Enabling legislation

As Australia’s national maritime safety regulatory body, we are responsible for the maritime safety of international shipping and domestic commercial vessels, protection of the marine environment from ship-sourced pollution, and search and rescue nationally.

AMSA is a statutory authority established under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990 (AMSA Act), and as a corporate Commonwealth entity it is subject to the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act).Appendix 7: Our functions and powersoutlines AMSA’s functions and powers under the AMSA Act.

A list of enabling legislation for AMSA in the areas of vessel operations, registration, marine pollution and levies collection is available on our website.

Workforce planning

See Focus area 4.1: Workforce engagement, development and safety

Significant activities and changes affecting the operations or structure of the entity during the period

Information Technology Services
See Focus area 4.4: Reliable and responsive information technology

New regional office
In August 2019, AMSA opened a new regional office in Coffs Harbour to deliver improved access to services for the maritime sector. The office was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, The Hon Michael McCormack.
There are currently 32 AMSA staff based in the office, with capacity for 50. This compliments our network of regional offices around the country (see Figure 6: Map showing AMSA's presence in Australia).

Structure and location
Following is AMSA’s organisational structure (as at 30 June 2020) and a map showing the agency’s national presence:

AMSA's organisational structure

Office locations

Figure 6: Map showing AMSA's presence in Australia