What a maritime coast licence is for
A maritime coast licence lets you operate one or more stations that:
- are on land
- are mainly to communicate with a maritime ship station
- operate on maritime frequencies
If you wish to use other frequencies, you may need a different apparatus licence.
The stations may communicate with:
- land mobile stations
- remote land stations
- stations on aircraft that are not aircraft stations
There are 5 options for maritime coast licences.
You must be qualified to operate a maritime coast station.
The Radiocommunications (Interpretation) Determination 2015 defines the various types of maritime coast stations.
What you cannot do under this licence
We do not allow maritime stations to be operated under this licence from private residences, including caravan parks.
Licence conditions
When you have a maritime coast licence, you must follow the conditions of your licence.
These include:
- conditions of the Radiocommunications Act 1992 (the Act)
- Licence Condition (Apparatus Licence) Determination 2015
- Licence Conditions (Maritime Coast Licence) Determination 2015
- other conditions that apply to you under ‘special conditions’
These conditions help you communicate safely and without interference.
We will include information you should be aware of under the heading 'advisory notes'.
Call signs
Call signs are a unique series of letters and numbers. They make it easy to identify a station.
We will give you a call sign or explain how to create one when we give you a licence.
If you are a major coast station using DSC facilities, you must transmit using a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) allocated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
You should use your call sign:
- every time you start to transmit
- before you transmit in a series
- when you test
Call sign template for maritime coast licences
|
aaamnn |
Maritime coast call sign template (example of a typical call sign: VKA714) |
|
aaa |
first 2 alpha characters: VJ, VK, VL, VM, VN, VZ, or AX. The third character is any alpha |
|
m |
numeric character 2 to 9 |
|
n |
numeric character 0 to 9 |
Fees
We charge fees for apparatus licences.
In some circumstances, you can apply for a licence fee exemption or concession.
Device rules and standards
As well as needing a licence to operate devices and equipment, you will also need to comply with our technical standards.
These include:
- some general standards – see Schedule 5 to the General Equipment Rules
- the Radiocommunications (Electromagnetic Compatibility) Standard 2017
- the Electromagnetic Energy (EME) Standard – see Schedule 4 to the General Equipment Rules.
Read more about our technical standards including our general radiocommunications standards, the EMC standard and the EME standard.
If your device or equipment does not meet the rules in our technical standards, you will need a permit to supply, use or have it. This is separate from a licence. Find out about permits and fees under the General Equipment Rules.
Apply for a maritime coast licence
To apply for a maritime coast assigned licence, you should contact an accredited person.
They can:
- assign you a frequency
- give you a frequency assignment certificate
- apply for your licence for you
To apply for a maritime coast non-assigned licence, you should:
Transfer a maritime coast licence
You can apply to: