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Responsibilities for traditional
coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community agencies. The
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
coast guard of Australia is the
Maritime Border Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actor ...
, a joint command of the
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
and the
Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...
which works alongside the
Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
, the
Australian Fisheries Management Authority The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is the Australian Government agency responsible for the management and sustainable use of fisheries resources including combating illegal fishing activities in the Australian Fishing Zone that c ...
, and the
Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...
. Each state and territory government have specific maritime safety agencies and police marine units. In addition, there are several private
volunteer Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...
coast guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
organisations which act as auxiliary
search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...
services and maritime safety educators with the largest organisations being the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol established in 1937, the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard established in 1961, and Marine Rescue New South Wales established in 2009.


Federal agencies


Maritime Border Command

The
Maritime Border Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actor ...
is the
de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...
coast guard of Australia. The Maritime Border Command is a joint unit of the
Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Forc ...
(the
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...
Patrol Force The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...
and the
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
Surveillance and Response Group) and the
Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...
(
Marine Unit Police watercraft are boats or other vessels that are used by police agencies to patrol bodies of water. They are usually employed on major rivers, in enclosed harbors near cities or in places where a stronger presence than that offered by th ...
and
Coastwatch The Australian Coastal Surveillance Organisation, also known as Coastwatch, was an operational division of the Australian Customs Service and the de facto Australian coast guard service. The former Coastwatch Division is now part of the Austr ...
aircraft). It is responsible for border protection in the exclusive economic zone of Australia and its 19,650 kilometres of coastline and issues such as
illegal fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes pl ...
and exploitation of natural resources, maritime terrorism and piracy, biosecurity threats, and
marine pollution Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial waste, industrial, agricultural pollution, agricultural and municipal solid waste, residential waste, particle (ecology), particles, noise, excess carbon dioxid ...
. The
Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
supports the
Maritime Border Command The Maritime Border Command (MBC) is Australia's principal civil maritime security agency, a de facto coast guard, operating in the maritime domain to ensure compliance with Australia's maritime legislation by foreign and domestic non-state actor ...
and particularly the
Australian Border Force The Australian Border Force (ABF) is a federal law enforcement agency, part of the Department of Home Affairs, responsible for offshore and onshore border control enforcement, investigations, compliance and detention operations in Australia. Thr ...
with criminal investigations, law enforcement and
national security National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
matters.


Australian Maritime Safety Authority

The
Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is an Australian statutory authority responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of Australia's shipping fleet and management of Australia's international maritime obligations. The authority ...
is responsible for maritime safety and seaworthiness of Australian and foreign vessels in Australian waters including compulsory pilotage, aids to navigation, the Australian Rescue Coordination Centre and coordination of search and rescue operations, and management of Australia's international maritime obligations.


Australian Fisheries Management Authority

The
Australian Fisheries Management Authority The Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA) is the Australian Government agency responsible for the management and sustainable use of fisheries resources including combating illegal fishing activities in the Australian Fishing Zone that c ...
is responsible for the management and sustainable use of fisheries resources and for combating illegal fishing activities in the Australian Fishing Zone.


Office of Transport Security

The Office of Transport Security has various responsibilities for maritime security.


State agencies

Each State Government also has agencies with coast guard responsibilities.


Queensland

Maritime Safety Queensland Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) is a Queensland government agency of the Department of Transport and Main Roads. The agency is responsible for the safety of all water vessels in Queensland waterways. It deals with marine pollution and provides p ...
is responsible for maritime safety and the
Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...
has a
water police Water police, also called harbor patrols, port police, marine/maritime police, nautical patrols, bay constables, river police, or maritime law enforcement or coastal police are police officers, usually a department of a larger police organizat ...
unit for law enforcement along the coastline, in waterways, and for Queensland islands.


Western Australia

Neither the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol nor the Australian Volunteer Coastguard are active in Western Australia, which is the largest state with the longest coastline. Inshore close to towns the West Australian Police co-ordinate local search and rescue between various state agencies (such as DOT, Fisheries and Water Police), Volunteer Sea Rescue Groups (VSRGs) who provide the majority of the assets and not for profit companies such as Westpac helicopter. Volunteer Marine Rescue Groups (VMRs) form the core of the system with three main areas of emergency response / search And rescue (SAR), education, and radio monitoring. VMRs (37) are affiliated to
DFES The Department for Education and Skills (DfES) was a United Kingdom government department between 2001 and 2007, responsible for the education system (including higher education and adult learning) as well as children's services in England. Th ...
(Department of Fire and Emergency Services) or two maintain independence from government and act as charities (in much the same way as the RNLI in UK work). The 3 largest VMRs are part of DFES including Mandurah the oldest VMR group in WA.


Community organisations

In addition, there are several private volunteer coast guard organizations, the two largest organizations being the
Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol Responsibilities for traditional coast guard duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community agencies. The de facto coast guard of Australia is the Maritime Border Command, a joint command of the Australian Defen ...
(established in 1937) and the
Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Responsibilities for traditional coast guard duties in Australia are distributed across various federal, state and community agencies. The de facto coast guard of Australia is the Maritime Border Command, a joint command of the Australian Defen ...
(established in 1961). These volunteer organizations have no law enforcement powers, and are essentially auxiliary Search and Rescue services. In NSW these two organisations have joined to become Marine Rescue in 2009.


Marine Rescue NSW

In November 2008, the NSW Government announced the establishment of a new volunteer marine rescue organisation to be called Marine Rescue NSW, (MRNSW) which was incorporated in July 2009. Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol, Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (NSW units) and Volunteer Rescue Association (marine units) united under the new organisation which began operation on 1 January 2010. Marine Rescue NSW is a charitable organisation similar to the RNLI in Britain. It provides radio and rescue services over New South Wales with 44 units along the coast including two inland units and has over 3000 volunteers. It is also a registered training organisation ensuring that its members are trained and maintain competencies. The NSW Government imposes an annual levy of $7 both on boat registration and on boat driver licences to provide funds for MRNSW to refurbish and replace old boats and equipment. As at 1 January 2016, MRNSW has refurbished a number of boats and purchased many new purpose built boats. MRNSW members are volunteer and in addition to their duties as radio operators, boat crew and many other tasks spend large amounts of time raising funds needed in addition to those provided by the government.


Australian Volunteer Coast Guard

The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association was established in 1961, and modelled on the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the association is an organisation composed entirely of volunteers. It guards the coast in the most effective way - initially by education, example, examination and finally by search and rescue. The Australian Volunteer Coast Guard has no law enforcement powers. Flotillas and radio bases are located from the Skardon River in the Gulf of Carpentaria, down the eastern seaboard to Ceduna in South Australia, including Tasmania and major inland lakes and weirs. Coast Guard currently has more than 2,500 Regular members and 9,000 Associate members. Expansion is continuing in areas of need. Australian Volunteer Coast Guard resources across Australia include: *107 Association-owned rescue vessels *147 radio bases under the control of 72 local flotillas *30 communication and display vans and 4WD vehicles *Registered Training Organisations delivering competency based training *Formal affiliations and collaborations with similar organisations in Australia, New Zealand, North America, the Philippines and Europe.


Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol

In 1936 Commander Rupert Long, OBE, RAN, Director of Naval Intelligence raised with retired Captain Maurice Blackwood, DSO, RN the possibility of raising a group of trained yachtsmen as a Naval Auxiliary Service. Discussions were held with HWG Nobbs and W Giles, both
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
yachtsmen and a proposal sent to the
Australian Commonwealth Naval Board The Australian Commonwealth Naval Board was the governing authority over the Royal Australian Navy from its inception and through World Wars I and II. The board was established on 1 March 1911 and consisted of civilian members of the Australian ...
that a Volunteer Coastal Patrol be established under the command of Captain Blackwood. The Naval Board supported this and on 27 March 1937 the Volunteer Coastal Patrol was established under the command of Captain Blackwood, DSO, RN (rtd) with H.W.G. Nobbs as Staff Officer Operations and W Giles as Staff Officer Administration. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Coastal Patrol members became special constables and guarded commercial wharves, oil installations and bridges. By the war's end, patrol vessels had patrolled 128,000 miles of harbour and coastal waters and donated 393,000-man-hours of unpaid war service. They were granted the right to fly the Police Nemesis pennant as recognition of this service and the right to fly the
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
State Flag as their ensign. Post war development saw the Patrol undertake civilian search and rescue operations as their primary role but maintain their original Royal Australian Navy inspired organisation structure, ranks and uniform. 1955 saw a democratically elected council formed which directed the development and administration of the Patrol and appointed the Officer Commanding. 1963 saw the Patrol become an incorporated company and the articles of association written. In 1974, Her Majesty the
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
granted the Patrol the privilege of adding the Royal prefix to its title when it became the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol (RVCP). In 2008 the NSW State Government after strong representations by RVCP agreed to the amalgamation of the three volunteer rescue organisations (RVCP, Volunteer Rescue Association (marine sections) and Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (NSW units) into one organisation which became Volunteer Marine Rescue NSW (VMRNSW) and commenced operation on 1 January 2010. Today VMRNSW works closely with all government agencies in search and rescue and education to the boating public. They maintain constant watch in Radio Bases for marine traffic, work with the Water Police in search and rescue as well as crowd control at major maritime events, run education classes in seamanship, navigation, first aid and meteorology for the public as well as providing constant information to Radio Stations and TV stations regarding sea conditions etc. The NSW Government imposes an annual levy of $7 on boat registration and boat driver licences to fund the operation of VMRNSW which has enabled the replacement and refurbishment of many old boats and equipment. All members of the Patrol are volunteers with a large proportion of their time devoted to raising funds needed in addition to the government provision.


Proposals for an Australian Coast Guard

After the
Tampa affair In late August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV ''Tampa'', carrying 433 rescued refugees (predominantly Hazaras of Afghanistan from a distressed fishing vessel in international water ...
, and the declaration of the
War on Terrorism The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), is an ongoing international counterterrorism military campaign initiated by the United States following the September 11 attacks. The main targets of the campaign are militant I ...
, in 2001
Kim Beazley Kim Christian Beazley (born 14 December 1948) is an Australian former politician and diplomat. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and leader of the opposition from 1996 to 2001 and 2005 to 2006, having previously been a cabinet ...
announced that the
Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
, if in government, would establish an Australian Coast Guard "responsible for conducting Australia's coastal surveillance and meeting Australia's maritime protection needs, including in relation to illegal immigration, drugs, fisheries, and quarantine-related issues". This plan met with criticism.
Peter Reith Peter Keaston Reith (15 July 1950 – 8 November 2022) was an Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1982 to 1983 and from 1984 to 2001, representing the Liberal Party. He was the party's deputy leader from 1990 ...
criticised Beazley for stating that an Australian Coast Guard both will and will not be an "answer to the question of people smuggling". The plan was criticised by the Australian government, on the grounds that it would either be prohibitively expensive or inadequate to the task. Later, the motives for the establishment of an Australian Coast Guard were interpreted by some as "a plan to extend the capabilities of the
Australian Federal Police The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the Australian Government with the unique role of investigating crime and protecting the national security of the Commonwealth of Australia. Th ...
."


References


Further reading

*


External links


Marine Rescue NSW Official Website

Coastwatch Official Website

Australian Volunteer Coast Guard official web site

Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coast Guards in Australia
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
Sea rescue organizations Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage Emergency services in Victoria (Australia) Marine occupations Coastline of Australia