Entry & progression
A foreign yacht certificate of competency does not convert. You do the full diploma course. But there is one corner of the domestic system where an RYA or IYT certificate buys direct entry — and almost nobody knows it is there.
Foreign yacht CoC to Australian yacht CoC: the full course
AMSA, verbatim: "Holders of a certificate of competency—yachts issued by a national administration we recognise, who wish to obtain an AMSA certificate of competency, will need to complete the full diploma course. Any prior learning granted by an AMSA approved training provider will be recognised."
So: the full diploma course, with recognition of prior learning applied by the training provider — not by AMSA, and not automatically. RPL is a conversation with an RTO, and how much of it you get depends on what you can evidence. Do not budget as though it will be waived.
Add to that the two hard geographic rules from Module 2: your CoST must be done in Australia — an overseas basic training certificate cannot be converted — and the initial medical for a certificate of competency must be done in Australia. Coming home is not a paperwork exercise. It is a trip home.
The Certificate of Recognition, and its narrow box
CAUTION — A yacht Certificate of Recognition does not travel into general shipping AMSA: a Certificate of Recognition for a yacht certificate "will only be valid for service on Australian registered vessels that meet the definition of yacht contained in Marine Order 74."
That is: less than 3000 GT, for commercial use for sport or pleasure, no cargo, no more than 12 passengers. Step outside that definition — a small commercial ship, a workboat, a passenger ferry — and the recognition is worth nothing. The yacht tickets do not travel back into general shipping.
How MCA and USCG holders should think about the ladder
Two honest observations. First, if you hold a merchant (non-yacht) certificate that AMSA recognises, the MO71 route from Lesson 3.3 may be open to you and the "equivalent certificate" hooks in MO74 Schedule 2 exist at Master less than 500 GT (Yachts) and Master less than 3000 GT (Yachts) — but not at the entry rung. Second, if you hold a yacht certificate, the diploma sentence above is the governing one.
The exception nobody uses
There is one place where a foreign qualification buys direct entry to an Australian commercial ticket, and it is on the domestic side.
- Sailing Master Coastal NC — sailing vessel under 24 m, under 100 kW, inshore waters. Entry is by holding a commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Coastal or an IYT Master of Yachts Coastal, plus a small engine qualification, plus SROCP and HLTAID011. No sea service. No task book. No AMPA. No oral exam.
- Sailing Master Offshore NC — sailing vessel under 24 m to the EEZ, under 100 kW, no more than 12 passengers outside inshore waters. Entry by commercially endorsed RYA Yachtmaster Offshore, a Yachtmaster Ocean, or an IYT Master of Yachts Limited. Again no sea service and no exam.
Sailing Master Coastal is the fastest commercial ticket on the domestic list. If you are a sailing yacht skipper coming home, that is the door — and it is the only one that opens on the strength of foreign paper alone.
Everything else, you climb.