Explanatory Statement
Marine Order 63 (MASTREP) 2013 (Order 2013/5)
Authority
- Subsection 339(1) of the Navigation Act 2012 (the Navigation Act) provides for regulations to be made prescribing matters requiring or permitted to be prescribed, or which are necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
- Subsection 342(1) of the Navigation Act provides for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to make an Order (a Marine Order), by legislative instrument, for any matter for which provision must or may be made by the regulations.
- Subsection 221(1) of the Navigation Act provides that the regulations may make provision for, and in relation to, the reporting requirements of:
(a) foreign vessels that are in, or in the process of entering or leaving, the prescribed area in relation to a reporting matter; and
(b) all regulated Australian vessels in any area.
4. As at the time of making this Order the Navigation Act had not commenced, subsection 4(2) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 was also relied on as authorising AMSA to make this Order.
5. This Order is a legislative instrument for the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
Purpose
6. This Order establishes a system for the reporting of movement of vessels that are in the MASTREP area.
7. On becoming a party to the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue, 1979, Australia accepted responsibility for search and rescue for a significant part of the waters around Australia, described in this Order as the MASTREP area. The reporting requirements in this Order are also consistent with Australia’s obligations under Chapter V, Regulation 11 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
8. This Order replaces the Marine Order 63 (AUSREP) which was made under the Navigation Act 1912. This Order is made under the Navigation Act which commences on 1 July 2013. The Navigation Act is a rewrite of the Navigation Act 1912 and continues to give effect to matters including safety of life at sea and vessel reporting.
Overview
9. This Order renames the mandatory vessel reporting area as the MASTREP area, previously described as the AUSREP area.
10. The method of mandatory position reporting in the MASTREP area continues to be AIS (automatic identification system), which is required to be fitted and operated on a vessel in accordance with Regulation 19.2.4 of Chapter V of SOLAS.
11. Other mandatory reports, ie sailing plans, deviation reports and final reports, are no longer required under the Order.
Consultation
12. A copy of the draft of this Order was circulated to over 350 stakeholders including industry organisations and interested government agencies. A list of these stakeholders may be obtained on request from AMSA. A copy of the draft was also placed on the AMSA website for public comment. No comments were received.
13. The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) was also consulted, and considered that the changes were minor in nature and no Regulation Impact Statement was required. The OBPR reference number is ID 2013/14871.
Documents incorporated by reference
14. Marine Order 56 (REEFREP) 2004 is available from http://comlaw.gov.au.
15. The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is available from the Australian Treaty Series Library on the AustLII website at http://www.austlii.edu.au.
Commencement
16. This Order commences on 1 July 2013.
Contents of this instrument
17. Item 1 states the name of the Order.
18. Item 2 states the Order commences on 1 July 2013.
19. Item 3 states the purpose of the Order.
20. Item 4 sets out the definitions of terms used in the Order.
21. Item 5 describes the application of this Order to the vessels while in the MASTREP area.
22. Item 6 imposes an obligation on the master of a vessel to make position reports in accordance with Schedule 1 of the Order. Schedule 1 sets out: how a position report is to be transmitted; the information to be included in a report; the standard of operation of AIS; and the requirement for reporting of an AIS malfunction. Breach of the position reporting obligation may result in a criminal or civil penalty under the Order.
23. Item 7 prescribes the area of the MASTREP area for subsection 221(3) of the Navigation Act. The boundaries of this area are described in Schedule 2.
Statement of compatibility with human rights
24. AMSA considers that this instrument is compatible with human rights. It does not affect any rights or freedoms to which the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 applies.
Purpose
25. This Order is made under the Navigation Act which commences on 1 July 2013. The Act is a rewrite of the Navigation Act 1912 and continues to give effect to Australia’s obligations under international conventions covering such matters as safety of life at sea and vessel reporting.
26. This Order renames the mandatory vessel reporting area as the MASTREP area, previously known as the AUSREP area. It also provides that the only method of mandatory vessel reporting in the MASTREP area is to be AIS (automatic identification system), with this system required to be fitted and operated on a vessel in accordance with Regulation 19.2.4 of Chapter V of SOLAS.
Possible effect on human rights
27. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantees freedom of movement and applies to legal aliens as well as citizens of a state.
28. While this Order concerns reporting of vessel movements, it does not in any way impose restrictions on a person’s freedom of movement. It facilitates vessel tracking by the mandatory reporting of specified information on a vessel’s position in Australia’s search and rescue area known as the MASTREP area. The purpose of this reporting is to promote safety of life at sea and the efficient and effective provision of search and rescue services by the AMSA Rescue Coordination Centre if there is a maritime incident. This Order does not impair, and is consistent with, the individual liberty of freedom of movement as described in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
29. No other human right or freedom recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is engaged by this Order.
Assessment
30. This instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Making the instrument
31. This instrument has been made by the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, in accordance with subsection 49(4) of the Australian Maritime Authority Act 1990.