Boat safety equipment in Queensland: what to carry in smooth, partially smooth and open waters

Your water type sets the gear: smooth, partially smooth or beyond

Queensland splits its waters into three types, all defined in the dictionary at schedule 9 of the regulation. Smooth waters take in four kinds of water:

- anywhere sheltered behind a breakwater or revetment - the specific areas named in schedule 8 - any river, creek, stream or lake - the strip within half a nautical mile of land, inside the areas schedule 7 lists.

Partially smooth waters are the schedule 7 areas themselves, minus that half-mile strip near land. Big sheltered bays such as Moreton Bay sit here.

Everything seaward of those is "beyond partially smooth waters". That's open water, and it carries the longest gear list.

The catch is that your whole trip counts. The BoatSafe Workbook, the Department of Transport and Main Roads guide for licence candidates, tells you to consider your entire trip, including areas you're only passing through, when you equip your boat. So if a river run ends with an hour on open water, pack for open water. The workbook also reprints the official water limit maps, with a red line showing where an EPIRB becomes compulsory.

Sunshine Coast rivers and the Pumicestone Passage count as smooth waters

Most Sunshine Coast boating starts in smooth waters. The Noosa River, the Maroochy River and the Mooloolah River are rivers, so the first part of the smooth waters definition covers them, along with the lakes and creeks off them.

The Pumicestone Passage is covered a different way. Schedule 8 lists, as smooth waters, the area running from the mainland at latitude 27° 05.899' south to South Point on Bribie Island, then along Bribie Island's western shore to its northern tip and back to the mainland. That's the water between the island and the mainland, which takes in the passage.

The open coast is the one to watch. Schedule 7 has no entry between Bribie Island and Burrum Point near Hervey Bay, so once you're out on the ocean off Caloundra, Mooloolaba, Coolum or Noosa, away from rivers and breakwaters, the regulation puts you beyond partially smooth waters. That means flares and a V sheet straight away, and an EPIRB past 2 nautical miles. Check the official water limit maps before your first trip offshore.

In smooth waters: lifejackets, a night light and an extinguisher over 5 metres

In smooth waters, a registrable boat must carry three things, and one of them depends on length.

1. A lifejacket of the right size for each person aged 1 or more. Section 22 accepts a level 50, level 50S, level 100 or a compliant inflatable diver's jacket here. 2. Between sunset and sunrise, a lighting device for signalling, such as a torch, lantern, fluorescent light or cyalume stick (section 12). That's on top of your navigation lights, not a replacement for them. 3. If the boat is more than 5 metres, firefighting equipment that can put out a fire on board quickly and effectively (section 13).

That's the legal minimum, and it's short. The BoatSafe Workbook's safety equipment table adds recommended gear for every water type: an anchor with enough line (at least 18 metres of cable for a boat under 5 metres in smooth water), something to bail with, oars or paddles on boats under 6 metres, and drinking water for everyone on board.

For which jacket suits which person, and when it has to be worn, see our Queensland life jacket rules guide.

Partially smooth waters and beyond add a V sheet, 2 red flares and 2 orange smokes

Leave smooth waters and section 14 lengthens the list. In or beyond partially smooth waters, a registrable boat needs:

- a required lifejacket for each person aged 1 or more - a V sheet - 2 compliant handheld red flares - 2 compliant handheld orange smoke signals - firefighting equipment, if the boat is over 5 metres.

A V sheet is a distress signal you spread over the deck or fly as a flag, so searching aircraft and boats can spot you. The regulation spells it out: water-resistant, fluorescent orange or red, with a black letter V, and at least 1.8 metres by 1.2 metres.

Your lifejackets change too. Section 22 drops level 50S once you leave smooth waters. In partially smooth waters you need a level 50, level 100 or compliant inflatable diver's jacket. Beyond partially smooth waters, it's a level 100 or a compliant inflatable diver's jacket.

The workbook also recommends a chart and compass, or other position-finding gear, once you're out of smooth waters, plus a longer anchor line of at least 27 metres for a boat under 5 metres.

More than 2 nautical miles out on open water: a registered 406 MHz EPIRB

An EPIRB becomes compulsory when you're beyond partially smooth waters and more than 2 nautical miles from land. Section 9 switches the rule off in smooth waters, partially smooth waters and any other waters within 2 nautical miles of land. Off the Sunshine Coast, that 2 mile line is the point to plan around.

Section 10 sets what counts. The beacon must operate on 406 MHz, comply with AS/NZS 4280.1:2003, and be registered with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) for your boat. If your details change, you must tell AMSA within 14 days.

AMSA says that starting 4 November 2024, beacon registrations no longer expire. Older guides, including the BoatSafe Workbook, still mention renewing every two years, so don't let that trip you up. What still matters is keeping your contact details current.

The BoatSafe Workbook also calls a marine radio highly recommended, because being able to talk to someone on shore helps with almost any problem. For more on beacons, see the related EPIRB guide below.

Jet skis follow their own list

A jet ski isn't covered by the smooth and partially smooth water lists above. Section 15 gives personal watercraft their own rules, and the biggest difference is wearing. A lifejacket for each rider aged 1 or more only counts if it's being worn, so a spare stowed in the hull doesn't help anyone.

Once you reach partially smooth waters, or ride further out, section 15 also asks for the V sheet, the two red flares and the two orange smokes. You can leave that kit ashore in two cases: while you're taking part in a sanctioned aquatic event run under an aquatic event authority, or when you're past partially smooth waters but still inside 0.5 nautical miles of the shore. The lifejacket levels differ too. Section 22 sets level 50 or 50S for a jet ski in smooth waters, and level 50 everywhere else.

Our Queensland jet ski rules guide covers jet ski gear, EPIRBs and night riding in detail, along with speed limits and the Noosa River zone. If you're getting both licences, the Boat & Jet Ski Combo covers each set of rules.

Gear only counts if it's in date, working and serviced

Section 25 is the rule that catches people out. An EPIRB, fire extinguisher, red handheld flare or orange smoke signal only counts as carried if it shows a legible expiry date, that date hasn't passed, it's in good working order, and it's been serviced by the manufacturer or their authorised service agent as the manufacturer requires. Miss any one of those and, legally, the boat isn't equipped with it.

Inflatable lifejackets at level 50, 50S or 100 have a similar test. They need a legible expiry date that hasn't passed, good working order, and services that meet the servicing requirements. Unless the manufacturer sets its own marking, the service month and year go on the bladder, opposite the firing mechanism, written MM-YY. A jacket serviced in January 2022 reads 01-22. If the manufacturer or its authorised agent did the service and the date isn't marked, you can instead show a shipping inspector a service record within 72 hours of an inspection.

Foam lifejackets don't sit in this section, but check them for wear like any other gear.

Flares, beacon batteries and inflatable jackets: what to check

Flares are the easiest to let slip. The Queensland Government says it's illegal to possess flares past their use-by date, and you must dispose of out-of-date ones as soon as possible in the collection bins Maritime Safety Queensland provides. Don't keep an expired set as backup. Flares must only be used in an emergency, and penalties apply for using them otherwise.

For an EPIRB, AMSA says the battery expiry date is printed on the beacon's label, and batteries last roughly 5 to 10 years. Battery replacement and servicing go to the manufacturer or a certified agent. AMSA warns that a beacon serviced by a non-certified centre is non-compliant for carriage requirements. Self-test it the way the manufacturer says, and not too often, as over testing can drain the battery. After any real activation, get the battery replaced.

For inflatable lifejackets, read the service date on the bladder and book the next service before it's due. Extinguishers need their expiry date and any servicing the manufacturer requires.

Stow it, show it, then check it before you leave

Carrying the gear isn't enough on its own. Section 16 says a boat is only treated as equipped if the owner or skipper tells everyone on board where the safety equipment is kept, by saying it, showing it or putting up a printed sign. Section 24 adds that lifejackets must be clearly visible, or readily accessible in a spot marked by a clearly visible sign with a white background and the word "lifejackets" in red.

A quick routine before each trip, drawn from the BoatSafe Workbook's pre-departure checks:

1. Match the gear to the furthest water you'll reach, not where you launch. 2. Check expiry dates on the EPIRB, flares and smoke signals. 3. Make sure everything is stowed, easy to reach and working. 4. Tell everyone what's on board, where it is and how it works.

This is part of your general safety obligation. The Queensland Government puts it simply: you must have the correct safety equipment and know how to use it. In an emergency, call Triple Zero (000), or 112 from a satellite phone.

Learn the gear on a real boat on the Sunshine Coast

Safety equipment is part of the BoatSafe syllabus, and it's easier to remember once you've handled it. Our Boat Licence course runs on the Pumicestone Passage at Caloundra, the Maroochy River at Maroochydore and the Noosa River, with experienced local instructors. You'll learn where gear lives on a boat and how the water limits shape what you carry.

Pick a date that suits on the course dates page. If you're still working out whether you need a licence at all, start with how to get a boat licence in Queensland. For the wider set of on-water rules, from speed limits near jetties to keeping right, read our Queensland boating rules guide.

Training delivered by Australian Boating College, RTO #3399.