has an agreement with Australia.

Below is the table of countries that have signed an agreement with Australia. 

Attached with completion of application for an assessment of qualifications, applicants are required to provide the following documents. 

**STCW means Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping.

**IMO means International Maritime Organisation.