8 August 2022
Who does this notice affect?
All vessel owners, operators, masters, shipping agents and maritime industry personnel who represent and/or interact with international commercial vessels, including cruise vessels for the purposes of Australian biosecurity clearance.
What has changed?
There have been recent amendments to the pratique framework for vessels.
Commercial vessels are no longer granted pratique at the time of submission of the Pre-Arrival Report (PAR).
Commercial vessels excluding cruise vessels are subject to the positive or negative pratique process under the Biosecurity Act 2015 (the Act) when the vessel enters Australian territorial waters, 12 nautical miles (nm) from the Australian coastline until arrival in the precincts of the intended destination port.
Pratique is granted automatically via the Maritime Arrivals Reporting System (MARS) on arrival in the precincts of the port, where there are no human health issues (positive pratique process).
Commercial vessels that have not submitted a PAR or who have declared illness prior to arriving in Australia must not embark/disembark and goods must not be loaded or unloaded from the vessel until pratique has been granted by a biosecurity officer (negative pratique process).
Non-commercial vessels and cruise vessels are subject to the negative pratique process and will not be granted pratique until a biosecurity officer has assessed the human health risks associated with the vessel at its first point of entry (negative pratique process).
What do you need to do?
Vessels moored at anchorage outside of Australian territory (12nm) are outside the jurisdiction of the Act. If vessels intend to enter Australian territory and require people to disembark the vessel to Australian territory, they are required to submit a Crew Change application or report through the PAR in MARS prior to disembarkation. There are no restrictions for crew to join a vessel. The reporting requirement is not required for Pilots of vessels. Pilots can embark and disembark under the Navigation Act 2012.
Pratique is bestowed at the point a vessel arrives into the precincts of the port.
Where a vessel is subject to positive pratique, pratique is automatically granted, by operation of section 48(2) of the Act. Passengers may then embark/disembark and goods may be loaded and unloaded.
In circumstances where the vessel falls into a class of vessel prescribed in the Negative Pratique Instrument it will be subject to negative pratique at the point it arrives at the port. This includes cruise vessels, non-commercial vessels, vessels that have not submitted a Pre-Arrival Report and commercial vessels that have declared illness on the PAR. This means that passengers must not embark/disembark and goods must not be loaded or unloaded from the vessel until pratique has been granted by a biosecurity officer under s49(4).
Activities, such as ship vetting, surveying, technical inspections and servicing, can continue beyond the 12nm mark (which is outside of Australian territory), whilst not compromising any potential biosecurity risk from person(s) disembarking the vessel and entering Australian territory through the Crew Change reporting through MARS.
Vessel operators are required to keep their Automatic Identification System (AIS) on to transmit Position Reports in accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974 Chapter 5, Regulation 19.2.4.
Vessel operators must report any malfunction of the vessel’s AIS equipment to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Australia in accordance with Section 186 of the Navigation Act 2012.
Marine Order 63 (Navigation Act 2012) makes the provision of Position Reports mandatory for:
- foreign vessels from the arrival at its first port in Australia until its departure from its final port in Australia; and
- all regulated Australian vessels whilst in the Modernised Australian Ship Tracking and Reporting System (MASTREP) area.
Further information
Contact the department’s National Maritime Centre (NMC) by email or phone:
1300 004 605 (in Australia) or +61 8 8201 6185 (outside Australia).
Information on vessel pratique can be found on the department’s website under Vessel Pratique.
Information on changes to human health reporting can be found at 127-2022: Maritime Arrivals Reporting System (MARS) Pre-Arrival Reporting Changes for Human Health and Pratique.
Information and MARS supporting materials can be found on the department’s website under MARS communications and training materials.