Queensland boating rules · checked Oct 2026

Queensland boating rules: licence, lifejackets and safety gear

What the rules in Queensland require on the water, from official sources and linked line by line: boat and jet ski licences, lifejackets, safety equipment, registration and who to call when things go wrong.

Emergency: 000 · ask for Police
Boat licence: Engine over 4.5 kW
Lifejackets: When you must wear one
Log on: How to log on

Emergency on the water in Queensland

000

Life in danger: call Triple Zero (000) from a mobile and ask for Police. Then say the waterway, the nearest town and “QLD”.

VHF 16

The distress channel if you have a marine radio. A mobile phone doesn’t replace one.

1800 641 792

JRCC Australia (AMSA), the national 24-hour maritime rescue line, for people in distress at sea. From an overseas phone: +61 2 6230 6811.

What Queensland tells boaters to do

Marine Rescue Queensland: 'In an emergency, always radio VHF 16 or call Triple Zero (000).' MSQ distress signals: use your marine radio – 'mayday, mayday, mayday' in emergencies only, 'pan pan' (x3) for urgent messages that aren't emergencies; if boats or aircraft are nearby fire an orange smoke flare (day) or red hand flare (night); display a V sheet; raise and lower outstretched arms; sound SOS; flags N over C. 'An EPIRB or PLB should be used as a last resort. Keep it turned on until help arrives.' The former VMR Queensland guidance: make radio contact with the nearest marine rescue unit giving your location, the problem and number on board; get everyone into lifejackets.

How to call for help on the water: 000, VHF 16, EPIRB · Marine radio channels in Australia

Logging on before you go (QLD)

Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) – a single state volunteer marine rescue service operating as part of the Queensland Police Service, formed from 1 July 2024 by bringing together VMR (VMRAQ) and Coast Guard (AVCGA) units in phases through 2024–2025 (~47 units). MRQ: 'Until MRQ is fully operational, log-on with your local marine rescue unit using your boat's radio or calling your local unit… Tell your local unit you're heading out, how many people you have on board and when you're planning to return. We'll keep watch and if you're not back as expected, we'll take action to find you and get you home safely. Logging-on is quick, simple, and free.' Log off with the local unit when you return; radio them with any change of location. No statewide MRQ app confirmed on the pages read.

VesselSOS doesn’t log you on with anyone and alerts nobody if you’re overdue. Log on with the service above as well; the VesselSOS live link is for your family ashore. Marine rescue log-on vs VesselSOS →

QLD boat licence and jet ski licence

Boat licence

A recreational marine driver licence (RMDL) is needed to operate a boat with an engine power greater than 4.5 kW. You can drive unlicensed if a licensed supervisor is on board who can take immediate control. Only a licensed driver may tow a person (skier, tube). Licence via a BoatSafe course with an approved provider; it appears on the back of your Queensland driver licence.

Jet ski (PWC) licence

To operate a PWC you must hold both a recreational marine driver licence and a personal watercraft licence (or have a licensed person aboard able to take immediate control; that supervisor must wear the kill-switch lanyard and no other passengers may be carried). Towing from a PWC needs a licensed operator and an observer aged 13+.

Minimum age

Must be at least 16 to get a Queensland marine licence (RMDL or PWC). Under-16s may drive only under the supervision of a licence holder on board.

Source: qld.gov.au

QLD lifejacket rules

Lifejacket laws changed on 1 December 2024. Wearing is compulsory: when boating alone or accompanied only by children under 12 in an open boat under 4.8 m that is underway; when crossing a designated coastal bar in an open boat, and in any open area of a boat of any length; between sunset and sunrise in an open boat under 4.8 m underway; children aged over 1 and under 12 in an open boat or the open area of a boat of any length while underway. Must also be worn crossing a designated coastal bar in small sailboats, pedal boats, rafts, rowboats and sea/surf kayaks (not body boards, surfboards, windsurfers, kitesurfers or SUPs). PWC: everyone on board must wear the required lifejacket (Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Regulation 2016 s 15: a PWC is 'taken not to be equipped' unless each person is wearing it) – Level 50 or 50S in smooth waters, Level 50 in or beyond partially smooth waters. Required levels for other boats: Level 100/150/275 beyond partially smooth waters; Level 50+ in partially smooth; Level 50S+ in smooth waters. From 1 September 2025 all lifejackets must meet AS 4758. Inflatables must be serviced per the manufacturer.

Source: msq.qld.gov.au

Lifejacket levels: Level 50S is similar to the old Type 3, Level 50 to Type 2, and Level 100, 150 and 275 to Type 1 (NSW Maritime’s comparison). AS 4758 is the Australian standard for the levels. Lifejacket rules in every state →

Required safety equipment in Queensland

Queensland uses smooth, partially smooth and 'beyond partially smooth' water limits. Registered boats must carry: lifejackets for all (level depends on waters), fire-fighting equipment, a night signalling device (torch, lantern, glow stick) between sunset and sunrise; outside smooth waters also 2 red hand + 2 orange smoke flares and a V sheet; beyond smooth/partially smooth waters and more than 2 nm from land a 406 MHz EPIRB registered with AMSA (lightweight craft – PWC, kayaks, sail craft under 6 m – may use a GPS, floating PLB worn by the operator). Should carry: anchor and cable, drinking water, oars/paddles (boats under 6 m), pumping/bailing equipment, chart and compass or handheld electronic navigation device (outside smooth waters).

Source: msq.qld.gov.au

Boat registration in Queensland

All boats – including PWC – with an engine of 3 kW or more must be registered when on Queensland waters (recreational registration through Transport and Main Roads; commercial use needs commercial registration). Boats 15 m+ need MSQ endorsement. Interstate-registered boats and tenders have special rules.

Jet ski (PWC) rules in Queensland

RMDL + PWC licence; PWC must be registered. Max 6 knots within 60 m of people in the water, anchored/moored boats, structures, ramps, jetties, pontoons, bathing reserve boundaries and the shore (shore exception in waterways under 120 m wide when transiting in a straight line mid-channel, or when towing). Keep 30 m from other moving vessels or slow below 10 knots. In coastal waters, freestyling/wave jumping only beyond 200 m from shore where homes are within 100 m of the shoreline. Everyone on board must wear a Level 50 lifejacket (50S allowed in smooth waters); outside smooth waters also flares, V sheet and (more than 2 nm out) EPIRB/PLB; nav lights at night. Children ride behind the driver; one person per seat regardless of age.

Kayak, canoe, paddle board and kite rules

No licence or registration for unpowered paddlecraft, SUPs or kites. Under the December 2024 rules, sea and surf kayaks, rowboats, rafts, pedal boats and small sailboats must wear a lifejacket when crossing a designated coastal bar; this does not apply to SUPs, kitesurfers, windsurfers, surfboards or body boards. Lightweight craft operating beyond smooth/partially smooth waters or more than 2 nm from land need an EPIRB or a GPS-enabled floating PLB worn by the operator; night signalling device required between sunset and sunrise.

Popular boating waters in Queensland

Moreton Bay
Gold Coast Broadwater
Whitsunday Islands
Great Barrier Reef waters off Cairns and Port Douglas
Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Strait
Pumicestone Passage
Noosa River
Lake Wivenhoe and Somerset Dam

Some of the waters Queensland boaters know best. This is our list, not an official one, and it isn’t complete.

WHAT VESSELSOS DOES HERE

VesselSOS on Queensland waters

Life in danger? Tap “Yes, life in danger” and the app dials Triple Zero (000). The screen shows your GPS position in words and a word-for-word script that starts “Police. Boat emergency, I’m on the water.”, then the waterway, the nearest town and the state.
The rescue-centre list also has JRCC Australia (1800 641 792), the national maritime rescue line for offshore, as a second Call button, and a VHF Channel 16 MAYDAY text filled with your boat’s details for you to read on your own radio.
A live link for family ashore (Plus, free during the beta): your position, speed, course and phone battery in any browser, no app needed on their end. You send it by text yourself.

What it doesn’t do: it doesn’t log you on with Marine Rescue or anyone else, and it isn’t connected to 000, Police, Marine Rescue or AMSA. Nobody is alerted automatically if you’re late: the return-time check only asks “Are you OK?” on your own phone. Marine rescue log-on services do follow up when you don’t log off, so log on with them as well. A phone doesn’t replace a marine radio, an EPIRB or PLB, or the safety gear your state requires.

iPhone only, in invite-only TestFlight beta. Not in the App Store yet, no Android. Australian support (000 routing) is in beta version 1.5 and later.

Quick answers

Do you need a boat licence in QLD?

How old do you have to be to get a boat licence in QLD?

Must be at least 16 to get a Queensland marine licence (RMDL or PWC). Under-16s may drive only under the supervision of a licence holder on board.

Do you need a jet ski licence in QLD?

Do you have to register a boat in QLD?

Sources

Marine safety agency: Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ), Department of Transport and Main Roads

CHECKED OCT 2026

Checked October 2026. Rules change — confirm with Maritime Safety Queensland before you go.

This page summarises the rules for planning; it isn’t legal advice. Where this page and the official text differ, the official text wins. Spotted an error? Email support@vesselsos.com.