Entry & progression
A Coxswain wanting to climb the yacht ladder starts at the bottom. There is no certificate credit from the domestic system into MO74. None. And on sea service, AMSA does not say — so neither will we.
Certificate credit: zero
The four MO74 yacht certificate pages contain no mention of "domestic", "near coastal", "Coxswain" or "Master less than 24 m". AMSA's yacht equivalence page — "Yachting qualifications essentials" — contains zero occurrences of those terms. Its only equivalence table runs MO71 to MO74: merchant to yacht. Not domestic to yacht.
Look at the Order itself and the picture is the same. MO74 Schedule 2 offers an "equivalent certificate" hook for only two grades: Master less than 500 GT (Yachts) and Master less than 3000 GT (Yachts). In each case the referent is another international yacht certificate of competency.
WARNING — The entry rung has no equivalence hook at all Watchkeeper Deck less than 3000 GT (Yachts) — the bottom of the MO74 ladder — has no "or an equivalent certificate" limb whatsoever. There is no certificate, Australian or foreign, domestic or international, that you can hold in order to buy into the entry rung of the yacht ladder.
A Coxswain gets zero credit. A Master less than 24 m NC gets zero credit. The yacht ladder is a separate track and it is climbed from scratch.
Sea service: AMSA does not say
Here the honest answer is harder, and it matters more. MO74 Schedule 2 sets its sea service on "vessels" — not "yachts". The only restriction on the type of service is Schedule 3 clause 3.1, which restricts the role (master, deck officer, trainee deck officer, deck cadet or rating), not the vessel and not the trade. And MO70 sections 19 and 20 give AMSA express discretion to recognise service on other kinds of vessels.
So the text does not exclude domestic commercial vessel deck time. But there is no AMSA statement — on any page, in any instrument — confirming that DCV time counts toward MO74. AMSA's own page on calculating sea service for an international certificate never mentions domestic commercial vessels, near-coastal service, or yachts.
CAUTION — Teach the tension. Do not resolve it. Anyone who tells you DCV time doesn't count cannot point you to a provision that says so. Anyone who tells you it counts cannot point you to an AMSA statement that says so either.
The honest position: the credit is discretionary and evidentiary, not textual. It depends on MO70 s19-20 discretion and on the quality of your evidence. Ask AMSA in writing, about your specific service, before you plan a career around the answer.
A second thing AMSA does not say
While we are being honest about the gaps: MO74 is silent on whether the 12 months of watchkeeping used to earn Master less than 500 GT (Yachts) may be counted again toward the 24 months required for Master less than 3000 GT (Yachts). AMSA is silent too. It is an open question with a real effect on how long the top of the ladder takes. Do not assume either way.
Two silences in one Order. Plan for the pessimistic reading, and ask AMSA for the optimistic one in writing.