95Repatriation

95 Repatriation

(1) The owner of a vessel must ensure that a seafarer is entitled to repatriation, at no cost to the seafarer, in any of the following circumstances:

(a) the seafarer’s work agreement, collective agreement or award expires;

(b) the seafarer’s work agreement is terminated:

(i) on expiry of the notice period given in accordance with the work agreement; or

(ii) by the owner of a vessel; or

(iii) by the seafarer for justified reasons;

(c) the seafarer is no longer able to carry out his or her duties under the work agreement;

(d) the seafarer cannot be expected to carry out his or her duties in specific circumstances;

(e) the seafarer has worked on the vessel for at least 9 months;

(f) the seafarer’s work agreement is terminated because of:

(i) illness, injury or other medical condition for which the seafarer must be repatriated and is medically fit to travel; or

(ii) wreck or foundering;

(g) the owner of a vessel is unable to fulfil his or her legal or contractual obligations to the seafarer as an employer because of:

(i) insolvency; or

(ii) sale of the vessel; or

(iii) change of the vessel’s registration; or

(iv) unforeseen circumstances beyond the owner’s control.

(h) the vessel is on its way to a war zone to which the seafarer does not consent to go;

(i) termination or interruption of employment:

(i) in accordance with an industrial award; or

(ii) in accordance with a collective agreement; or

(iii) for a similar reason.

(2) A seafarer under 18 years is also entitled to repatriation at no cost to the seafarer if the seafarer:

(a) has worked on a regulated Australian vessel for at least 4 months on the seafarer’s first foreign voyage; and

(b) is unsuited to a life at sea.

(3) For subsection (2), the repatriation of the seafarer is to be:

(a) from the first port of call where there are Australian consular services; and

(b) to the home port specified in the terms of the seafarer’s work agreement.