Australian Boat Registration Requirements - Anyone Know?

[charliehows]

So I have the ON number and boatlength carved on the main bulkhead and checking online she's on the Oz register, I also have my NSW reg. on the transom. I met an old codger who flatly refuses to register his boat with the NSW maritime saying he just tells them to F off because hes got the ON number on the transom - Any one know what the rules are?

[40 South]

ON is Commonwealth registration. Required for passage out of Australian waters. Not required in Australian waters but can be carried/displayed. It is not a substitute for State/Territory registration.

State/Territory registration is required/compulsory in Australian waters by all States & Territories. All State/Territory authorities have reciprocal recognition (period may alter) for interstate vessels. State/Territory registration is only required for power driven vessels, or vessels capable of being fitted with a motor. Sailing vessels that have no motor or are not capable of being fitted with a motor do not have to be registered.

A third type of registration is a "Classed vessel" that is classed/surveyed by a society (eg LLoyds). They do not require State/Territory registration. Usually ships but other vessels may be Classed.

Hope that helps

[aclmck]

i read somewhere recently that everything "marine" was to be taken from "all" states and run by the feds to make one rule book and supposedly equal fees for boating in all states, but can't find it now. anyone got any info on it???

[Wotname]

40 South has it summed up pretty well and in essence is correct; some of the detail is not quite accurate however.

For instance, NT does not require the registration of recreational boats and this can cause occasional problems for NT boats visiting other state waters.
See Boating Rules - Department of Transport - NT Government - Australia
Sometimes you will run into a southern state official who insists you don't get reciprocal rights if you boat isn't registered (and money paid) "somewhere".

[haiqu]

In QLD and TAS registration is only required if the ship is fitted with an engine of 4hp or more while on the water. In a case where a boat is moved to another state permanently it must be registered in that state, usually within 14 days.

It would be nice to have a standard national system for recreational boats but I can't see the states giving up their revenue stream easily.

[40 South]

Originally Posted by aclmck

i read somewhere recently that everything "marine" was to be taken from "all" states and run by the feds to make one rule book and supposedly equal fees for boating in all states, but can't find it now. anyone got any info on it???

As far as I am aware it is for commercial vessels and commercial qualifications. Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is due to take over 01 July 2013.

States & Territories will still administer.

Can't see the State/Territory giving up recreational registration revenue!!

There are State/Territory variations on recreational registration requirements.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by 40 South

ON is Commonwealth registration. Required for passage out of Australian waters. Not required in Australian waters but can be carried/displayed. It is not a substitute for State/Territory registration.

State/Territory registration is required/compulsory in Australian waters by all States & Territories. All State/Territory authorities have reciprocal recognition (period may alter) for interstate vessels. State/Territory registration is only required for power driven vessels, or vessels capable of being fitted with a motor. Sailing vessels that have no motor or are not capable of being fitted with a motor do not have to be registered.

A third type of registration is a "Classed vessel" that is classed/surveyed by a society (eg LLoyds). They do not require State/Territory registration. Usually ships but other vessels may be Classed.

Hope that helps

All correct, except I'm not sure about the NT. Do they register boats there? A few years ago they didn't.

[Spirit28]

Yes C'wealth will "take-over" commercial vessels from the States from 1 Jul. I have little confidence that the system will be any easier, in fact it will mean significnantly more complicance by industry (read cost + paper work) for very little safety outcome - some would say the industry is already over regulated, well bend over & get ready to take some more come 1 Jul for thise involved... The "take-over" was meant to make it easier for industry, but once the feds get involved then, well you can guess the rest.... Let just think of everything else this current govt has tried to reform.. pink bats, school halls, carbon tax, NBN, their own leadership etc etc etc - then you can get some idea of the likelyhood of a successful streamlined system..

Here in Tas recreational regos & licence fees go back directly into services for boaters in the way of ramps, jetties, navaids, VHF network, school safety sessions, community safety demos (flare nights, use of safety equip etc..). If the feds get hold of this revenue stream, you can kiss that good-bye...

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by charliehows

I met an old codger who flatly refuses to register his boat with the NSW maritime saying he just tells them to F off because hes got the ON number on the transom - Any one know what the rules are?

A friend of mine claimed the wording of the relevant legislation was incorrect and if your boat was federally registered the states could not insist on additional registration. (Even though they believed they could)

He carried around the relevant documents and frequently had lengthy arguments with officials, but he always won, and was never fined.

I have no idea if he is correct and this was some years ago so the wording may have been changed, but it may be worth looking into.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

All correct, except I'm not sure about the NT. Do they register boats there? A few years ago they didn't.

No they don't, see link in post 4 above

[haiqu]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

A friend of mine claimed the wording of the relevant legislation was incorrect and if your boat was federally registered the states could not insist on additional registration. (Even though they believed they could)

He carried around the relevant documents and frequently had lengthy arguments with officials, but he always won, and was never fined.

I have no idea if he is correct and this was some years ago so the wording may have been changed, but it may be worth looking into.

I believe that could work, but only in certain cicrumstances. Like, if the guy was on a continuous voyage and didn't have a mooring in any one state. Once you settle down to a particular area the state registration would be necessary.

I'll be looking into this further anyhow.

[charliehows]

Originally Posted by haiqu

I believe that could work, but only in certain cicrumstances. Like, if the guy was on a continuous voyage and didn't have a mooring in any one state. Once you settle down to a particular area the state registration would be necessary.

I'll be looking into this further anyhow.

yeah this much i know - in Nsw you cant hold a mooring licence unless you own a registered vessel - this is quite a good thing as it stops people trading in mooring licences which would pretty quickly price a lot of us out of the market...

[RaymondR]

Hi, this is a very interesting post if you live aboard and cruise continuously. I don't know about the other states but Qld is gaining a nasty reputation for it's officials imposing their own interpretation of the law when they issue infringement notices. Their is a letter in the May-June Coastal Passage regarding a cruiser who was booked for not carrying safety equipment in her tender even though the law specifically exempts tenders used within 2 nm of the parent vessel. When you cruise the Qld coast and talk to other cruisers these stories abound. The relevant international treaty on ships registration specifically forbids vessel registration in two states bt does not specify two "flag states", Australian states are not flag states, only the commonwealth. And the Commonwealth requires that an Australian registered vessel be only referred to by its official commonwealth identity. The Qld requirements on registration are very convoluted because of their attempts to catch all, you can download the regulations from the Queensland Transport web site. I intend to do what the gentleman previously mentioned does and argue them into exhaustion whilst producing copies of extracts of all the counter rules and regulations and then ignore them.

[Wotname]

Welcome Aboard RaymondR; interesting first post and while I understand your general thrust about Qld marine officialdom and accept the circumstantial evidence of same, I wish you luck in overcoming the state registration requirements.
Methinks it will be an uphill battle

I like to recall the ancient times in the 70's when Qld was very laid back and it was those pesky southern states that were over officious!