Tasmania boating rules · checked Oct 2026

Tasmania boating rules: licence, lifejackets and safety gear

What the rules in Tasmania require on the water, from official sources and linked line by line: boat and jet ski licences, lifejackets, safety equipment, registration and who to call when things go wrong.

Emergency: 000 · ask for Police
Boat licence: Motor of 4 hp or more
Lifejackets: When you must wear one
Log on: How to log on

Emergency on the water in Tasmania

000

Life in danger: call Triple Zero (000) from a mobile and ask for Police. Then say the waterway, the nearest town and “Tasmania”.

VHF 16

The distress channel if you have a marine radio. A mobile phone doesn’t replace one.

1800 641 792

JRCC Australia (AMSA), the national 24-hour maritime rescue line, for people in distress at sea. From an overseas phone: +61 2 6230 6811.

Tasmania’s own guidance still lists 27 MHz channel 88 as a distress channel.

What Tasmania tells boaters to do

MAST: always keep your VHF on the distress and calling channel 16; a mobile phone cannot substitute for a required marine radio because 'in an emergency situation a marine radio transmission can be heard by other vessels'. Use 'MAYDAY' (x3) for grave and imminent danger, 'PAN PAN' for urgency. Tas Maritime Radio (the state's only official coast station, volunteer-run) monitors VHF 16 statewide 24 hours (staffed 0700–1900; after hours VHF 16 is monitored by Golden Electronics Security for urgent/emergency calls) and HF 4125/6215/8291 kHz 0700–1900, and reports all MAYDAY and PAN PAN calls to Tasmania Police, who are responsible for inshore search and rescue. EPIRB required beyond sheltered waters. JRCC Australia: 1800 641 792.

How to call for help on the water: 000, VHF 16, EPIRB · Marine radio channels in Australia

Logging on before you go (Tasmania)

Tas Maritime Radio (volunteer coast station): 'Keep safe: Log in with Tas Maritime every time you're out' – call in your location and intentions on VHF (any time 0700–1900, or after the three daily weather skeds), and advise when you've returned and are closing. 'If you get into difficulties, are overdue, or simply if a friend or relative calls us asking where and how you are… we will have your latest information at hand' (TMR liaises with Tasmania Police, who dispatch vessels/helicopters). For longer voyages set up a TasRep transit sheet online. MAST also promotes the Deckee app's journey sharing. Neither MAST nor TMR states a specific automatic overdue search procedure.

VesselSOS doesn’t log you on with anyone and alerts nobody if you’re overdue. Log on with the service above as well; the VesselSOS live link is for your family ashore. Marine rescue log-on vs VesselSOS →

Tasmania boat licence and jet ski licence

Boat licence

A motor boat licence is needed to operate a recreational vessel with a motor of 4 hp or more (except hire-and-drive vessels not exceeding 8 knots after training). Licence only through training with an approved provider; valid 3 years with a common expiry date (currently 30 June 2027). You need not carry it, but must produce it within 14 days if asked. Interstate licences valid 3 months.

Jet ski (PWC) licence

PWC riders need a motor boat licence plus a PWC endorsement, obtained via a PWC practical training course and written test with an accredited provider.

Minimum age

Provisional licence for ages 12–17 (same process as full licence): must be accompanied by a responsible adult, no night operation, max 20 knots, no towing skiers; becomes a full licence from the 17th birthday. PWC endorsement from age 12 (12–17 with the same provisional restrictions, per the MAST Safe Boating Handbook).

Source: mast.tas.gov.au

Tasmania lifejacket rules

An approved lifejacket must be carried for each person. It is compulsory to WEAR a lifejacket in any recreational motor boat or motor-propelled tender under 6 m while under power, and for children under 12 in a motor boat or motor tender of any length while under power (not required inside a deckhouse, cabin or secure enclosed space). Unregistered motor boats (under 4 hp): wear at all times under power. Lifejackets are compulsory in tenders (powered or rowed) and in lightweight craft – kayaks, canoes, SUPs, sit-on-tops (Level 50 or 50S; inflatables not recommended), except when riding waves in a surf zone. PWC: rider and passengers must wear one – Level 50/50S/100/150 in smooth and sheltered waters, Level 100+ beyond 2 nm; inflatables not permitted on PWC. Only AS 4758 lifejackets are legal – wearing one marked with the old standards AS 1512, 1499 or 2260 can attract an infringement. Required level on boats: Level 50+ in smooth waters, Level 100+ in sheltered and coastal waters.

Source: mast.tas.gov.au

Lifejacket levels: Level 50S is similar to the old Type 3, Level 50 to Type 2, and Level 100, 150 and 275 to Type 1 (NSW Maritime’s comparison). AS 4758 is the Australian standard for the levels. Lifejacket rules in every state →

Required safety equipment in Tasmania

MAST operational areas: smooth (inland lakes and rivers), sheltered (within 2 nm of land on the North and East coasts, plus listed areas) and coastal (everything beyond, including the whole South and West coasts between South East Cape and Cape Grim). All motor boats: anchor/rope/chain, bailer or bilge pump, AS 4758 lifejacket for all, fire extinguisher, oars or auxiliary propulsion (boats under 6 m), nav lights and torch from sunset to sunrise. Sheltered waters add 2 orange + 2 red flares (or EVDS + GPS EPIRB + VHF); heaving line and lifebuoy for boats over 6 m. Coastal waters: flares plus 2 parachute flares (or EVDS + GPS EPIRB + VHF + 2 parachute flares), VHF marine radio, EPIRB (GPS preferred), heaving line, lifebuoy, radar reflector, first-aid kit and water. MAST recommends boats under 6 m not go beyond sheltered waters.

Source: mast.tas.gov.au

Boat registration in Tasmania

Recreational boats with a motor of 4 hp or more, and all personal watercraft, must be registered with MAST. Motor tenders over 4 hp operating more than 0.5 nm from the parent vessel must be registered. Novel craft (e-surfboards, e-hydrofoils, powered towing devices) currently need no licence or registration but must meet lightweight-craft equipment, speed and distance rules.

Jet ski (PWC) rules in Tasmania

Motor boat licence + PWC endorsement; PWC must be registered and display a safe operation sticker; PWC may only be operated from sunrise to sunset. Lifejacket worn by rider and passengers (no inflatables); fire extinguisher carried. All motor vessels: max 5 knots within 60 m of the shore, a wharf, jetty or another boat, within 120 m of a swimmer, diver or person wading, and in designated 5-knot areas. No freestyling (wake jumping, doughnuts) within 200 m of a swimmer, or within 200 m of the shore where a dwelling is within 100 m of the shoreline.

Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules

Kayaks, canoes and SUPs are 'lightweight craft': a lifejacket must be worn (Level 50 or 50S; exemption only when riding waves in a surf zone), a tethering device (leash) is mandatory when more than 200 m offshore, a white strobe or all-round light is mandatory between sunset and sunrise and in poor visibility, and an EPIRB or PLB is mandatory in some operational areas (beyond sheltered waters; shared carriage allowed for groups of three within 50 m). No licence or registration for unpowered craft. Novel powered craft (e-foils etc.) follow lightweight-craft rules and the 5-knot limits. MAST pages fetched do not set kiteboard-specific rules.

Popular boating waters in Tasmania

River Derwent (Hobart)
D'Entrecasteaux Channel
Tamar River
Huon River
Storm Bay and Frederick Henry Bay
Great Oyster Bay and Freycinet
Macquarie Harbour
Great Lake and the Central Plateau lakes

Some of the waters Tasmania boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Tasmania waters

Life in danger? Tap “Yes, life in danger” and the app dials Triple Zero (000). The screen shows your GPS position in words and a word-for-word script that starts “Police. Boat emergency, I’m on the water.”, then the waterway, the nearest town and the state.
The rescue-centre list also has JRCC Australia (1800 641 792), the national maritime rescue line for offshore, as a second Call button, and a VHF Channel 16 MAYDAY text filled with your boat’s details for you to read on your own radio.
A live link for family ashore (Plus, free during the beta): your position, speed, course and phone battery in any browser, no app needed on their end. You send it by text yourself.

What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t log you on with Marine Rescue or anyone else, and it isn’t connected to 000, Police, Marine Rescue or AMSA. Nobody is alerted automatically if you’re late: the return-time check only asks “Are you OK?” on your own phone. Marine rescue log-on services do follow up when you don’t log off, so log on with them as well. A phone doesn’t replace a marine radio, an EPIRB or PLB, or the safety gear your state requires.

iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android. Australian support (000 routing) is in beta version 1.5 and later.

Quick answers

Do you need a boat licence in Tasmania?

How old do you have to be to get a boat licence in Tasmania?

Do you need a jet ski licence in Tasmania?

PWC riders need a motor boat licence plus a PWC endorsement, obtained via a PWC practical training course and written test with an accredited provider.

Do you have to register a boat in Tasmania?

Sources

Marine safety agency: Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST)

CHECKED OCT 2026

Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm with MAST before you go.

This page summarises the rules for planning; it isn’t legal advice. Where this page and the official text differ, the official text wins. Spotted an error? Email support@vesselsos.com.

Neighbouring states and territories

Victoria