Thread: Aust. Builders Plate - Update - South Australia

The ABP (Australian Builders Plate) was a topic some time back. It now appears to have been Legislated in some of the other States and draft Legislation is in development here in South Oz.

Aberdeen


Information received today for anyone interested:
Courtesy of: Department of Transport - Recreational Boating

At this time there are no specific requirements under the Harbours and Navigation Act or Regulations related to the construction of recreational vessels, however draft legislation regarding the introduction of the Australian Builder's Plate (ABP) is expected to be introduced in the near future.

The ABP is being introduced across the nation for most new Australian and imported recreational boats. The draft legislation requires anABP to display the vessel builder's details, inbuilt buoyancy details (basic or level flotation), and maximum capacity (weight, number of persons and engine capacity). Essentially it helps take the guesswork out of whether a boat can safely carry the loads the purchaser expects, and what horsepower is required to do so safely.

Yes you are correct - there is a clear intention in the draft legislation that certain vessels can be declared as "constructed" prior to commencement of the new legislation. These are essentially vessels where the keel was laid before the commencement of the legislation, or where the vessel was identifiable as a vessel of a particular class and had had not less than 50 tonnes or 1% of the estimated total mass of the vessel (whichever is the lesser) constructed.

Full information about the ABP can be obtained from the National Marine Safety Committee (NMSC) websiteat :
http://www.nmsc.gov.au/
http://www.nmsc.gov.au/abp.html
International and Australian Standards applicable to construction of vessels for sale may also be of use to you. The Standards Australia website is listed below:http://www.standards.org.au/
If you have any further Recreational Boating queries please feel free to contact the Recreational Boating Unit directly, via ourinformation email serviceat [email protected]or by telephone 8402 1708.