“I have purchased a vessel that is in current SA Commercial Survey, how do I inform the department?”
“How do I book a Surveyor to inspect my vessel?”
“I recently moved house / office location, what do I need to do?”
“How can I make payment for my survey”?
“Can I legally operate my vessel for commercial purpose once the survey has been completed?”
"How can I report an accident or incident" -follow this link 
Accident Report Form
"What are the rules for grey and black water in South Australia?"- follow this link:
http://www.epa.sa.gov.au/codes.html
"How do I appeal a decision made by a DPTI Staff member?"
"What requirements are in place for the servicing of lifejackets?"
“I have purchased a vessel that is in current SA Commercial Survey, how do I inform the Department?”
It is a legal requirement that you inform Commercial Vessel Survey of any change of ownership for all commercially operating vessels. This can be done by completing a Change of Ownership (96KB) form and returning it along with a copy of the bill of sale / receipt for sale to the Commercial Vessel Survey office. Once this has been received, the administrative team will process the information and will update the database.
There is no fee applicable for this.
“I am unable to have a periodic survey on my vessel by the Certificate of Survey / Registration / Inspection expiry date. Can I continue to operate legally?”
It is illegal to operate a commercial vessel in South Australia without a valid Certificate of Survey / Registration / Inspection. If you are unable to arrange the inspection to occur before the expiry date, you need to contact the Commercial Vessel Survey office. An extension can be granted for a maximum of 3 months upon receipt of a completed Application for Extension to Certificate of Survey / Inspection / Registration (98KB). If you wish to apply for an extension, please complete this form and return it to Commercial Vessel Survey along with payment and any relevant service certificates (eg: life raft, HF radio and compass deviation card). Once received, a revised certificate will be processed and forwarded to you for display on the vessel. The completed form and payment MUST be received prior to your certificate expiry date, applications received after this date will NOT be processed.
Please contact the office to discuss applicable fee’s.
“How do I book a Surveyor to inspect my vessel?”
Contact the Survey Coordinator at the Commercial Vessel Survey office on 08 8348 9574. Please note that a minimum of five working days notice is required for all bookings. The Survey Coordinator will endeavour to arrange the inspection on your desired date however Surveyor availability changes with seasonal workloads and staffing resource levels.
“I recently moved house / office location, what do I need to do?”
Please complete a Change of Address (93KB) form and return this to the Commercial Vessel Survey office to update the database.
“How can I make payment for my survey”?
A renewal invitation is automatically generated by our database and is sent out two months prior to your certificate expiry date. Once you receive this renewal invitation, please complete it and return to the Commercial Vessel Survey office so that an inspection can be arranged.
Payment can be made in the following ways:
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Post – a cheque (made out to DTEI) accompanying the completed renewal invitation, or credit card details can be recorded on this form.
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Phone – credit card details can be given to a Commercial Vessel Survey team member over the phone, these details will be destroyed once payment has been processed.
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In person – EFTPOS, cash, cheque and credit card payments can be accepted at the counter.
“Can I legally operate my vessel for commercial purpose once the survey has been completed?”
During an inspection on your vessel by a DPTI Marine Surveyor, items requiring attention may be issued on an Order for Repairs or Renewals form. If you are given this form, please complete all listed items, sign, date and return the form to Commercial Vessel Survey prior to being issued a Certificate of Survey / Registration / Inspection. Once received, this form will be processed and you will be issued with a certificate for the vessel in question. The Harbors and Navigation Act 2009 states "If a vessel to which this division applies is operated in the jurisdiction without a current certificate of survey, the owner and the master of the vessel are each guilty of an offence".
“I want to purchase a vessel from interstate for commercial use in South Australia, what do I need to do?”
If the vessel does not have a current certificate of survey from the interstate authority, please follow the process for putting a new vessel into survey in South Australia.
If the vessel does have a current certificate of survey from the interstate authority, please follow the process below:
- complete Application for Initial Survey of a Commercial Vessel (106KB) form
- submit completed application form to Commercial Vessel Survey along with a copy of the following documents:
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- current certificate of survey from interstate authority (please note that certificates of ‘registration’ are NOT acceptable)
- stamp approved vessel plans
- stamp approved stability book
- once received, the application will be processed and you will be sent an invitation to renew the certificate when it is due to expire
- an out of water inspection will be required at which time a DPTI Marine Surveyor will complete a general arrangement checklist (please note that an out of water inspection is required regardless of whether the interstate certificate indicates this or not).
“How do I appeal a decision made by a Marine Survey team member?”
There is an appeal mechanism detailed in our Appeal Procedure fact sheet.
“What requirements are in place for the servicing of lifejackets?”
Servicing Interval - Inflatable lifejackets shall be serviced at intervals of 12 months or such longer intervals as recommended by the manufacturer, and approved at the time the product is assessed and verified.
Self-servicing - Manufacturers of some lifejackets provide instructions for self-servicing (by the user) which can either supplement or be in lieu of servicing by a professional service station. Servicing of lifejackets used on a commercial vessel is addressed in National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) C7A (Clause 6.6 b), which states that servicing shall be carried out only at a servicing station approved and accredited to do by the manufacturer of the inflatable lifejacket. Therefore the self-servicing option is not permitted.
