Entry & progression
Sea service is only half of it. The EC3 also demands a Diploma, a final assessment that AMSA runs as an oral examination, a first aid certificate and a medical. This lesson is the paperwork, in order.
The Diploma
The course is the Diploma – Marine Engineer Class 3 NC, delivered by an AMSA-approved registered training organisation. It is the top of the domestic VET engineering ladder: Certificate II for MED 3, Certificate III for MED 2, Certificate IV for MED 1, Diploma for Engineer Class 3. That progression is not decorative — it tracks the real jump in responsibility from running a small plant to being chief on 3000 kW.
The oral
NOTE — The EC3 is one of only four domestic tickets with an AMSA oral The AMSA oral examination applies to exactly four domestic certificates: Master under 100 m, Master under 45 m, Marine Engine Driver Grade 1, and Engineer Class 3. Everything below those uses an AMSA Mandated Practical Assessment — a practical run at the training provider, not an examiner across a desk.
The oral is a conversation with an AMSA examiner about your plant, your systems and your judgement. It is not a memory test. Prepare by being able to describe, from the deckplates up, exactly how the machinery you have worked on starts, runs, fails and gets fixed.
If you came up the domestic ladder you have sat one oral already, for the MED 1. The EC3 oral is the same format at a higher level: more plant, more systems, more expectation that you will make the decision yourself rather than escalate it.
First aid
HLTAID011 Provide First Aid. A standalone civilian first aid certificate, not an STCW unit. The domestic system does not use STCW basic safety training — there are no STCW units in a domestic qualification, and there is no Certificate of Safety Training in the domestic regulatory requirement at all.
CAUTION — A CoST is an employer requirement, not a domestic regulatory one AMSA's position is that some operators of domestic commercial vessels require crew to hold a Certificate of Safety Training, and that you should check with your employer or vessel operator whether it applies to your role. It is not required by the domestic regulations. If you also intend to move into the international system, you will need a CoST there — and it must be obtained in Australia, from an AMSA-approved provider. Overseas basic safety training cannot be converted into one.
The medical
AMSA form 1850 — certificate of medical fitness for near coastal seafarers. Any GP can do it; you do not need a specialist, and there is no approved-doctor list. The practitioner may be in Australia or overseas. A current form 303 international medical may be used instead of a 1850 — but not the reverse. AMSA does not publish a validity period for the 1850, so do not assume one; ask.
Validity and renewal
| Item | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Certificate validity | 5 years — as with every domestic certificate |
| Renewal sea service | 120 days of QSS in the past 5 years |
| First aid | Current HLTAID011 |
| Medical | Current form 1850 (or a current form 303) |
One hundred and twenty days in five years is 24 days a year. It is a low bar, and it is the reason engineers who go ashore into a workshop or a survey role lose the ticket without ever intending to. If you are leaving the water for a while, count the days.