Queensland boating rules: the ones every new skipper needs to know

The skipper carries the general safety obligation

In Queensland the skipper and the owner are legally responsible for safety on board. According to the Queensland Government's boat licence page, boat drivers and owners must make sure the boat is safe, operated safely and appropriately crewed, and they must carry the correct safety equipment and know how to use it. That's the general safety obligation.

The BoatSafe Workbook, the Department of Transport and Main Roads guide for licence candidates, warns that failing this obligation can lead to prosecution and steep penalties. It also makes the skipper responsible for first-timers. If your passengers have never been on a boat, it's on you to show them where the safety gear is kept and how to put on a lifejacket.

The Marine Safety Regulation adds a practical test. A boat only counts as equipped with its safety gear if the owner or master tells each person aboard where it's kept, by saying so, demonstrating it or putting up a sign. A full kit nobody can find doesn't meet the rule.

Speed: 6 knots within 30 metres of people, moored boats and jetties

The core speed rule for boats in Queensland is 6 knots within 30 metres of a person in the water, a vessel that's anchored, moored, tied to the shore or aground, or a jetty, wharf, boat ramp or pontoon. Section 81 of the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 sets it, with a maximum penalty of 200 penalty units. The BoatSafe Workbook notes that it applies throughout Queensland whether signs are present or not.

Jet skis work to wider distances under section 82: 6 knots within 60 metres of people in the water, moored vessels, jetties, bathing reserves and the shore, and 10 knots within 30 metres of another moving vessel, with some exceptions. The jet ski rules guide covers those in detail.

Two more rules sit on top. Section 83 bans any speed at which your wash could cause a marine incident or shoreline damage, even where a higher limit is posted. Local limits are fixed under the Act and shown on official speed signs, which you must obey.

Right of way: keep right and give way to boats on your right

Right of way on Queensland water comes from the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, which section 79 of the Marine Safety Regulation makes part of Queensland law. The BoatSafe Workbook sets out the common situations.

Head on: when two power boats meet head on, both alter course to starboard, which is to the right.

Crossing: the boat on your right is the stand-on vessel. As the give-way vessel you keep clear, change course or slow down so you pass behind it.

Overtaking: you can pass on either side, but you must keep well clear and never cut in front of the boat you've just passed.

Narrow channels: keep to the starboard (right-hand) side and pass oncoming boats on your port side.

Power boats also give way to sailing boats (except large ones with limited room to manoeuvre), boats engaged in commercial fishing and trawling, and large vessels constrained by their draught in a channel. Always keep a safe speed and a good lookout by sight and sound.

Channel markers: red on your left heading upstream

Red and green channel markers are lateral marks, and the side you keep them on depends on which way you're heading. According to the BoatSafe Workbook, heading upstream, away from the sea, keep red port-hand marks on your left and green starboard-hand marks on your right. Heading downstream towards the sea, swap them, with red on your right and green on your left. Where a port mark and a starboard mark sit close together, travel between them.

Lateral marks often aren't placed in pairs. When they aren't, the safe side to pass is generally set by your direction of travel to or from the sea.

At night a port buoy shows a red light and a starboard buoy a green one.

Cardinal marks are different. They show where the safest water lies using the compass, and you pass on the side the mark is named for: east of an east cardinal, south of a south cardinal, west of a west cardinal and north of a north cardinal.

Navigation lights are compulsory from sunset to sunrise

Any boat on the water between sunset and sunrise needs lights. Section 12 of the Marine Safety Regulation requires a lighting device for signalling, such as a torch or lantern, and states that this doesn't replace the navigation lights the collision regulations require. The BoatSafe Workbook adds that navigation lights must also be used in daylight when visibility is restricted.

For a power boat under 12 metres that's under way, the Workbook lists two setups. One is sidelights, separate or combined, with a masthead light and a stern light. The other is sidelights with an all-round white light.

At anchor, a boat under 50 metres shows an all-round white light, and anchor lights must be shown from sunset to sunrise.

Lights matter on day trips too. The Workbook's pre-departure checks tell you to make sure your lights are in working order, because a daylight outing can run late and you could be delayed getting back.

Alcohol: the 0.05 limit applies on the water

Drink-driving laws apply to boats in Queensland. According to the Queensland Government's boating safety page, the blood alcohol limit for recreational boats is 0.05. That limit applies unless the boat is securely moored in a marina, to a jetty or wharf, or on a swing mooring. Being at anchor isn't on that list.

Responsibility doesn't stop with whoever holds the wheel. The BoatSafe Workbook says the master is responsible for the safe handling of the boat even if another person is driving, which makes it the master's job to stay under 0.05 and to make sure the driver is under it too. Queensland Water Police can breath test on the water, at boat ramps and in marinas as part of routine boat checks.

Your road and water records are also linked. If you're convicted of a drink-driving offence on the road, your marine licence can be suspended or cancelled as well, so a mistake in the car can keep you off the water.

Towing a skier: licensed driver plus an observer aged 13 or over

Towing a skier, wakeboarder or tube rider in Queensland takes a licensed driver and an observer. Maritime Safety Queensland's Safe water skiing fact sheet says the driver must hold a valid marine or PWC licence, even with a licensed person beside them.

The observer must be 13 or older and able to watch the skier at all times. Under section 199 of the Marine Safety Regulation they must tell the driver straight away if there's danger or potential danger to the skier, the skier signals, or the skier has a mishap.

The skier must wear a lifejacket level 50, 50S or 100 the whole time, under the same section. Skiing is banned in all 6-knot zones, including harbours and marinas, and within 30 metres of people in the water, anchored boats, dive flags, jetties, pontoons or boat ramps. Ski in an anti-clockwise pattern unless local signs say otherwise. On the Noosa River, the regulation limits waterskiing in two set areas of the river at Tewantin to between 8am and 5pm.

Safety gear depends on where you boat

Queensland's compulsory safety equipment is set by where you operate, under sections 9 to 16 of the Marine Safety Regulation. Smooth waters cover rivers, creeks, streams and lakes, plus other waters the regulation lists. There, a registered boat other than a jet ski must carry a lifejacket for every person aged one or more, and firefighting equipment if the boat is over 5 metres long.

In or beyond partially smooth waters, add a V sheet, two handheld red flares and two handheld orange smoke signals.

An EPIRB becomes compulsory once you're beyond partially smooth waters and more than 2 nautical miles from land. It must be a 406 MHz beacon registered with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), and if your registration details change you have 14 days to tell AMSA.

Which life jacket type you need, and who has to wear one while under way, is covered in the life jacket rules guide. Jet skis carry their own equipment list, set out in the jet ski rules guide.

Before you leave: a third of your fuel in reserve

The BoatSafe Workbook says to carry enough fuel for the time you plan to be out plus one third in reserve, and to work out usage for the worst conditions you'll meet, because the engine burns more in rough water.

Check the weather forecast before you leave and while you're out, as the Queensland Government's boating safety page advises. The same page describes Queensland's weather systems as changeable and unpredictable, which is why one look the night before isn't enough.

Then tell someone your plans. The Workbook says to let someone know in plenty of detail, keep them updated if plans change and report back when you're ashore. It also suggests your local marine volunteer group, who keep a radio watch and start search and rescue if you fail to sign off at your stated time.

Where these rules are taught: the BoatSafe course

These rules are covered in BoatSafe training. The Department of Transport and Main Roads publishes the BoatSafe Workbook as the official guide to the recreational marine driver and PWC licences. According to the Queensland Government, you need a marine licence to operate a boat with an engine power greater than 4.5kW, and only a licensed driver can operate a boat that's towing a person.

Sunshine Coast Boat Licences runs one-day BoatSafe courses, delivered by Australian Boating College (RTO 3399), at three venues: Caloundra on the Pumicestone Passage, Maroochydore on the Maroochy River and Noosa on the Noosa River at Noosaville. Online theory is included and all equipment is provided, so you can spend a hands-on day on sheltered Sunshine Coast water. The boat licence course is from $349 and the boat and jet ski combo is from $549.

Course dates for all three venues are on the course dates page, and the how to get a boat licence guide covers the licence application after the course.