Marine Order Amendment (Marine Order 53 — consequential changes) Order 2026

Explanatory Statement

Marine Order Amendment (Marine Order 53 — consequential changes) Order 2026 (Order 2026/7)

Authority

1. Subsection 339(1) of the Navigation Act 2012 (the ‘Navigation Act’) authorises the Governor-General to make regulations necessary or convenient for carrying out or giving effect to the Navigation Act.
2. Subsection 342(1) of the Navigation Act allows the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to make orders for any matter in the Act for which provision must or may be made by regulations.
3. Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 provides that a power in an Act to make a legislative instrument includes the power to repeal or amend the instrument, subject to any conditions that apply to the initial power.
4. This instrument was made under subsection 342(1) and is a legislative instrument for the Legislation Act 2003.

Purpose

1. This instrument is an amending Marine Order and makes amendments consequential to the making of Marine Order 53 (Vessels in polar waters) 2026 (Marine Order 53 2026) that replaces Marine Order 53 (Vessels in polar waters) 2016 (Marine Order 53 2016).

Overview

1. This instrument is an amending Marine Order and updates provisions in Marine Order 31 (SOLAS and non-SOLAS certification) 2019 (Marine Order 31) consequential to the making of Marine Order 53 2026.
2. Marine Order 31 is exempt from sunsetting under the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015, section 11 item 01.

Consultation

1. A copy of the draft of this Marine Order was placed on AMSA’s website on 16 February 2026 for public consultation and it was open for comments until 15 March 2026. Around 170 stakeholders were contacted by email and invited to comment. These included vessel operators, Australian and international shipowners, classification societies, seafarer representative organisations, shipping industry peak bodies and unions, training organisations, and relevant government departments and agencies, and a group known as the Shipping Consultative Forum. The review was also advised on AMSA Consultation web page and as a news article on AMSA homepage.
2. One response was received concerning timeframe for the implementation of changes to Marine Order 53 2026 and seeking clarification of requirements — the response was taken into account in the preparation of the draft..
3.           For changes to the Marine Order, the following AMSA Regulation Impact Statement carve-out categories apply: 1(a)(i) (JSCOT changes), 1(a)(vii)(changes to mandatory IMO Codes, Guidelines or Standards), and 1a(ii) (minor editorial changes). The relevant Office of Impact Analysis (OIA) reference numbers are OIA23-06229, OIA24-07935 and OIA23-06166.

Documents incorporated by reference

1.           Marine Order 53 2026 becomes a document incorporated by reference in Marine Order 31.
2.           Due to the operation of section 10 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (as applied by paragraph 13(1)(a) of the Legislation Act 2003), Marine Order 53 2026 is adopted as in force from time to time because it is adopted by reference to title. It can be accessed through the marine orders link on the AMSA website at www.amsa.gov.au and is available for free download from the Federal Register of Legislation through that link.

Commencement

1.           The Marine Order commenced on 1 June 2026.

Contents of this instrument

1.           Section 1 sets out the name of the Marine Order.
2.           Section 2 provides for the commencement of the Marine Order.
3.           Section 3 states the purpose of the Marine Order which is to amend Marine Order 31 in accordance with Schedule 1.
4.           Schedule 1 sets out changes to update a note in section 16 and also updates Schedule 2 of Marine Order 31 to reference Marine Order 53 2026 making compliance with that Order a requirement for the issue of two kinds of safety certificates — the Certificate of Survey for a Cargo Vessel >10 m in length (other than a Fishing Vessel); and the Certificate of Survey for a Fishing Vessel >10 m in length.

Statement of compatibility with human rights

1.           This statement is made for subsection 9(1) of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the legislative instrument

1.           This instrument makes amendments consequential to the making of Marine Order 53 (Vessels in polar waters) 2026. Changes are made to Marine Order 31 (SOLAS and non-SOLAS certification) 2019 to specify compliance with Marine Order 53, if applicable, as a requirement for the issue of two kinds of safety certificates.

Human rights implications

1.           This instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms as the changes apply standards to vessel operations to ensure safety in the circumstances of polar waters.

Conclusion

1.           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.

Making the instrument

1.           This instrument has been made by the Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, in accordance with subsection 49(4) of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990.