New funding is available for operators of domestic commercial vessels to prepare to meet new safety requirements at sea.

Working at sea is one of the highest risk occupations in Australia, and authorities say Safety Management Systems (SMS) can save lives in the dangerous aquatic arena.

The person in control of a domestic commercial vessel must implement and maintain an SMS that ensures the vessel and its operations are safe, and Projects Manager at the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) Jo-Anne Ruscoe says owners and operators should prepare for new safety requirements by 1 July 2016.

“The Australian Government, through the FRDC, has made available $100,000 in funding to help offset training costs,” Ms Ruscoe said.

“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is rolling out a program of risk management and SMS workshops to help industry meet the new national standards.

FRDC says it recognises that some industry sectors face particular challenges in accessing this program, possibly due to location, timing, English language proficiency, or sector specific operations. This FRDC funding aims to complement the AMSA program by addressing these challenges.

“FRDC encourages fishers to get in touch with AMSA or your industry association and ask them if they have training available for you. If you need additional support to access or customise the training, then this funding could help,” Ms Ruscoe said.

An SMS must identify and control risks and provide a method to ensure that the risk controls are effective. It should include the roles and responsibilities on board, crew training and induction, procedures for on-board processes, emergency plans, systems for maintenance of vessel and equipment, and logging and recording events.

Eligible applicants for the FRDC funding include:

- Industry associations on behalf of members

- Fishing enterprises where planned activities benefit a group of operators/enterprises

- Training/service providers delivering SMS training to the target group – It is anticipated that this group would submit an EOI in response to an industry request/need for training.

More details are available here.