Marine radio: Australian Waters Qualification now available

The marine radio Australian Waters Qualification (AWQ) has been launched by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) as part of its celebration of World Maritime Day.

Celebrated globally on 24 September, World Maritime Day was themed for 2015 — ‘Maritime education and training’, adopted to focus attention on  the wider spectrum of maritime education and training, in particular its adequacy and quality, as the bedrock of a safe and secure shipping industry.

ACMA has recently approved the AWQ so that boaters who use a VHF marine radio in Australian Territorial Waters (within 12 nautical miles of the coast) are now able to apply for the more appropriate marine radio AWQ.

ACMA approved this new qualification for inclusion in the marine radio class licence, which is now available from all registered training organisations that have included it in their scope.

While all marine radio users (except those operating 27 MHz marine radio stations) must be qualified, until now boaters had to obtain a Certificate of Proficiency or an equivalent overseas qualification. But the approval of the AWQ gives a more streamlined option to relevant boaters.

An online training package has been developed to assist boaters in learning about the correct VHF marine radio procedures and protocols and is available from the ANZSBEG website.

For more information, or access to resources, visit AWQ.