Every jurisdiction builds its list the same way: a base list for sheltered water, and a longer one the moment you cross into open water. The lists differ in the detail, and the detail is what gets inspected.
| ENCLOSED WATERS — EVERY BOAT | OPEN WATERS — ALL OF THE ABOVE, PLUS |
|---|---|
| One lifejacket per person · anchor with chain or line · bailer or bucket with a lanyard · bilge pump · fire extinguisher · sound signal — horn, whistle or bell · waterproof torch | Chart or map of the area · fluid-filled magnetic compass · two orange smoke and two red hand flares · two litres of drinking water per person · 406 MHz EPIRB and a marine radio, both required beyond 2 nm from shore · V-sheet, minimum 1.8 m × 1.2 m |
Lifejackets and what the levels mean
Australian lifejackets are built to AS 4758, and the level number is approximately the buoyancy in newtons. The number that matters most is whether the jacket will turn an unconscious person face-up — which is the entire difference between a buoyancy aid and a lifejacket.
| LEVEL | BUOYANCY | TURNS AN UNCONSCIOUS WEARER FACE-UP? | WHERE IT IS LEGAL |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50S | ~50 N | No | Special purpose — skiing, PWC, paddling. Smooth waters only. |
| 50 | ~50 N | No | Smooth and partially smooth waters. A buoyancy aid, not a lifejacket. |
| 100 | ~100 N | Generally, but less reliably than higher levels | Sheltered and open waters closer to shore. |
| 150 | ~150 N | Yes, including in heavier clothing | Open and offshore waters. The standard offshore inflatable. |
| 275 | ~275 N | Yes, even in foul-weather gear that traps air | Offshore, rough-water and commercial use. |
The 2022 revision of AS 4758 tightened several things worth knowing: labels must now state clearly whether the jacket is automatic or manual inflation; crotch straps are required on all inflatables above Level 150; test dummies are now clothed rather than in swimwear, giving more realistic performance data; the gas cylinder now requires two deliberate actions to loosen; and the standard sets a minimum servicing interval of three years for inflatables.
But state law can be stricter than the standard. New South Wales requires inflatables to be serviced annually or per the manufacturer's instructions, with self-service permitted following the manufacturer's guidance — but any fault found must go to an accredited agent. Check the cylinder is unpierced, hand-tight, and above its stamped minimum gross weight. Record the service date inside the jacket; you may be asked to produce it.
Flares, and the electronic alternative
Australian marine flares have a shelf life of about three years. Carrying expired flares does not meet the requirement, and firing them outside an emergency is an offence. They are classified as dangerous goods and must not go in household waste: NSW runs an Expired Flare Collection Program with three statewide rounds a year in November, January and April across roughly 50 sites, and other states run equivalent periodic collection schemes.
This one genuinely differs between the federal and state levels. AMSA does not accept EVDS as a substitute for pyrotechnic flares, citing lack of international recognition and light-intensity standards. But individual states have moved ahead. Western Australia accepts approved EVDS models in place of flares, but only when a GPS-enabled EPIRB or PLB is also carried, and only from the published approved-device list. Tasmania allows EVDS to replace the four hand-held flares, with a GPS EPIRB and VHF also aboard in sheltered waters — but in coastal waters a parachute flare remains mandatory regardless. Check your own state's current approved-device list; do not assume EVDS are interchangeable with flares anywhere else.
The rest of the list
- Fire extinguishers to AS/NZS 1841, dry chemical powder, rated for flammable-liquid fires. Tasmania's schedule is typical: one 0.75 kg unit on a PWC, one 0.9 kg under 8 m, two from 8–12 m, three over 12 m. Required wherever there is an electric start, a battery, a gas installation or a fuel stove. Mount them accessibly, check the gauge is green, and replace when the cylinder date-stamp passes five years. A galley also means a fire blanket, stored near but not behind the cooker.
- V-sheet — fluorescent orange with a large black V, minimum 1.8 m × 1.2 m, stowed where you can deploy it fast for a searching aircraft.
- Bilge pump capable of draining each compartment, with a strainer so it does not choke on debris.
- Liferafts are required by commercial survey and by the higher offshore racing categories, not by general recreational rules. Recreational and racing yachts use ISO 9650 rafts (Type I offshore, Type II coastal); commercial ships use heavier SOLAS-spec rafts. Servicing intervals tighten as the raft ages — follow the manufacturer's schedule and the current racing category table, not a remembered number.
- The grab bag — not regulated, universally taught: handheld waterproof VHF, a PLB, torch and spare batteries, first aid kit, water and a means of making more on a long passage, high-energy rations, flares, seasickness tablets, a knife, thermal protective aids, a signalling mirror, and a written card with your position, the number aboard and your voyage details to hand to a rescuer.
- Jacklines and tethers — mandatory under the offshore racing regulations, and simply sensible on any night passage. Jacklines run bow to stern so you can clip on before leaving the companionway and stay clipped the whole way forward.
And one piece of doctrine that has saved more lives than any equipment on the list: you step up into a liferaft. The raft is the last resort. A yacht that is still floating is more survivable, more visible and easier to find than a raft, and crews have been lost after abandoning boats that were later recovered intact.
The NSW and Queensland requirements used here are worked examples of how the sheltered-to-open escalation works. Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory each publish their own schedules, and the thresholds, flare counts and EPIRB distances differ. Western Australia in particular changed its rules from 30 September 2024: Level 100 or higher lifejackets on vessels under 4.8 m in unprotected waters, a GPS-enabled EPIRB or PLB with full compliance required by 1 September 2028, and two red plus two orange flares or approved EVDS. Read the current checklist for the waters you will be in — the penalty for carrying last year's list is the same as carrying nothing.