Marine Orders Miscellaneous Amendment Order 2026 (No. 1)

Replacement Explanatory Statement

Marine Orders Miscellaneous Amendment Order 2026 (No. 1) (Order 2026/1)

Authority

1.       Subsection 339(1) of the Navigation Act 2012 (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 342(4) of the Navigation Act provides that a Marine Order may provide for a matter by applying, adopting or incorporating, with or without modification, any matter contained in a document as in force or existing at a particular time or from time to time.
4.       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.
5.       This amending Marine Order was made under subsection 342(1) and is a legislative instrument for the Legislation Act 2003.

Purpose

1.       This Marine Order makes amendments to Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2014 (Marine Order 15), Marine Order 25 (Equipment — lifesaving) 2014 (Marine Order 25), and Marine Order 49 (High- speed craft) 2015 (Marine Order 49).
2.       The Marine Orders being amended are exempt from sunsetting under item 1, section 11 of the Legislation (Exemptions and Other Matters) Regulation 2015.

Overview

1.       This Marine Order makes amendments to:

• ensure obligations giving effect to Chapter II-2 of SOLAS including obligations in relation to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are clearly required for compliance purposes under Marine Order 15; and
• insert a note in Marine Order 49 to create awareness that the obligations under Marine Order 49 giving effect to the 1994 HSC Code and 2000 HSC Codes also include the prohibition on PFOS; and
• update notes in Marine Order 15 and Marine Order 49; and
• update references in Marine Order 25 to the 2015 version of Marine Order 49 to ensure vessels certified in accordance with the 2015 version of Marine Order 49 are still treated as compliant with international requirements.

Consultation

1.       A copy of the draft of this Marine Order was placed on AMSA’s website on 17 November 2025 for public consultation and open for comments until 18 December 2025. Around 130 stakeholders were contacted by email and invited to comment. These included vessel operators, seafarer representative organisations, relevant government agencies and a group known as the Shipping Consultative Forum. The review was also advised on social media and as an AMSA news article.
2.   One submission was received which provided support for the restrictions on the use of PFOS in firefighting media. This submission was considered during the preparation of the final Marine Order.
3.   The Office of Impact Analysis considers that the changes made by the Marine Order have regulatory impacts of a minor or machinery nature and no regulation impact statement is required. The OIA number is OIA24 – 08607.

Documents incorporated by reference

1.   The following documents or parts of them are incorporated by reference in the Marine Order:

• International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)
• Marine Order 47 (Offshore industry unit) 2019
• Marine Order 49 (High-speed craft) 2015.

1.   SOLAS is incorporated as amended and in force from time to time. The Convention is in the Australian Treaties Library accessible online at the AustLII website at www.austlii.edu.au or the Australian Treaties Database at www.info.dfat.gov.au/treaties. A link to the Australian Treaties Library is available at the Marine Orders link on the AMSA website at www.amsa.gov.au. The Marine Orders link on the AMSA website also contains information on the purchase of SOLAS and availability at libraries.
2.   Marine Orders 47 and 49 are adopted as in force from time to time because they are adopted by reference to title in this Marine Order 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 Orders 47 and 49 can be accessed through the Marine Orders link on the AMSA website at www.amsa.gov.au and are available for free download from the Federal Register of Legislation through that link.

Commencement

1.   This Marine Order commenced on 1 April 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 three Marine Orders.
4.   Division 1 of Schedule 1 sets out the amendments to Marine Order 15 (Construction — fire protection, fire detection and fire extinction) 2014.
5.   Item 1 of Division 1 updates the note that explains which terms used in Marine Order 15 are defined in the Navigation Act.
6.   Item 2 of Division 1 clarifies the kind of standards in Chapter II-2 of SOLAS which must be complied with, in particular, the standards relating to the use, storage and disposal of extinguishing media containing PFOS.
7.   Item 2 of Division 1 also updates a provision to make mention of the latest version of Marine Order 49 made in 2015.
8.   Item 3 of Division 1 corrects an error by clarifying that an extinguisher or portable fire equipment may meet either an IMO or European Council standard, and not both, for its design, construction and testing.
9.   Division 2 of Schedule 1 sets out an amendment to Marine Order 25 (Equipment — lifesaving) 2014.
10.   Item 4 of Division 2 updates a reference to make it the previous version of an instrument.
11.   Division 3 of Schedule 1 sets out the amendments to Marine Order 49 (High- speed craft) 2015.
12.   Item 5 of Division 3 updates the notes that explain which terms used in Marine Order 49 are either defined in Marine Order 1 or the Navigation Act.
13.   Item 6 of Division 3 omits a note for subsection 8(1) as its role as a signposting aid for the meaning of the terms ‘equivalent’ and ‘use’ is now performed by the note to section 4 of Marine Order 49 which points readers to their definitions in Marine Order 1. See Item 5.
14.   Item 6 of Division 3 also adds a note at the end of section 15 to remind holders of certificates, who are required to implement arrangements in the HSC Codes as a condition on their certificates, that IMO amendments to the HSC Codes by the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC 107) in June 2023 introduced dates for the prohibition of the use and storage of PFOS on vessels as fire-extinguishing media. The note further explains that amendments set out disposal requirements for PFOS. IMO guidance about these amendments can be found in MSC.1/Circ.1694 (4 July 2025) Unified Interpretations of SOLAS Chapter II-2 and the 1994 and 2000 HSC Codes — which is available at the Marine Orders webpage on AMSA’s website www.amsa.gov.au.
15.   Item 7 of Division 3 updates a reference to the latest version of Marine Order 21.

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 amending Marine Order is made under the Navigation Act and gives effect to Australia’s international obligations under SOLAS. It makes minor amendments including ensuring that the requirements for fire extinguishing media containing perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) are adequately incorporated, and further advised in a note, for compliance purposes.

Human rights implications

1.   This instrument does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

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 Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, in accordance with subsection 49(4) of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990.