Australia’s Maritime Safety Authority

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) deals with about 10,000 incidents a year. Of these, about 500 involve specific searches and, on average, 300 lives are saved annually.

AMSA came into being as a statutory authority in 1991 under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority Act 1990. It is funded through levies on the shipping industry and an appropriation from government, mainly for search and rescue (SAR) services. The latter has increased from $16. 3 million in 2003-04 to $39. 2 million in 2006-07. AMSA’s overall operating expenditure for 2006-07 was $A103. 4 million.