Proposed changes to VHF maritime instruments

On 21 March 2024, we made the Radiocommunications (Maritime Licensing) Amendment Instrument 2024 (No.1). This followed minor amendments based on submissions to the consultation. 

All submissions supported proposals to change maritime instruments as set out in the consultation paper and draft amendment instrument.

One submission raised issues that were out of the consultation's scope.  Another identified changes to the instrument that better align definitions and technical conditions with the ITU Radio Regulations. 

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) submission recommended changes to definitions, frequency bands and related technical conditions for greater consistency with the requirements of Appendix 18 of the ITU Radio Regulations. 

The instrument was updated to incorporate AMSA’s recommended changes without further consultation. We considered that these changes reflect the scope of the consultation process to implement the WRC-19 outcomes.

We thank all of those involved in the consultation process. Public submissions received are now available at the bottom of this page. 

The ITU Radio Regulations were revised after the World Radiocommunication Conference 2019 (WRC-19). Australia ratified these amendments following agreement at WRC-19.

The amendments include changes to Appendix 15 and Appendix 18 of the ITU Radio Regulations. These relate to VHF maritime mobile channel arrangements. 

We propose to implement these changes under the maritime licensing arrangements. We are flagging changes to 3 maritime legislative instruments to:

• recognise additional satellite systems for the global maritime distress and safety system 
• facilitate the use of autonomous maritime radio devices
• enable a new VHF data exchange system satellite component.

We are proposing to make these changes to the:

• Radiocommunications (Maritime Ship Station – 27 MHz and VHF) Class Licence 2015
• Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Maritime Ship Licence) Determination 2015
• Radiocommunications Licence Conditions (Maritime Coast Licence) Determination 2015.

The updates are outlined in the Draft Radiocommunications (Maritime Licensing) Amendment Instrument 2023 (No. 1). You can find this in the key documents section.

We have published a written notice of variation to the Maritime 27 MHz and VHF Class Licence in the Government Gazette.