So You Want to Get Paid to Drive a Boat: A Straight-Talking Guide to MAR20324 Coxswain Grade 1

If you've done your RMDL with us and spent enough weekends on the water, you've probably had the thought: could I actually get paid to do this?

For a lot of people in South East Queensland, the answer is yes — and the qualification that gets you there is MAR20324 Certificate II in Maritime Operations (Coxswain Grade 1 Near Coastal). It's the entry point into commercial maritime work, and it's a lot more achievable than most people assume. Here's what it actually involves, who it suits, and how the pathway works.

What Coxswain Grade 1 actually lets you do

Once you hold the AMSA Coxswain Grade 1 Near Coastal Certificate of Competency, you're qualified to command a commercial vessel up to 12 metres long, with an outboard of any power or an inboard engine under 500kW. You can operate inshore, generally out to around 15 nautical miles from the coast, or as a tender or auxiliary vessel within 3 nautical miles of a parent ship anywhere in Australian waters.

In practical terms, that opens the door to work as skipper on charter boats, tourism vessels, fishing operations, workboats, water taxis, and tenders — anywhere a business needs someone legally in command of a small commercial vessel. It's also a stepping stone if you're eyeing off bigger tickets down the track.

Who this actually suits

This isn't just for people chasing a full career change. We see three types of people come through this pathway:

• Recreational boaties who've built up serious time on the water and want to turn that experience into paid work — charter, tourism, or fishing.
• Deckhands and crew who are already working on commercial vessels and want to step up into a command role instead of staying on deck.
• Small business owners — tour operators, fishing charters, marine services — who need the ticket themselves, or need it for staff, to keep operating legally.

There's no formal entry requirement to start the course, which is part of what makes it accessible. You don't need prior maritime qualifications to enrol — you just need to be prepared to put in the work, because being in command of a vessel and its passengers is a genuine responsibility, not a box-ticking exercise.

What the pathway actually involves

People sometimes picture this as one big exam. It's not — it's a training qualification plus a handful of supporting requirements you'll need before AMSA will issue your Certificate of Competency:

• The course itself — 13 units of competency covering vessel handling, navigation and passage planning, weather and risk assessment, safety and survival, marine radio, basic engineering, and regulatory compliance.
• The AMSA Mandated Practical Assessment (AMPA) — a practical, on-water assessment confirming you can safely carry out the skills the ticket covers.
• Sea service — AMSA wants evidence of time worked in a deck or deck-and-engineering capacity: either 30 days on commercial vessels with a completed AMSA task book, or 150 days on commercial or recreational vessels without one.
• A Short Range Operator Certificate of Proficiency (SROCP) — your marine radio ticket.
• Current first aid (HLTAID011) and a medical fitness assessment.

Once all of that's in hand, the application goes to AMSA through myAMSA, along with your course completion certificate, AMPA cover page, and supporting documents.

It sounds like a lot listed out like that, but most people are surprised how much of it they've already got sorted — especially if boating is already part of their working week.

How we run it at Boat Coach

We deliver MAR20324 in partnership with Adapt Education, using a distance learning model built for people who are already working. You complete the theory online, at your own pace, with up to 12 months to get through it and support from our trainers along the way. Once the online components are done, you come in for a practical training and assessment block — run out of 1 Williams Street, Cleveland — where the onwater skills and final assessments happen.

We built it this way deliberately. Most people looking at a commercial ticket aren't in a position to disappear for weeks of full-time study, and a flexible, blended model means you can work toward it around your job, not instead of it.

Ready to find out if it's for you?

If you're already comfortable behind the wheel and you're wondering whether it's worth taking further, it's worth a conversation rather than a guess. Have a look at the full course details on our Coxswain Grade 1 page, or give Ben a call directly on 0477 145 560 to talk through where you're at and whether this is the right next step.