You'll be assessed under the Noosa River's rules, then launch your own ski on the Maroochy side at Coolum. Knowing which rules come home with you is half the job.
Peregian Springs riders live between two rivers and get licensed on one of them. The course runs at our Noosa venue on Gympie Terrace, Noosaville, on the Noosa River. Your own launch is likely to be south, at the Coolum ramp on West Coolum Road, which MSQ places on the Maroochy River North Arm. Nothing inside Peregian Springs is recorded as a boating facility of any kind. That split matters on a jet ski, because the Noosa River carries ski rules of its own. Theory is done online first. Course day brings a recap, the assessment and a one-on-one practical on the ski, with the ski and gear supplied.
Ask a new ski owner in Peregian Springs where they'll ride and plenty say Noosa. It's the town on the course booking, after all. In practice the closest recorded launch is at Coolum, on a creek that drains to the Maroochy. So the water you're assessed on and the water you'll ride on a Saturday morning sit in different river systems, under different sets of rules. This page sorts out which rule belongs where, so nothing you pick up at Noosaville trips you up at Coolum.
Start with the Noosa River, since that's where you'll be assessed. It's a declared marine zone, the only one among the coast's four barred rivers. Inside the zone, freestyling, surfing and wave jumping are banned outright. Recreational skis can't go upstream of the Noosa Waters inlet, though they may travel downstream to the river mouth to get out to the ocean. Those limits belong to the Noosa River. They stay there when you drive home.
What comes home with you is the state regulation, the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016. Its personal watercraft rules apply on any water you ride, Noosa or Maroochy. The best known is the 60 metre rule in section 82, which holds a ski to 6 knots near the shore, ramps, jetties, pontoons, anchored or moored boats and people in the water, and to 10 knots within 30 metres of another moving ship.
Wave jumping is where the two rivers part ways. On the Noosa it's simply off limits. On the Maroochy side, section 86 is the rule to know. In coastal waters, and tidal waters count as coastal waters, a ski must not freestyle, surf or wave jump within 200 metres of the shore if one or more homes are within 100 metres of the shore and can be seen from where the ski is. A rider who keeps the Noosa habit of leaving wash alone won't go wrong. A rider who thinks the Noosa rules ended at the shire line, and starts jumping near houses, can still be breaking the law.
Speed on your home creek isn't one number either. Coolum Creek is one of the named map areas in MSQ's marine safety system for the Maroochy River. The river's 6-knot limit for its creeks carves out certain waters of Coolum Creek, so what applies depends on the stretch you're on. MSQ also maps the reach from Coolum Creek down to the David Low Bridge as an area of its own. Look up the map before a first ride, and keep an eye on the speed and hazard signs MSQ puts along the river.
The ramp itself has one thing in its favour. MSQ records West Coolum Road as not low tide restricted. That's a note about the ramp. It says nothing about depth further along the creek, so take your first few rides slowly and get to know the water.
Now the licence. A jet ski is a personal watercraft, and riding one needs both a recreational marine licence and a PWC licence. Hold a current boat licence already? Book the jet ski course by itself. Starting from nothing? The Boat and Jet Ski Combo gets you both. You have to be at least 16 to hold the licence, and it doesn't expire once it's issued. On the day you ride a Seadoo. Its braking, reversing and learner mode give novices a head start, and it's stable, which makes docking and the figure 8 easier. The practical is one-on-one. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we'd rather you took it.
The course itself is the same wherever you sit it: the theory online first, in your own time, then a day on the water with a trainer before the assessment. You need a licence for any boat with an engine over 4.5 kilowatts, which is nearly every tinny, runabout and cruiser. Pass, and the Queensland licence never expires. Pick the date that suits you and book online.
Peregian Springs only became a suburb in 2014, so people assume a ramp or water access point was planned in somewhere.
Neither the council's water access layer nor MSQ's statewide boating database lists any facility in Peregian Springs. Every ride starts with a tow.
We point you straight to the nearest recorded ramp, West Coolum Road on the Maroochy River North Arm, so your planning starts in the right place.
On course day you hear that freestyling and wave jumping are banned on the Noosa River. It's easy to file that away as a Noosa quirk.
Section 86 still applies on tidal water anywhere in Queensland. Within 200 metres of the shore, where homes within 100 metres of the shore are visible from the ski, freestyling, surfing and wave jumping are banned.
We separate the marine zone rules from the state rules as we teach them, so you know which ones follow you to Coolum.
Most people expect a creek to have a single limit from one end to the other.
MSQ's 6-knot rule for creeks feeding the Maroochy excepts certain waters of Coolum Creek, so the limit changes along it, and the detail is on MSQ's maps.
The course teaches you to read MSQ's speed and hazard signs, so you can work out the limit for whatever stretch you're on.
You've just trained on the Noosa River, so it feels like the natural place to keep practising.
Recreational skis are banned upstream of the Noosa Waters inlet. Below it, the zone lets them travel down to the river mouth to get to the ocean. Practice laps don't fit those terms.
We send you to MSQ's marine zone page so you can check the exact terms before you plan any ride on the Noosa.
The course runs on the Noosa River at Noosaville, and your own launch is likely to be down at Coolum.
On that first ride the ramp and the creek are both new to you, and there's no instructor alongside.
Handling skills carry from one river to the next. If you want another session before going out alone, book it. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we'd rather you took it.
Where you train
Noosa
203 Gympie Terrace, Noosaville QLD 4566
You can check us before you book. The Queensland Government's BoatSafe provider register lists Australian Boating College at Noosa under 0427 110 025, the number on this page. Australian Boating College is a business name of ABC Licence Training Pty Ltd, which holds RTO 3399. One of our Google reviews, from Julie Paris, says it plainly: 'Excellent day. Felt confident once finished.' In Queensland a marine licence can only come from an approved BoatSafe provider, so that listing is the one that counts. The training organisation behind the courses, Australian Boating College, is current on the national training register. Every approved provider works to the same floor: trainers hold a commercial marine qualification and pass a criminal history check, the training vessel is commercially certified and carries sun protection, and the organisation running it has to carry public liability cover of at least 20 million dollars. Maritime Safety Queensland audits providers and can suspend one that cuts corners.
BoatSafe Approved
Approved by Maritime Safety Queensland to deliver the BoatSafe recreational marine and PWC licence courses.
VerifyNationally Accredited Training
Courses are delivered under the registration of Australian Boating College, RTO #3399, so the training is nationally accredited.
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Part of the Australian Boating College network, which delivers boat and PWC licence training across Australia.
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Rated 5 stars on Google by students across the Sunshine Coast. Read the reviews on our Google profile.
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From Peregian Springs, near the Peregian Springs estate below Emu Mountain, it is up the Sunshine Motorway and David Low Way to the sheltered Noosa River at our Noosa base. Peregian Springs sits inland below Emu Mountain, and the course runs on the sheltered Noosa River at Noosaville. We run the jet ski licence there with all equipment provided, so Peregian Springs locals can get licensed close to home.
Tell us the date that suits you near Peregian Springs and our team will come back to you, usually within one business day. Prefer to talk it through? Give us a call.
Only the state ones. The Noosa River's marine zone rules, such as the ban on recreational skis upstream of the Noosa Waters inlet and the outright ban on wave jumping, belong to that river. The regulation's personal watercraft rules go everywhere with you. That includes 6 knots within 60 metres of the shore, a boat ramp or a person in the water, and 10 knots within 30 metres of another moving ship.
Not all of it, going by MSQ's schedule. The 6-knot rule for creeks that flow into the Maroochy excepts certain waters of Coolum Creek, so the limit depends on where you are. Coolum Creek has its own map area in MSQ's safety system for the river. Check that map for the stretch you plan to ride, and watch for speed signs along the bank.
Only where section 86 of the regulation allows it. In coastal waters, which include tidal waters, a ski can't freestyle, surf or wave jump within 200 metres of the shore if one or more homes sit within 100 metres of the shore and are visible from your ski. Houses in view and the shore within 200 metres? Leave the wash alone. On the Noosa River it's banned outright.
Not that any public register shows. The council's water access layer and MSQ's statewide boating facilities database both come up empty for Peregian Springs. The nearest recorded ramp is at West Coolum Road, on the Maroochy River North Arm, and MSQ records it as not low tide restricted. That's a note about the ramp only, so take your first rides from it slowly.
Yes. The tasks you're assessed on, docking and the figure 8 among them, are the same whatever river you ride afterwards. So is the state regulation behind the ski speed and distance rules. What changes at Coolum is the local detail, like the creek's own speed areas on MSQ's maps, and the fact that the Noosa marine zone rules don't reach it.
Not for the licence itself. The jet ski speed and distance rules come from the state regulation, whichever council area you're riding in. Peregian Springs sits wholly inside Sunshine Coast Regional Council, and the course venue is at Noosaville. The thing that does change from river to river is the Noosa marine zone, which belongs to the Noosa River.
Yes. A jet ski is a personal watercraft, so you need a PWC licence to ride one legally in Queensland. You must already hold a current recreational boat licence to sit the jet ski course on its own. If you do not have one yet, our Boat and Jet Ski Combo covers both in a single day.
Pick whichever is most convenient, since the course and the qualification are identical at all three. Caloundra trains on the sheltered Pumicestone Passage, Maroochydore on the sheltered Maroochy River, and Noosa on the Noosa River. You can view dates for every location on our Course Dates page and book the one that suits you.
One day on the water. You complete the online theory beforehand, then spend a hands-on day on sheltered Sunshine Coast water at Caloundra, Maroochydore or Noosa. You sit the assessment the same day, and once you pass you leave with the BoatSafe certificate you need to apply for a Queensland licence. If you need more time on the water to feel competent, we would rather you took it.
What a personal watercraft licence covers in Queensland, how it differs from a boat licence, the age rules, and how to get your jet ski licence in a day on the Sunshine Coast.
A simple checklist for your boat or jet ski licence course day on the Sunshine Coast: ID, what to wear, sun protection, and what we provide so you can just turn up and learn.
Pick a Noosaville date and tell us whether you already hold a boat licence, so we book you into the right course. Then plan your first Coolum ride with the rules above in mind. Book online or call 0427 110 025.
