In Australia, part of marine surveying is regulated. Domestic commercial vessels, from charter boats to ferries, are surveyed under the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law, and the surveyors who do it are accredited by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). For pre-purchase and insurance surveys of private boats, the general route applies: see how to become a marine surveyor.
How AMSA accreditation works
AMSA's Surveyor Accreditation Guidance Manual is a mandatory standard for accredited surveyors. Part 1 covers accreditation itself: the role, the categories, the skills, experience and knowledge required, conflicts of interest, the application process and AMSA's audits of surveyors' work. Part 2 sets out how vessels are surveyed.
You're accredited per category, so you can start narrow and add categories as your experience grows. The AMSA 741 form lists them, among them:
- plan approval and stability approval for new vessels
- construction or alteration surveys of the hull and structure, or of the machinery
- periodic surveys, with electrical periodic surveys as a separate category
- surveys of safety equipment and of communications equipment
Several categories are limited by vessel length and hull material, from aluminium and fibre reinforced plastic to steel and timber. Electrical categories need a current unrestricted electrical licence.
What you send with the application
The AMSA 741 form asks you to show you meet the criteria in section 25 of the National Law Regulation, and to send, all at once:
- a current CV and certified copies of qualifications for the categories you want
- a summary of your work experience for each category
- evidence of continuing professional development in vessel survey, design, engineering or building
- current membership of a relevant professional body. The form gives AIMS, RINA, IIMS and IMarEST as examples
- evidence that you'll work under an ISO 9001 quality system, an equivalent, or Part 1 of the manual
- professional indemnity insurance with minimum cover of about $650,000 (€560,000), converted from the form's Australian dollar figure, or a quote for it
- identity documents and a photo
- two referees who are your peers in marine surveying
Applications missing documents are returned unprocessed, so gather everything first.
A surveyor's path in
James, a surveyor with Maritime Survey Australia, grew up around boats in Tasmania and studied naval architecture at the Australian Maritime College, deciding during the degree that he wanted to survey. He started as a graduate marine surveyor with Marine Safety in Western Australia. He told MSA that he left university with a good technical grounding but very little practical experience, and that the graduate role gave him the practical side. His advice to new surveyors is to surround yourself with an experienced team who can pass on what they know. He's a member of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and the Australasian Institute of Marine Surveyors.
More stories are in how surveyors got into the job.
Practical steps
- Build experience in the vessel types and categories you want, in a yard, a design office, at sea or as a graduate surveyor.
- Join a professional body such as AIMS, RINA, IIMS or IMarEST, and log your professional development.
- Arrange professional indemnity insurance and a quality system, or prepare the undertaking.
- Read Part 1 of AMSA's manual, then apply for the categories your experience supports.