Your SMS, built by someone who used to inspect them

Yes. If you operate a domestic commercial vessel in Australia, Marine Order 504 requires a safety management system that is recorded, readily accessible and kept up to date. SMS Marine gives you that system in one place.

SMS Marine is cloud software that manages your whole Marine Order 504 safety management system — vessels, crew and certificates, risk assessments, training and drills, toolbox talks, maintenance, logbooks, incidents, corrective actions, audits and audit-ready compliance reports.

SMS Marine is priced as a one-off build plus an annual fee. For a single vessel it's from $950 to build and $395 a year. For operators running two or more vessels it's from $1,695 to build and $595 a year. All prices include GST. Full detail is on our pricing page.

Yes. Your information is stored in a secure cloud database and kept private to your organisation — it is never shared with other operators. Files are stored securely and access is controlled by user role.

Yes. SMS Marine runs in your web browser on any device — desktop in the office or phone on the vessel — so your records are always with you.

Both. You can run one vessel or a whole fleet from the one account, with each vessel keeping its own crew, certificates, drills and records.

Yes. Mid Coast Marine Services also delivers Coxswain Grade 3 Near Coastal training. See the Coxswain section or contact us to enquire.

Marine Order 504 is the Australian rule that sets out what a domestic commercial vessel needs in order to operate legally and safely. It's made by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) under the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law. In practice it covers two things: the certificate of operation your vessel needs, and the safety management system (SMS) you must have in place to get and keep it. Read more: What is Marine Order 504?

It applies to domestic commercial vessels — broadly, any vessel used for a commercial, governmental or research purpose in Australian waters, such as charter boats, ferries, fishing vessels, tour operators, workboats and hire-and-drive craft. The requirements are scaled to the vessel: smaller, lower-complexity vessels have fewer, and Class 4 hire-and-drive vessels have their own additional rules. Read more: What is Marine Order 504?

The current version, Marine Order 504 (2024), replaced the 2018 version and took effect on 1 June 2025. It reshaped what your SMS must contain and made several topics explicit, mandatory requirements — including fatigue management, drug and alcohol policies, documented operational procedures, and owner and master responsibility statements. If your SMS was built under the old rules, it's worth reviewing against the new ones. Read more: What is Marine Order 504?

For Class 1, 2 and 3 vessels, Schedule 1 of Marine Order 504 covers vessel and owner details, a risk assessment (including fatigue), owner/designated person/master responsibility statements, appropriate crewing, training, drills and induction, first aid and radio, documented procedures and a drug and alcohol policy, an emergency plan, recording of hazardous occurrences and non-conformances, maintenance, logbooks and records (kept at least 5 years), and a system to review it all at least every 12 months. Read more: What is Marine Order 504? Marine Order 504 operational procedures: practical guide.

Yes. Since 1 June 2025, owners of Class 1, 2 and 3 vessels must include a fatigue risk management plan in their SMS. The plan must identify the risks of master and crew fatigue and set out how you will manage them, appropriate to the size and complexity of your vessel and operation. Your state or territory work health and safety obligations continue to apply as well. Read more: Fatigue risk management under Marine Order 504

AMSA's guidance is to aim for 7–9 hours' sleep per 24 hours, with at least 7 hours uninterrupted. The highest-risk window is 2 am to 6 am, with a secondary dip in the mid-afternoon, so plan demanding work for daylight hours where you can. AMSA also flags warning signs such as regularly working more than 12 hours, more than 60 hours a week, or having less than 10 hours' continuous rest between work periods. Read more: Fatigue risk management under Marine Order 504

Everyone has a role. Owners provide a safe working environment and adequate rest, identify the risks, document how fatigue is managed, and develop the plan with the crew. Masters contribute to the plan and apply and monitor the controls during operations. Crew follow the plan, take rest opportunities when given, and report fatigue concerns promptly. Read more: Fatigue risk management under Marine Order 504

Under MO 504 your crewing has to be the output of a risk assessment, not a guess. The owner determines the appropriate crewing for each kind of operation by weighing factors such as the job itself, the tasks beyond navigation, fatigue, the number of people aboard, the vessel's design, crew qualifications, technology fitted, the area and conditions, voyage duration, emergency preparedness, maintenance and external support — and records the reasoning in the SMS. Read more: Crewing (manning) risk assessment under Marine Order 504

Marine Order 504 sets a minimum crewing table based on vessel length, and your crewing can never go below it. But you cannot simply default to those minimum numbers unless provision is made for the master and every crew member to have at least 10 hours of rest in each 24-hour period. If your operation and hours don't allow that, the minimum crew number isn't enough and you need to put on more people. Read more: Crewing (manning) risk assessment under Marine Order 504

"Rest" means a period when a person is genuinely free of all duties and functions, except in a real emergency. Being on standby, keeping half an eye on things, or being on call does not count as rest. Read more: Crewing (manning) risk assessment under Marine Order 504