ACMA Marine Radio and AIS Requirements in Australia: Licences, Qualifications, MMSI and Carriage Rules

Marine radio is one of the few areas of Australian radiocommunications where two separate regulators have a say over the same box on the same bulkhead. Getting the compliance picture right means answering two questions rather than one, and they are answered by different agencies under different Acts.

The Short Answer

The ACMA authorises the transmission. AMSA mandates the carriage.

On the ACMA side, most recreational and small commercial vessels transmit under the Radiocommunications (Maritime Ship Station) Class Licence 2025, which commenced on 1 October 2025 and replaced the long-running 2015 instrument. There is nothing to apply for and no fee, but the class licence carries real conditions: it only covers 27 MHz, VHF, marine radar, on-board UHF and the satellite distress bands, it does not cover MF or HF, it does not cover any station on land, and it does not cover a regulated Australian vessel.

On the AMSA side, AIS carriage flows from SOLAS Chapter V, Regulation 19.2.4 through Marine Order 27 (Safety of navigation and radio equipment) 2023 for regulated Australian vessels and foreign vessels, through Marine Order 63 (Vessel reporting systems) 2019 for position reporting in Australian waters, and through NSCV Part C7C for domestic commercial vessels.

The single point most often missed is this: the moment your station uses Digital Selective Calling or AIS, an MMSI issued by AMSA stops being optional. Section 13(2) of the class licence makes it the required form of station identification, and there is no discretion in the wording.

Part 1: The ACMA Side

The class licence was remade in 2025

The current instrument is the Radiocommunications (Maritime Ship Station) Class Licence 2025, made under section 132 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992. It was registered on 22 September 2025 as F2025L01131 and commenced on 1 October 2025.

It has already been amended once. The Radiocommunications (Maritime Licensing) Amendment Instrument 2026 (No. 1) (F2026L00242) commenced on 17 March 2026 and inserted a new subsection 11(3), which is discussed under qualifications below. The version in force is Compilation No. 1, with a compilation date of 17 March 2026, registered as F2026C00318 on 16 April 2026.

This matters more than a routine renumbering, because a good deal of published marine radio guidance still points at the older instruments. The ACMA’s own Australian Waters Qualification page, last updated in May 2021, still refers to the 2001 class licence. NSCV Part C7C, in its current September 2025 edition, still cites the 2001 class licence and the 2002 maritime ship licence determination. Neither reference is current. If you are checking a compliance position, read the 2025 instrument itself.

What the class licence actually authorises

Section 7 is short. The instrument authorises a person to operate a maritime ship station on board an Australian ship, subject to the conditions in Part 3.

The definition of “Australian ship” in section 5 does a lot of quiet work. It means a ship that has Australian nationality and is not a regulated Australian vessel within the meaning of the Navigation Act 2012. A regulated Australian vessel is defined in section 15 of that Act, and broadly captures a registered commercial vessel that is proceeding on or is for use on an overseas voyage, that holds a certificate issued under the Navigation Act, or that has an opt-in declaration in force. An overseas voyage, under section 16, is one where the vessel is present in waters outside the outer limits of Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

The practical consequence is straightforward. If your vessel is a regulated Australian vessel, the class licence does not cover you at all and you need an apparatus licence. The ACMA’s own licence options confirm this, describing the maritime ship station class C licence as the option for trading boats under Commonwealth survey.

The conditions in Part 3

Section 8, electromagnetic energy. You must not operate a maritime ship station, or a group of them, if the emitted electromagnetic energy exceeds the general public exposure limits in the ARPANSA standard in a place accessible by the public. On a small vessel with an antenna a metre or two from the cockpit, this is not a theoretical condition.

Section 10, water use only. A person must not operate a maritime ship station on land. That single line answers a surprising number of questions, starting with why you cannot run a marine VHF base from your house.

Section 12, outside the territorial sea. Beyond the Australian territorial sea you must operate in accordance with the ITU Radio Regulations, and if you are in another country’s territorial sea, in accordance with that country’s radiocommunications requirements as well.

Section 13, identification. At the start of each transmission, or each series of transmissions, you must use a form of identification that clearly identifies the station. Subsection 13(2) then narrows that: if the station uses DSC or AIS, the identification must be a maritime mobile service identity issued by AMSA.

Sections 14 to 24, purpose-scoped frequencies. The instrument does not simply hand you a band. Each purpose has its own schedule of permitted frequencies, maximum transmitter output powers, the stations you may talk to, and in some cases explicit limitations. Distress, urgency, safety and calling sit in Schedule 1. Public correspondence is Schedule 2 and may only be conducted with a major coast station. Commercial operations are Schedule 3, non-commercial operations Schedule 4, port operations Schedule 5 and professional fishing operations Schedule 6.

What you can transmit, and at what power

Powers are quoted as the instrument states them.

Two limitations in Schedule 1 deserve a mention because they are easy to breach without realising. Channel 86 on 27 MHz may only be used if a call on 27,880 kHz is not acknowledged, and the mode of operation must be AM or a compatible SSB mode. Channel 67 on VHF may only be used if a call on channel 16 is not acknowledged.

Note also what is absent. There are no MF or HF marine frequencies anywhere in the class licence, so a vessel carrying an MF or HF transceiver is outside the class licence for that equipment and needs an apparatus licence.

The 27 MHz channels remain lawfully available, and no Commonwealth sunset applies to them. Their practical future is being decided at state level instead, and Western Australia has already set a date, covered under the state and territory layer below.

Operator qualifications, and where each one runs out

Section 11 sets the qualification conditions, and the geography matters.

For a frequency in the VHF maritime mobile band within the Australian territorial sea, you must either hold a statement of attainment for an Australian Waters Qualification or one of the certificates listed in subsection 11(2), or operate under the supervision of someone who does.

Beyond the Australian territorial sea, the Australian Waters Qualification is no longer enough. You must hold one of the subsection 11(2) certificates, or be supervised by someone who does.

The certificates recognised in subsection 11(2) are a GMDSS radio operator certificate issued by AMSA, the Marine Radio Operator Certificate of Proficiency, the Marine Radio Operator VHF Certificate of Proficiency, the Short Range Operator Certificate of Proficiency, the Long Range Operator Certificate of Proficiency, the Restricted Radiotelephone Operator Certificate of Proficiency, a qualification AMSA recognises as equivalent to a GMDSS certificate under Marine Order 70, or an overseas qualification that complies with Article 47 of the ITU Radio Regulations and is equivalent to one of the listed certificates.

That list is deliberately generous, because it has to keep older certificates valid. The instrument notes that some of the certificates of proficiency it names may no longer be issued, so if you already hold one it still counts, but it is not a course you can enrol in today.

Subsection 11(3), inserted on 17 March 2026, adds a further requirement. To operate on the satellite frequencies listed in Schedule 1 you need a GMDSS certificate, or one of the certificates of proficiency with the Marine Satellite Communications Endorsement, or an AMSA-recognised equivalent.

The ACMA describes the framework as five qualifications in ascending order:

Three points from the ACMA’s guidance are worth stating plainly. You do not need a qualification to operate 27 MHz equipment, and section 11 confirms this by attaching the qualification conditions only to the VHF band and the Schedule 1 satellite frequencies. Aviation radio qualifications are not recognised as equivalent to any marine radio operator qualification. And a qualification is required even where the station has DSC, since DSC does not remove the underlying obligation.

The AWQ is another name for the nationally recognised unit MARC059, Transmit and receive information by marine VHF radio within Australian Territorial Waters, delivered by registered training organisations. The Australian Maritime College at the University of Tasmania administers the SROCP, LROCP and MSCE examinations, and AMSA manages GMDSS certificates.

When you need an apparatus licence instead

Three questions decide whether you have left the class licence behind, in this order.

There are four maritime ship licence options. Class B covers boats carrying MF, HF and VHF marine radio equipment. Class C covers trading boats under Commonwealth survey. Each is available in an assigned form, for non-standard frequencies with a separate fee for each frequency, and a non-assigned form for standard maritime frequencies. Ship stations are given call signs on the templates the ACMA publishes, such as VHQ2739 for a class B station and VJCK for a class C station.

Stations on land that work with ship stations on maritime frequencies fall under a maritime coast licence. The ACMA does not permit maritime coast stations to be operated from private residences, including caravan parks. A major coast station using DSC must transmit using an MMSI allocated by AMSA.

For any assigned maritime licence, the frequency has to be coordinated. That is work for an accredited person, who assigns the frequency, issues a frequency assignment certificate and can lodge the licence application on your behalf. If you are sending public messages through an overseas coast station you will also need an accounting authority identification code from the ACMA, because the overseas station will charge for the traffic.

Part 2: AIS

What AIS is, in regulatory terms

The Automatic Identification System is a VHF data system that broadcasts a vessel’s identity, position, course, speed and navigational status, receives the same from other fitted vessels, and exchanges data with shore facilities. SOLAS Chapter V, Regulation 19.2.4.5 states those four functions directly.

In Australia, AIS transmission is authorised by section 22 of the maritime ship station class licence for vessels within its scope, and by the maritime ship licence determination for apparatus-licensed vessels. The permitted frequencies are 161.975 MHz (AIS 1), 162.025 MHz (AIS 2), 156.775 MHz (channel 75) and 156.825 MHz (channel 76), at a transmitter output power not exceeding 12.5 W pY.

That 12.5 W ceiling is the Class A figure. It is a limit rather than a requirement, so a Class B unit operating well below it is equally compliant.

Class A, Class B/SO and Class B/CS

Three shipborne classes are in common use, and they are not interchangeable. The comparison below follows the US Coast Guard Navigation Center’s published class comparison, which tracks ITU-R M.1371 and the IEC test standards.

The operational difference that matters most on a small vessel is the reporting rate rather than the power. A Class B/CS unit reporting every 30 seconds, and only when it finds a free slot, will appear on a ship’s display noticeably later and less consistently than a Class B/SO unit reporting every 30 seconds on a reserved slot. In a busy shipping channel that is a real difference in how early you are seen.

An MMSI is not optional

NSCV Part C7C makes the same point subsection 13(2) does, from the other direction: transmission of vessel information by AIS requires that the vessel has an MMSI assigned, and MMSI numbers are issued and recorded by AMSA.

An MMSI is a nine digit number. AMSA allocates them to owners of vessels or units with DSC-capable equipment or AIS units, and AMSA’s guidance sets out what you need before applying:

• an ACMA maritime ship station licence and call sign, where the vessel has an MF or HF transceiver
• a vessel registered in Australia, other than the Northern Territory
• marine radio operator qualifications, from the accepted list that includes the AWQ, SROCP, LROCP and the GMDSS certificates

AMSA notes that the AWQ is accepted for VHF and AIS operating in Australian waters only, that marine radio operator qualifications are not required for AIS on search and rescue aircraft, AIS base stations or AIS aids to navigation, and that you will need to nominate at least one 24-hour emergency contact. Applications use AMSA form 89 for vessels, coast stations, handheld VHF DSC radios and AIS on SAR aircraft, and forms 234a and 234b for AIS base stations and AIS aids to navigation. There is also an online application form. MMSI enquiries go to AMSA on 1800 406 406, or ausbeacon@amsa.gov.au.

Because the class licence has removed the need for an ACMA licence and call sign for VHF-only vessels, a common misreading has taken hold that no paperwork is required at all. AMSA states the position clearly: for marine VHF there is no requirement for an official call sign and maritime ship station licence, but the operator must still hold at least an AWQ or a Short Range Certificate of Proficiency.

What an Australian MMSI looks like

Three of the nine digits identify the country. Those three digits are the maritime identification digits, or MID, and Australia’s MID is 503. For a ship station the MID reflects the country of registration, and for a coast station the country of location. The remaining six digits identify the station itself.

So an Australian vessel MMSI takes the form 503xxxxxx. If the number programmed into your radio does not start with 503, it was either issued by another administration or it was never issued at all.

The full set of Australian formats AMSA publishes is below. In every row, x and y are any digit from 0 to 9.

Two rows behave differently from the rest.

Handheld VHF DSC sets are numbered to the person, not the boat. AMSA allocates an MMSI to the individual transceiver rather than issuing a vessel-specific number, in recognition that a handheld moves between vessels. The format changed from 5039xxxxx to 8503xxxxx in January 2012, in line with ITU-R M.585-6. If a handheld with DSC changes hands, AMSA needs to be told the new owner’s details.

Person overboard and man overboard devices are not allocated by AMSA at all. Devices using the AIS burst transmissions in Annex 9 of ITU-R M.1371 carry a pre-programmed identity in the format 972xxyyyy, where the manufacturer block is allocated by CIRM and the sequential digits by the manufacturer. No radio operator qualification is required and there is nothing to apply for. Early units used 970xxyyyy, and Australian units before January 2012 used the local 5038xxxxx format.

There is also a group MMSI, in the format 0503xxxxx, used to call a fleet or a race division by DSC. Group MMSIs do not need to be registered and the user can program them at will, but they must use the MID of the country of registration, and AMSA states plainly that group MMSIs are not to be used for AIS transceivers.

How the MMSI actually gets into the equipment

Two rules govern this, and both matter before you buy anything.

It is programmed permanently. AMSA’s guidance is that an MF/HF DSC, VHF DSC or AIS transceiver must be permanently programmed with the MMSI. On most consumer equipment this is a one-time entry that locks after it is set, so an error is not something you correct from the front panel afterwards. The selling agent can program the MMSI into the transceiver and the AIS equipment for you, and on a new install that is usually the sensible route.

One number covers the whole vessel. The MMSI identifies the vessel or coast station, not the individual radio. If the boat carries more than one fixed transceiver, or a fixed transceiver plus an AIS unit, they are all programmed with the same MMSI. A vessel’s 406 MHz EPIRB may also be programmed with that same MMSI.

Between them, those two rules make the MMSI application a task for the start of a fit-out rather than the end of it.

The practical failure mode here is not an ACMA compliance breach, it is a search and rescue one. A DSC distress alert or an AIS position report carrying a wrong, borrowed or unregistered MMSI reaches the rescue coordination centre without a vessel, an owner or an emergency contact attached to it, which is precisely the information the alert exists to deliver.

AIS on land, and the devices that are not covered

Section 10 of the class licence prohibits operating a maritime ship station on land. An AIS base station, or an AIS aid to navigation fitted to a beacon or a pile, therefore sits outside the class licence entirely on the ACMA side, and needs an apparatus licence. AMSA separately allocates the MMSI for those installations under forms 234a and 234b. Two different authorisations, from two different agencies, are required for the same box.

Distress-related AIS devices are covered by a different instrument again. AIS search and rescue transmitters, maritime survivor locating systems including man overboard devices, radar SARTs, satellite distress beacons and AIS-equipped EPIRBs operate under the Emergency Locating Devices Class Licence 2016, which only authorises use in distress situations. The maritime ship station class licence points at that instrument expressly in the note to its definition of AMRD.

One AIS-specific frequency rule sits alongside this. The IMO has agreed that diver locating devices used for routine diver operations should not operate on AIS 1 or AIS 2 at all. Those two channels are reserved for the non-routine case, where the transmitted text should read MOB ACTIVE, or MOB TEST in test mode, and the identity should follow the same 972xxyyyy format as a man overboard device.

Part 3: Who Actually Has to Carry AIS

Carriage comes from AMSA, through three separate paths depending on the vessel.

Regulated Australian vessels and foreign vessels: Marine Order 27

Marine Order 27 (Safety of navigation and radio equipment) 2023 (F2023L01656) commenced on 1 January 2024 and replaced the 2016 order. Section 6 states that it applies to a regulated Australian vessel and to a foreign vessel. The version in force is Compilation No. 1, with a compilation date of 1 April 2026.

Marine Order 27 does not restate the AIS carriage thresholds. Section 20 requires the owner to ensure navigational systems and equipment are fitted and used in accordance with Regulation 19 of Chapter V of SOLAS, and the thresholds live there. Regulation 19.2.4 requires AIS on:

• all ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards engaged on international voyages
• cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards not engaged on international voyages
• all passenger ships irrespective of size

Regulation 19.2.4.7 adds that ships fitted with AIS shall maintain AIS in operation at all times, except where international agreements, rules or standards provide for the protection of navigational information.

Marine Order 27 then puts Australian teeth behind that. Subsection 20(3) requires the master to ensure that any AIS installed on a vessel is used, that it is used in accordance with the IMO’s Revised Guidelines for the onboard operational use of shipborne Automatic Identification Systems adopted by Resolution A.1106(29), and that AMSA is advised if the system is turned off. Subsection 20(4) goes further and prohibits the owner from directing or requesting any person to turn off the AIS installed on the vessel, carrying a penalty of 50 penalty units as a strict liability offence and an equivalent civil penalty. At the current Commonwealth penalty unit of $364, that is $18,200.

There is also a maintenance obligation that is regularly overlooked. Under paragraphs 19(2)(c) and (d), the owner must ensure that any AIS used on the vessel is tested annually by the issuing body or an approved testing or servicing facility, in accordance with paragraph 9 of Regulation 18 of Chapter V of SOLAS, and that a copy of the test report is carried on board.

Marine Order 27 also touches AIS from the survival craft side. Schedule 2, which sets out alternative radio arrangements for regulated Australian vessels to which Chapter IV of SOLAS does not apply, lists 9 GHz radar transponders or AIS-SARTs as a required item in each arrangement, alongside a VHF installation with DSC, a channel 70 DSC watchkeeping receiver, MF or MF/HF equipment, a ship earth station, a 406 MHz EPIRB and handheld VHF sets fitted with channels 6, 13, 16 and 67.

Position reporting in Australian waters: Marine Order 63

Marine Order 63 (Vessel reporting systems) 2019 (F2019L01463) commenced on 1 January 2020 and runs two reporting areas.

The MASTREP area, for which the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Australia is responsible, applies to a regulated Australian vessel in the area, and to a foreign vessel from its arrival at its first Australian port until its departure from its final Australian port. Schedule 3 requires a position report carrying the vessel’s identity, type, position, course, speed and navigational status, and clause 2 requires that the position report be transmitted by AIS. If the AIS malfunctions, or the master switches it off for a safety or security reason, the report must be given manually by VHF radiotelephone or by another means JRCC Australia requests, hourly or as required, with the vessel name, call sign, IMO number, date and time in UTC, current position and speed.

The REEFREP area, covering the Great Barrier Reef and Torres Strait, applies to vessels 50 metres or longer overall, oil tankers, chemical tankers, vessels carrying at least 200 cubic metres of oil, vessels to which the INF Code applies, and certain tows including any tow 150 metres or longer.

Both reporting obligations carry 50 penalty units as strict liability offences, with equivalent civil penalties. AMSA notes that domestic commercial vessels fitted with GMDSS and AIS are encouraged to participate in MASTREP even where it is not mandatory for them.

Domestic commercial vessels: NSCV Part C7C

Domestic commercial vessels are regulated under the national law rather than the Navigation Act, and their navigation equipment scales come from NSCV Part C7C, Navigation equipment, currently Edition 1.5 dated 1 September 2025.

Clause 4.3 splits the fleet. All vessels 35 metres and over in length, and Operational Area A vessels 24 metres and over in length, comply with Marine Order 27. All other vessels comply with Table 2. For AIS, Table 2 reads as follows.

Table 1 of the same standard sets the construction and performance requirements, pointing Class A equipment at IEC 61993-2 and Class B equipment at AS/NZS IEC 62287.1. A separate note records that NSCV Part F Subsection 1C requires AIS Class A on some Category F2 fast craft, and that Class A units fitted to those craft must meet the Class A design and construction requirements rather than the Class B ones.

Communications equipment for the same vessels sits in NSCV Part C7B, currently Edition 1.6 dated 1 January 2023. Its Table 2 requires a VHF radiotelephone in every operational area, with HF or satellite added once the vessel operates beyond waters designated by the relevant authority as limited coast station areas of coverage. Clause 4.3.1 requires that all vessels operating in water more than 2 nautical miles seaward from land be fitted with an EPIRB registered with AMSA, with float-free units required for vessels 12 metres and over.

The sea area A3 consequence: nobody ashore is listening on VHF DSC

The most consequential design fact in the standard is buried in a table note.

Australian waters are declared as GMDSS sea area A3. NSCV Part C7B records what follows: sea area A3 does not require the monitoring of VHF DSC by shore installations, and consequently the National Coast Radio Network does not monitor it. The practical effect is that a VHF DSC distress alert in Australian waters is confined to ship to ship alerting. It will be received by other similarly fitted vessels, or by a SOLAS vessel in range, but there is no shore station waiting to acknowledge it.

The National Coast Radio Network is defined in the same standard as the network established through the states and the Northern Territory to provide 24-hour distress and safety communications for vessels operating outside the SOLAS Convention, in coastal waters out to 200 nautical miles from the Australian coast. What it monitors is HF distress and safety voice across that range, plus limited VHF channel 16 monitoring in some areas only.

Three things follow for anyone specifying equipment on a small vessel.

• VHF DSC is worth fitting, but do not treat it as a shore alerting path. It gets you seen by vessels nearby, which is often the fastest help available, and that is a real benefit. It is not a substitute for a beacon.
• HF still does the long-range voice work. The standard is explicit that MF is no longer generally monitored, but HF distress and safety voice is monitored out to 200 nautical miles.
• The EPIRB carries the shore alert, not the radio. This is why NSCV C7B requires an AMSA-registered EPIRB on every vessel operating more than 2 nautical miles seaward from land.

The state and territory layer

Beyond the Commonwealth layer, AMSA notes that some Australian ports mandate AIS carriage by certain types of non-SOLAS vessels working in the port, and that state marine regulators also mandate AIS in certain types of vessels. Fishing vessels may be required to carry AIS, and AMSA distinguishes AIS from vessel monitoring systems, which use different technology and are administered by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority.

Carriage of a marine radio at all, for recreational vessels, is almost entirely a state and territory matter rather than a Commonwealth one. The ACMA decides whether you may transmit, and your state decides whether you must carry a radio in the first place. The trigger is usually a distance offshore or a class of waters, and it differs by jurisdiction. Two examples, both from the responsible authority:

• Western Australia. All registrable vessels, including personal water craft, must carry a VHF or HF marine radio when operating beyond 4 nautical miles from shore, and carriage is recommended for non-registrable vessels at the same distance. The radio must be turned on and tuned to the distress channel, being VHF channel 16, or HF 4125, 6215 and 8291 kHz. The Water Police monitor those three HF frequencies 24 hours a day.
• Tasmania. Marine and Safety Tasmania requires any recreational vessel operating outside sheltered waters to carry a marine radio, and states plainly that a mobile phone cannot substitute for that requirement.

One change is worth planning around now. Western Australia has advised that 27 MHz radios are being phased out and will no longer be compliant from 1 September 2028, and that 27 MHz channel 88 serves as a distress channel there only until then, with the caveat that not all marine rescue groups monitor it. Nothing in the ACMA class licence removes 27 MHz, and the frequencies remain lawfully available under Commonwealth law. But if you are fitting out a vessel in WA today, a 27 MHz set has a published expiry date on its usefulness as safety equipment, and the state requirement will be satisfied only by VHF or HF.

The Commonwealth position is your floor, not your ceiling. Those two examples are a snapshot, so check the current rule with your own state or territory authority before relying on it.

Part 4: Equipment Compliance

Holding a licence is one obligation. Supplying and operating compliant equipment is a separate one, and it runs through the Radiocommunications Equipment (General) Rules 2021, currently Compilation No. 5 with a compilation date of 16 January 2026.

Schedule 5 to those rules prescribes the general standards. The maritime entries are:

Alongside these, the Radiocommunications (Electromagnetic Compatibility) Standard 2017 and the Electromagnetic Energy Standard in Schedule 4 to the same rules apply. Where equipment does not meet the technical standards, a permit is required to supply, use or possess it, and that permit is separate from any licence.

There is a gap here worth naming. Schedule 5 contains no general standard specific to shipborne AIS equipment. The AIS design standards reach Australian law by other routes: through section 9 of the class licence, which binds stations with a device compliance day before 31 July 2015 to IEC 61993-2, IEC 62287.1 and IEC 62287.2 as applicable, and through NSCV Part C7C Table 1 for domestic commercial vessels. If you are importing or supplying AIS equipment, the EMC and EME standards still apply in full, and the survey pathway is where the AIS-specific performance requirement bites.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

Section 46 of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 makes it an offence to operate a radiocommunications device otherwise than as authorised by a spectrum licence, an apparatus licence or a class licence. Where the device is a transmitter, the penalty is imprisonment for 2 years for an individual, or 1,500 penalty units otherwise. There is a parallel civil penalty of 300 penalty units for a transmitter. At $364 per penalty unit, the civil exposure alone is $109,200.

There is an important exception. Under section 49, a person does not contravene section 46 by operating a device in the reasonable belief that the operation was necessary for securing the safety of a vessel in danger, or for dealing with an emergency involving risk of death or injury to persons, among other grounds. In other words, the qualification and licensing conditions never stand between a person in genuine distress and a radio. If you are in trouble, transmit.

Practical Compliance Checklist

For a recreational or small commercial vessel operating in Australian waters:

1. Confirm the vessel is not a regulated Australian vessel. If it is, the class licence does not apply and you need a maritime ship apparatus licence.
2. Confirm your equipment is within the class licence. VHF, 27 MHz, marine radar, on-board UHF and satellite GMDSS equipment are covered. MF and HF equipment is not.
3. Get the qualification that matches your operating area. An AWQ is enough for VHF inside the territorial sea. Outside it, you need an SROCP, LROCP or higher. Satellite GMDSS equipment needs the Marine Satellite Communications Endorsement.
4. Apply to AMSA for an MMSI if you have DSC or AIS. This is a condition of the class licence, not a recommendation, and it is what lets a distress alert identify you. Do it before the equipment is commissioned, because the number is programmed in permanently, and the same number goes into every fixed transceiver and AIS unit on the vessel.
5. Register your EPIRB with AMSA. This is a requirement for regulated Australian vessels under Marine Order 27 and for domestic commercial vessels operating more than 2 nautical miles from land under NSCV C7B.
6. Check the AIS carriage rule that applies to your vessel class, whether that is SOLAS through Marine Order 27, NSCV Part C7C, or a port or state requirement.
7. If you are a SOLAS vessel, book the annual AIS test and keep the report on board.

Why It Matters

Marine radio compliance is unusual in that most of it is genuinely about safety outcomes rather than administrative tidiness. The MMSI requirement exists so that a DSC distress alert arrives with an identity attached. The qualification requirement exists so that the person making the call knows which channel to use and what to say. The AIS carriage thresholds exist so that a bulk carrier’s bridge team can see a 15 metre charter boat before it becomes a close quarters situation.

Split across two agencies and half a dozen instruments, it is easy to satisfy one half and assume the other is covered. A vessel can hold every AMSA certificate it needs and still be transmitting unlawfully, and a vessel can be perfectly licensed by the ACMA and still be in breach of its carriage requirements.

If you are working through a coast station, repeater or AIS shore installation and need the ACMA side coordinated properly, noIM3 provides ACMA apparatus licensing services through a General Licensing Accreditation. You can request a service on our ACMA licensing page, check band allocations with our ACMA spectrum map, or model VHF coverage from a proposed coast station site with our coverage planner.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a licence for a marine VHF radio in Australia? You do not need to apply for one or pay a fee. Marine VHF on a vessel that is not a regulated Australian vessel is authorised by the Radiocommunications (Maritime Ship Station) Class Licence 2025, which applies automatically provided you comply with its conditions. You do, however, need an operator qualification, and if the radio has DSC you also need an MMSI issued by AMSA.

What qualification do I need to use a marine VHF radio? Within the Australian territorial sea, which is 12 nautical miles from the coast, an Australian Waters Qualification is enough, or you can operate under the supervision of a qualified person. Beyond the territorial sea the AWQ is not sufficient and you need a Short Range or Long Range Operator Certificate of Proficiency, a GMDSS certificate or an equivalent recognised qualification.

Do I need a qualification to use a 27 MHz marine radio? No. Section 11 of the class licence attaches qualification conditions only to the VHF maritime mobile band and the satellite frequencies in Schedule 1, and the ACMA confirms that no qualification is required to operate a ship station with 27 MHz equipment.

What is an MMSI and do I need one? An MMSI is a nine digit maritime mobile service identity issued by AMSA that identifies your station in DSC and AIS transmissions. You need one if your station uses Digital Selective Calling or AIS, because subsection 13(2) of the class licence requires an AMSA-issued MMSI as the form of station identification in those cases. It is free to apply, and you can use AMSA’s online form or form 89.

What does an Australian MMSI number look like? Australia’s maritime identification digits are 503, so an Australian vessel MMSI takes the form 503xxxxxx, where each x is any digit from 0 to 9. Coast stations and AIS base stations use 00503xxxx, group calls use 0503xxxxx, and handheld VHF DSC sets issued since January 2012 use 8503xxxxx. If the number in your radio does not start with 503, it was not issued to an Australian vessel.

Do I need a separate MMSI for my AIS unit and my VHF radio? No. The MMSI identifies the vessel, not the individual radio. Where a vessel carries more than one fixed transceiver, or a fixed transceiver plus an AIS unit, AMSA’s guidance is that they are all programmed with the same MMSI. The vessel’s 406 MHz EPIRB may also carry that same number.

Can I change the MMSI in my radio later? Usually not from the front panel. AMSA’s guidance is that the MMSI is permanently programmed into DSC and AIS equipment, and on most consumer sets that entry locks once it is made. The selling agent can program it for you, which is why the MMSI application belongs at the start of a fit-out rather than the end. If you buy a second-hand vessel, do not inherit the previous owner’s number: apply for your own and have the equipment reprogrammed.

Is 27 MHz marine radio being phased out? Not by the ACMA. The 27 MHz channels remain in the class licence and no Commonwealth end date applies to them. The change is happening at state level: Western Australia has advised that 27 MHz radios will no longer be compliant there from 1 September 2028, and that 27 MHz channel 88 serves as a distress channel only until then. Check your own state authority, and treat VHF as the safer choice for a new fit-out anywhere.

Does anyone on shore monitor VHF DSC in Australia? No. Australian waters are declared GMDSS sea area A3, which does not require shore monitoring of VHF DSC, so the National Coast Radio Network does not monitor it. A VHF DSC distress alert here is effectively ship to ship, received by other similarly fitted vessels or a SOLAS vessel in range. The National Coast Radio Network monitors HF distress and safety voice out to 200 nautical miles from the coast, with only limited VHF channel 16 monitoring in some areas, which is why an AMSA-registered EPIRB carries the shore alert.

Do I have to carry a marine radio at all? For a recreational vessel that is a state or territory question rather than a Commonwealth one, and the trigger differs by jurisdiction. Western Australia requires a VHF or HF radio on registrable vessels beyond 4 nautical miles from shore. Tasmania requires a marine radio on any recreational vessel operating outside sheltered waters. Domestic commercial vessels follow NSCV Part C7B instead, which requires VHF in every operational area.

Do I need an MMSI for a man overboard beacon? No, and AMSA does not issue one. Person overboard and maritime survivor locating devices that use AIS carry a pre-programmed identity in the format 972xxyyyy, allocated through the manufacturer rather than the regulator, and no radio operator qualification is required for them.

Which vessels must carry AIS in Australia? Under SOLAS Chapter V Regulation 19.2.4, applied through Marine Order 27, AIS is required on all ships of 300 gross tonnage and upwards on international voyages, cargo ships of 500 gross tonnage and upwards not on international voyages, and all passenger ships irrespective of size. Domestic commercial vessels follow NSCV Part C7C instead, which requires AIS Class B in Operational Areas A and B, and in Operational Area C for Class 1 vessels 12 metres and over.

What is the difference between Class A and Class B AIS? Class A uses SOTDMA at 12.5 W, reports position every 2 to 10 seconds while underway, carries voyage data including IMO number, draught, destination and ETA, and can transmit safety text messages. Class B comes in two forms: Class B/SO uses SOTDMA at 5 W and reports every 5 to 30 seconds depending on speed, while Class B/CS uses CSTDMA at 2 W and reports every 30 seconds subject to slot availability. Neither Class B form transmits safety text messages.

Can I turn my AIS off? For a vessel covered by Marine Order 27, the master may only switch it off where continued operation would compromise the safety or security of the vessel, and AMSA must be advised. The owner is separately prohibited from directing or requesting that the AIS be turned off, with a penalty of 50 penalty units. If AIS is off, MASTREP position reports must be given manually by VHF or another means requested by JRCC Australia.

Can I run a marine VHF base station from home? No. Section 10 of the class licence states that a person must not operate a maritime ship station on land. A land-based station working with ship stations on maritime frequencies needs a maritime coast apparatus licence, and the ACMA does not permit maritime coast stations to be operated from private residences, including caravan parks.

Does the class licence cover HF marine radio? No. The class licence schedules contain 27 MHz and VHF frequencies, the satellite GMDSS bands, marine radar and on-board UHF, but no MF or HF marine frequencies. A vessel with an MF or HF transceiver needs a maritime ship apparatus licence and call sign, and the operator needs a Long Range Operator Certificate of Proficiency.

Do I need an AIS licence for a shore-based AIS base station or aid to navigation? Yes, two of them in effect. The maritime ship station class licence does not cover any station on land, so the transmission needs an ACMA apparatus licence, and AMSA separately allocates the MMSI for AIS base stations and AIS aids to navigation using forms 234a and 234b.

Sources

Every statement of law above is taken from the primary instrument rather than a secondary summary. Fees, penalty unit values and compilation dates are current as at August 2026 and change from time to time.

ACMA and radiocommunications law

• Radiocommunications Act 1992, sections 46 and 49, and section 132 for class licences. Compilation No. 82, compilation date 1 July 2025.
• Radiocommunications (Maritime Ship Station) Class Licence 2025 (F2025L01131), registered 22 September 2025, commenced 1 October 2025. Compilation No. 1, compilation date 17 March 2026, incorporating the Radiocommunications (Maritime Licensing) Amendment Instrument 2026 (No. 1) (F2026L00242).
• Radiocommunications Equipment (General) Rules 2021, Schedule 5. Compilation No. 5, compilation date 16 January 2026.
• ACMA, Maritime ship station class licence, Maritime ship licence, Options for maritime ship licences, Maritime coast licence, Marine radio qualifications, Australian Waters Qualification and Emergency locating devices class licence.

AMSA, marine orders and standards

• Navigation Act 2012, sections 15 and 16.
• Marine Order 27 (Safety of navigation and radio equipment) 2023 (F2023L01656), commenced 1 January 2024. Compilation No. 1, compilation date 1 April 2026.
• Marine Order 63 (Vessel reporting systems) 2019 (F2019L01463), commenced 1 January 2020.
• AMSA, About maritime mobile service identity information, for the MMSI formats table, the 503 maritime identification digits, the permanent programming rule and the group, handheld and man overboard identity ranges.
• AMSA, Australian Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) Application, form 89, which states that registration is free and lists the accepted proficiency certificates.
• AMSA, Requirements for carrying an automatic identification system.
• AMSA, National Standard for Commercial Vessels Part C7C, Navigation equipment, Edition 1.5, 1 September 2025, and NSCV Part C7B, Communications equipment, Edition 1.6, 1 January 2023.

State and territory

• Department of Transport Western Australia, Marine radios, for the 4 nautical mile carriage trigger, the distress channel monitoring obligation, the Water Police HF watch, and the advice that 27 MHz radios will no longer be compliant in WA from 1 September 2028.
• Marine and Safety Tasmania, Marine radio, for the requirement that recreational vessels operating outside sheltered waters carry a marine radio.

International

• SOLAS Chapter V, Regulation 19.2, as reproduced by the US Coast Guard Navigation Center. Regulation 19.2.4 remains the AIS carriage provision after the amendments made by IMO Resolution MSC.496(105), which took effect on 1 January 2024.
• US Coast Guard Navigation Center, Types of Automatic Identification Systems and Shipborne AIS Class Comparison, for the Class A, Class B/SO and Class B/CS comparison.

Penalty units

• Australian Financial Security Authority, Penalty units. The Commonwealth penalty unit is $364 for offences committed on or after 1 July 2026, indexed under section 4AA of the Crimes Act 1914.