Marine Order 95 (Marine pollution prevention — garbage) 2018

The Order organises around a narrow set of marine pollution prevention concepts drawn from MARPOL Annex V and the Pollution Prevention Act. The principal legal concepts and their instrument locations are:

• Giving effect to Annex V of MARPOL: the Order expressly sets out to give effect to Annex V (s 2(a)) and incorporates by reference particular Annex V appendices and related IMO Guidelines (eg, Appendix I and II of Annex V in ss 6 and 10(1); see also s 7(b) and s 12).
• Application to Australian and foreign ships: the Order declares itself applicable to both Australian and foreign ships (s 5). However, for two categories of shipboard obligations , garbage record books and garbage management plans , the Order prescribes when those duties that normally attach to Australian ships apply to foreign ships (ss 9 and 11). The foreign-ship extension is conditional: it applies while the foreign ship is in a port in Australia, in the territorial sea, or the sea on the landward side of the territorial sea on its way to or from a port (ss 9 and 11).
• Prescribed substances and operations: the Order prescribes (i) cargo residue substances considered harmful according to Appendix I of Annex V (s 6); (ii) the circumstances in which animal carcasses may be discharged (s 7) including procedural requirements; and (iii) what constitutes prescribed cleaning agents or additives for the purpose of discharge provisions (s 8). Those definitions identify the universe of materials and methods that attract the attention of Part IIIC of the Pollution Prevention Act.
• Garbage record books: the Order prescribes the form for garbage record books as the form set out in Appendix II to Annex V (s 10(1)). It prescribes the operations and occurrences that must be entered (s 10(2)), including transfers to reception facilities or other ships, incineration, permitted discharges under specific Annex V regulations or Polar Code Chapter 5 of Part II‑A, and accidental or exceptional losses (s 10(2)(a)-(d)). The Order also links the foreign-ship application of the record book obligations back into the Pollution Prevention Act (s 9).
• Garbage management plans: the Order requires garbage management plans to include the matters listed in section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines for the Development of Garbage Management Plans (s 12). That section of the Guidelines relates to designation of person in charge and procedures for collecting, processing, storing and discharging garbage (note to s 12).
• Cross-references and definitions: the Order relies on definitions in Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013 and in the Pollution Prevention Act (s 4 and notes). It also relies on AMSA’s web‑published delegations and guidance for practical operation (note to s 4).

These concepts are technical and operational rather than primarily normative. The instrument anchors legal obligation to technical definitions in MARPOL Annexes and IMO Guidelines, and flags which document is the operative template for forms and plan content. Legal effect frequently flows by reference rather than by detailed textual prescription inside the Order itself. That approach concentrates substantive obligations in the referenced international materials and the Pollution Prevention Act rather than restating them in full.

The Order affects ship operators, masters and designated shipboard personnel on both Australian and foreign-flagged vessels, and AMSA as regulator. Specific affected parties and the scope of effect are:

• Australian ships: the Order applies to Australian ships (s 5). Where specific obligations are tied to the Pollution Prevention Act (for example the duties set out in sections 26FA, 26FB and 26FC of the Act, which deal respectively with maintaining a garbage record book, retention of a garbage record book, and keeping a garbage management plan), the Order prescribes content and form matters that attach to those duties (ss 10(1), 10(2), 12).
• Foreign ships in specified Australian waters: the Order applies to foreign ships generally (s 5). More precisely, for the specific obligations that would otherwise attach only to Australian ships (garbage record book and garbage management plan duties), the Order applies those provisions to foreign ships only when the foreign ship is in a port in Australia, the territorial sea of Australia, or the sea on the landward side of the territorial sea of Australia on its way to or from a port in Australia (s 9; s 11). Thus foreign-flagged masters and operators are obliged to carry and maintain the same documentation and plans while in those waters.
• Masters and persons on board with delegated responsibilities: the garbage management plan must include the matters mentioned in section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines (as cited in s 12 note), which include designation of a person in charge of carrying out the plan. The person so designated, and shipboard personnel executing plan procedures, are subject to the plan’s requirements once it is part of the ship’s documentation.
• AMSA and delegated officers: the Order was made by the AMSA CEO (front matter). The instrument’s notes refer to delegation arrangements on the AMSA website (note 3 to s 4), implying AMSA’s role in administration, oversight and delegated enforcement. The Order is made under statutory powers in the Pollution Prevention Act which enable the Authority to act (s 3).
• Parties interacting with shipboard waste reception infrastructure: subsection 10(2)(a) specifically requires record entries for discharge of garbage to reception facilities ashore or to another ship. Owners and operators of reception facilities, and third parties receiving garbage, will be involved operationally though they are not the primary obligors under this Order.

Exceptions and territorial nuances:

• The Order contains an explicit territorial caveat: subsection 33(2) of the Pollution Prevention Act may operate so that the Order does not apply to certain ships covered by Annex V in a particular area if a law of a State or the Northern Territory, or the national law, applies Annex V to those ships in that area (note to s 5). Practically, this means there are scenarios where state, territory or other national laws may be the operative legal instrument instead of this Order.
• The Order often incorporates external international materials (Appendices to Annex V, Annex III criteria, 2017 and 2012 Guidelines). Where the Order prescribes content by reference to those materials, operators must obtain and follow those documents in order to comply (notes to s 4; s 10(1); s 12).

In short, the proximate legal obligations fall on ship operators and masters of Australian ships at all times and of foreign ships while in specified Australian waters; AMSA has administration and delegated enforcement functions. The Order places documentation, procedural and technical obligations on those parties, and delegates the standard-setting for some of those obligations to international annexes and IMO guidance documents referenced in the Order.

The Order prescribes content, form and operational preconditions primarily through three duty clusters: discharge rules for certain materials and operations (Div 2, ss 6-8), garbage record book form and entries (s 10), and garbage management plan content (s 12). Rights are limited and implicit: the Order does not grant affirmative entitlements beyond compliance mechanisms such as permitted discharges under Annex V or the Polar Code where those are expressly referenced (s 10(2)(c)). Key particulars are:

1. Discharge prescriptions for cargo residues (s 6)

• The Order prescribes, for the purposes of specified provisions of the Pollution Prevention Act (paragraph 26F(7)(d) and subparagraph 26F(8C)(c)(i)), that each substance considered harmful to the marine environment in accordance with Appendix I of Annex V is a prescribed substance (s 6). Duty consequence: if a cargo residue is listed in Appendix I of Annex V as harmful, the statutory discharge provisions referenced by the Act apply to it.

2. Animal carcass discharge conditions (s 7)

• For paragraph 26F(8)(d) of the Pollution Prevention Act the Order prescribes two required conditions for animal carcass discharges:
  • the carcass must have been either manually slit or cut so that thoracic and abdominal cavities are opened, or passed through a comminuter, grinder, hogger, mincer or similar equipment (s 7(a)(i)-(ii)); and
  • the discharge must comply with section 2.12 of the 2017 Guidelines for the implementation of MARPOL Annex V adopted by IMO Resolution MEPC.295(71) and as amended (s 7(b)).
• Duty consequence: these are preconditions for lawful discharge under the Act referenced; failure to meet them will engage the Act’s prohibition regime.

3. Cleaning agents and additives (s 8)

• The Order prescribes, for various paragraphs of the Act that deal with permitted discharges, that a cleaning agent or additive is a prescribed substance if:
  • it was in the cargo hold, deck or external surfaces wash water of the ship (s 8(a)); and
  • it is identified as harmful according to criteria in the Appendix to Annex III or contains a component that is carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (s 8(b)(i)-(ii)).
• Duty consequence: cleaning agents meeting these criteria are treated as prescribed for the purposes of the Act’s discharge controls.

4. Garbage record book form and prescribed entries (s 10)

• Form: the garbage record book form prescribed is the form set out in Appendix II to Annex V (s 10(1)). Shipboard duty: to maintain and use that form for the garbage record book as required by the Act (see note to s 9 referencing s 26FA of the Act).
• Entries: the Order prescribes that the following operations or occurrences be entered in the garbage record book (s 10(2)):
  • discharge of garbage to a reception facility ashore or to another ship (s 10(2)(a));
  • incineration of garbage (s 10(2)(b));
  • discharge of garbage into the sea in accordance with regulation 4, 5 or 6 of Annex V or Chapter 5 of Part II‑A of the Polar Code (s 10(2)(c)(i)-(ii));
  • accidental or other exceptional discharge or loss of garbage into the sea, including matters mentioned in regulation 7 of Annex V (s 10(2)(d)).
• Duty consequence: the Act’s provisions governing use and retention of the garbage record book apply, and the Order specifies the required records.

5. Garbage management plans (s 12; s 11 in relation to foreign ships)

• Content: the garbage management plan must be in a form that includes the matters mentioned in section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines for the Development of Garbage Management Plans set out in the Annex to IMO Resolution MEPC.220(63), as amended from time to time (s 12).
• The Order’s note states these matters are about designating a person in charge and procedures for collecting, processing, storing and discharging garbage.
• Foreign-ship application: the Act’s section dealing with keeping a garbage management plan (s 26FC) is made to apply to a foreign ship as if it were an Australian ship when in the specified Australian waters (s 11).
• Duty consequence: ships must carry and maintain a garbage management plan that contains those specified matters.

6. Application to foreign ships and territorial exceptions (ss 9, 11; note to s 5)

• The Order applies certain record and plan duties to foreign ships while in Australian ports and territorial seas (ss 9 and 11). There is a caveat that subsection 33(2) of the Pollution Prevention Act can have the effect that this Order does not apply to certain ships in a particular area if a State/Territory or the national law applies Annex V to those ships there (note to s 5).

7. Procedural rights and limits

• The Order does not itself create penalties or enforcement powers; it is made under s 34(1) of the Pollution Prevention Act which permits AMSA to make orders for matters other than the imposition of penalties (s 3(e)). Consequently, the Act is the primary source of offence provisions and enforcement mechanisms; the Order prescribes content and standards that flow into that enforcement framework.

In short, the Order creates specific duties: maintain a prescribed form garbage record book with prescribed entries, keep a garbage management plan meeting prescribed content, and meet specified technical conditions for discharging cargo residues, animal carcasses and cleaning-agent wash water. Rights are procedural and implicit , the instrument prescribes what constitutes compliance and delegates enforcement and penalty functions to the Pollution Prevention Act and AMSA.

The Order itself does not impose penalties and is explicitly made under a power that excludes the imposition of penalties. The instrument’s enforcement architecture is therefore mediated by the Pollution Prevention Act and AMSA’s regulatory practice. Key, source-based points are:

• Orders and penalties: paragraph 3(e) sets out that subsection 34(1) of the Pollution Prevention Act provides the Authority (AMSA) may make orders for matters other than the imposition of penalties. The Order is made under that power (front matter and s 3). Thus the Order prescribes standards and operational matters, but it does not create new penal sanctions within its text.
• Enforcement and offences reside in the Pollution Prevention Act: the Order repeatedly references sections of the Pollution Prevention Act (for example, ss 26FA, 26FB, 26FC are referenced by notes in ss 9 and 11). The practical enforcement of the duties prescribed (eg, maintenance and retention of a garbage record book, keeping of a garbage management plan, controls on discharge) will therefore depend on the offence and penalty provisions, inspection powers, and enforcement processes established in the Pollution Prevention Act and other national laws, rather than in this Order.
• AMSA administration and delegation: note 3 to s 4 explicitly directs readers to the AMSA website for delegation of the Authority’s powers under this Order. That means AMSA may delegate enforcement functions to officers or others and operational enforcement practice, including inspections, boarding, detention, and notices, will be subject to AMSA’s delegation arrangements. The Order itself does not set those delegation rules.
• Practical enforcement levers referenced in the Order: while the Order does not specify enforcement procedures or sanctions, it prescribes documentary and procedural obligations that provide objective bases for enforcement action under the Act , for example, failure to maintain the prescribed garbage record book form (s 10(1)) or to include the required entries (s 10(2)) will be factual non‑compliance that the Act can act upon where the Act supplies offence provisions.
• Interaction with international regimes and port state control: by giving effect to Annex V and by extending particular documentary obligations to foreign ships while in Australian waters (ss 9 and 11), the Order imports internationally derived standards that can be enforced under domestic law against visiting foreign ships while they are in those waters. The Order therefore forms the domestic basis for port state inspections and potential enforcement measures under the Pollution Prevention Act.
• Evidence and external documents: the Order incorporates external IMO materials by reference (Appendices I and II to Annex V; Annex III criteria; 2017 and 2012 Guidelines). Enforcement relies on those external materials as the technical benchmarks; practitioners should note enforcement action will likely reference the content of those materials in establishing breach.

In summary, the Order prescribes what must be done to comply with MARPOL Annex V‑based duties in Australian waters but leaves sanctions and the procedural mechanics of enforcement to the Pollution Prevention Act and AMSA’s delegated powers. The Order therefore creates enforceable obligations indirectly by specifying standards and documentation that the Act and AMSA can use as the basis for enforcement.

The Order operates as a subordinate instrument implementing international obligations and interfacing with Australia’s Pollution Prevention Act, Marine Order 1, state/territory laws and relevant IMO instruments. The instrument’s text sets out the primary points of legal interaction:

• Pollution Prevention Act 1983

  • The Order is made under the Pollution Prevention Act and uses the Act’s specific enabling subsections: subsection 32(1), subsection 32(1B), paragraphs 33(1)(a), (b) and (c), and subsection 34(1) (s 3). Those statutory provisions enable the Order to apply provisions about record books and garbage management plans to foreign ships and to prescribe matters necessary to give effect to MARPOL.
  • The Order prescribes, for purposes of specific Act paragraphs (eg, paragraph 26F(7)(d), subparagraph 26F(8C)(c)(i), paragraph 26F(8)(d), paragraphs 26F(8A)(c), 26F(8D)(d), subparagraph 26F(8C)(c)(ii)), what counts as prescribed substances or required practices (ss 6-8). Practically, the Order supplies the “prescribed matters” that the referenced provisions of the Act require.
  • Sections mentioned in notes: the Order notes that section 26FA deals with maintaining a garbage record book, section 26FB with retention of a garbage record book, and section 26FC with keeping a garbage management plan (notes to ss 9 and 11). The Order therefore integrates with those Act duties by prescribing form and content.

• MARPOL (international law), Annex V and other IMO materials

  • The Order’s stated purpose is to give effect to Annex V of MARPOL (s 2(a)). It prescribes substances and forms by reference to specific elements of Annex V: Appendix I (s 6) and Appendix II (s 10(1)), and it prescribes that cleaning agents be identified according to criteria in Annex III’s Appendix (s 8(b)(i)).
  • The Order also references IMO Guidelines: it requires animal carcass discharges to comply with section 2.12 of the 2017 Guidelines for implementation of MARPOL Annex V (s 7(b)) and requires garbage management plans to include the matters mentioned in section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines in MEPC.220(63) (s 12).
  • The Order’s incorporation of these international texts by reference means compliance and enforcement under Australian law will be measured against international technical standards.

• Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013

  • Definitions: s 4 notes that some terms used in the Order are defined in Marine Order 1 (Administration) 2013, including IMO, national law, Navigation Act, MARPOL, and the Pollution Prevention Act. Thus interpretation of terms in the Order must take Marine Order 1 into account where applicable.

• State and Territory laws

  • Territorial carve-out: the note to s 5 states that subsection 33(2) of the Pollution Prevention Act has the effect that the Order does not apply to certain ships covered by Annex V in a particular area if a law of a State or the Northern Territory, or the national law, applies Annex V to those ships in that area. Practically, this creates an interaction where state/territory or other national laws can be the operative regime instead of this Order for certain ships in particular areas.

• Polar Code

  • The Order cross-references the Polar Code: s 10(2)(c)(ii) prescribes that discharge entries include discharges in accordance with Chapter 5 of Part II‑A of the Polar Code. Where ships operate in polar waters, the Polar Code’s discharge rules become relevant to the record-keeping duties prescribed by the Order.

• Administrative law and AMSA delegations

  • Note 3 to s 4 points readers to AMSA’s website for delegation arrangements. Delegation and administrative enforcement arrangements under the Pollution Prevention Act and other national law will govern inspection, boarding, and any administrative actions in practice.

Overall, the Order is an implementation instrument that connects the Pollution Prevention Act’s statutory framework to international norms in MARPOL and associated IMO guidance, clarifies when certain Act duties apply to foreign ships in Australian waters, and leaves offence, penalty and enforcement mechanisms to be exercised pursuant to the Act and AMSA’s administrative regime. Practitioners must therefore read the Order in combination with the Pollution Prevention Act, Marine Order 1, the referenced Annexes and Guidelines, and relevant state/territory rules where applicable.

The instrument provides a compact but concrete amendment history within its own text:

• Repeal of predecessor: the Order expressly repeals Marine Order 95 (Marine pollution prevention , garbage) 2013 (s 1B). That is the single explicit repeal reported in the text.
• Date made and commencement: the Order was made by the Chief Executive Officer of AMSA on 23 February 2018 (front matter) and commences on 1 March 2018 (s 1A).
• Delegated powers and enabling law: section 3 sets out the Pollution Prevention Act provisions relied on to make the Order (subsection 32(1); subsection 32(1B); paragraphs 33(1)(a), (b) and (c); subsection 34(1)). That listing identifies the statutory grant of power enabling the Order and is part of the instrument’s record of legal provenance.
• Incorporation of external documents and future amendments by reference: several provisions incorporate external IMO documents "as amended from time to time" (s 7(b) refers to the 2017 Guidelines adopted by IMO Resolution MEPC.295(71) "and as amended from time to time"; s 12 requires plans to include matters from section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines in MEPC.220(63) "and as amended from time to time"). Those phrases mean the legal effect of the Order may change over time as the referenced IMO documents are amended, without the Order itself being amended. This is an operative design feature rather than an amendment of the Order itself.
• Registration and publication: the final Note states all legislative instruments are registered on the Federal Register of Legislation under the Legislation Act 2003 with a link (Federal Register of Legislation). That tells practitioners where the authoritative, current text and any future instrument-level amendments will be published.

No other amendments, transitional provisions, or saving clauses appear in the Order’s text. The Order therefore stands as a direct repeal-and-replace of the 2013 Marine Order 95, effective 1 March 2018, and relies on updating of referenced IMO materials to evolve substantive standards.

The Order’s text does not record any litigation history. It contains no reference to judicial decisions, challenges, or case law. The instrument is a delegated legislative instrument and its text confines itself to prescription of technical and documentary matters, cross-referencing the Pollution Prevention Act and international instruments.

What the instrument does supply by way of practical legal signposts is:

• A clear list of statutory provisions used to make the Order (s 3). Where litigation were to arise, those statutory provisions and the pollution prevention offences in the Pollution Prevention Act would be the primary legal anchors.
• Reference to external documents (MARPOL Annexes and IMO Guidelines). In any litigation over compliance, interpretation questions will likely involve those external materials as well as the Act. The Order itself does not purport to resolve interpretive controversies about the substance of Annex V or the Guidelines.
• Administrative hooks for enforcement: the Order identifies AMSA as the Authority through the front matter and refers to delegation information on AMSA’s website (note 3 to s 4). Administrative actions and any reviewable decisions by AMSA would provide the locus for statutory and administrative law litigation.

Because the instrument does not list cases, and because it is an implementing instrument rather than a primary statute, there is no litigation history recorded in the text itself. Practitioners looking for litigation involving the substance of the Order should therefore search the case law and administrative review records concerning enforcement and application of the Pollution Prevention Act and AMSA actions post‑2018 rather than relying on anything contained in the Order’s text.

The Order contains several technical features and cross-references that create practical compliance traps unless carefully monitored; each is grounded in the instrument’s text.

1. Reliance on external IMO documents by reference

• Multiple operative prescriptions refer to Annexes, Appendices and IMO Guidelines rather than reproducing them in full (s 6 refers to Appendix I of Annex V; s 10(1) prescribes Appendix II of Annex V as the garbage record book form; s 7(b) references section 2.12 of the 2017 Guidelines in MEPC.295(71); s 12 references section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines in MEPC.220(63)). Practically, operators must obtain and keep up-to-date copies of those materials; the Order’s requirements are not limited to its text but extend to those external, potentially technical documents.

2. “As amended from time to time” language

• The Order ties obligations to international documents “and as amended from time to time” (ss 7(b), 12). That phrasing means the legal standard can change when the referenced IMO material is changed. Compliance is therefore dynamic: what was compliant today may not be compliant after an IMO amendment, absent instrument amendment. Operators must therefore monitor IMO changes or AMSA guidance.

3. Foreign-ship application limited to geographic windows

• The Order extends record book (s 9) and garbage management plan obligations (s 11) to foreign ships only while in a port in Australia, in the territorial sea, or on the landward side of the territorial sea on the way to or from a port. Outside those geographic windows, the foreign ship may not be subject to those specific documentary duties under this Order, though other laws or international rules may apply. Practitioners must therefore track a ship’s location to know when the duties apply.

4. State/Territory overlap

• The note to s 5 explains subsection 33(2) of the Pollution Prevention Act can mean the Order does not apply where a State, the Northern Territory, or the national law applies Annex V to ships in that area. That creates complexity where overlapping jurisdictional rules might mean different practical obligations apply in different parts of Australian waters.

5. Technical requirements with operational implications

• Animal carcasses must be manually slit to open thoracic and abdominal cavities or passed through a comminuter, grinder, hogger, mincer or similar equipment (s 7(a)(i)-(ii)). Ships without such equipment or without crew trained to perform a manual procedure may be unable to lawfully discharge animal carcasses that otherwise require disposal, thereby necessitating retention or diversion to reception facilities.
• Cleaning agents/additives are prescribed if they were present in certain wash waters and either meet Annex III criteria or contain carcinogenic/mutagenic/reprotoxic components (s 8). Determining whether a particular cleaning agent is “prescribed” may require material safety data sheets, component analysis or consultation with chemical testing facilities.

6. Record-keeping specifics not reproduced

• The prescribed garbage record book form is Appendix II to Annex V (s 10(1)). The Order does not include the form itself. Practitioners must source the precise form and ensure entries match the Appendix’s field requirements. Likewise, retention periods and procedural specifics for the record book are matters in the Act (note to s 9 referencing s 26FB) rather than fully specified here.

7. Enforcement is not self-contained

• The Order does not itself create penalties (s 3(e)); enforcement and sanctioning rely on the Pollution Prevention Act and AMSA’s delegation. Ship operators might wrongly assume a new set of fines are contained in the Order; they are not. The practical consequences of non‑compliance (inspection, detention, notice, penalty) stem from the Act and AMSA practice.

8. Ambiguity about “harmful to the marine environment”

• s 6 prescribes as prescribed any substance “that is considered harmful to the marine environment in accordance with Appendix I of Annex V.” Determining whether a particular cargo residue is “considered harmful” therefore requires consulting Appendix I’s criteria and possibly expert interpretation for borderline substances.

9. Document update and availability risk

• Notes in the Order advise where to find IMO Resolutions and documents (note 4 to s 4) and that legislative instruments are on the Federal Register (final note). Failure to consult AMSA or the Federal Register for current versions of referenced documents is a compliance risk.

Each of these “gotchas” flows directly from the Order’s text and structure: heavy reliance on international appendices and guidelines, geographic and jurisdictional caveats, technical procedural requirements that may impose equipment or expertise costs, and the split between the Order’s prescriptive technical content and the Act’s enforcement machinery.

Compliance under this Order requires a combination of documentation, procedural measures, technical practices on board and ongoing monitoring of referenced international materials and AMSA guidance. The following steps are tied to specific provisions in the Order and describe concrete actions to achieve compliance:

1. Establish which obligations apply to your ship

• Determine whether the ship is an Australian ship or a foreign ship and, if foreign, whether it is in a port in Australia, within the territorial sea, or in the sea on the landward side of the territorial sea on its way to or from a port (ss 5, 9, 11). Record‑keeping and garbage management plan duties apply to foreign ships only within those geographic windows.

2. Obtain and use the prescribed garbage record book form

• Acquire Appendix II to Annex V, which the Order prescribes as the garbage record book form (s 10(1)). Ensure the ship maintains and uses that form for all required entries.

3. Make and maintain the prescribed entries

• Train the master and nominated record-keeping personnel to record each of the operations and occurrences specified in s 10(2):
  • discharge of garbage to reception facilities ashore or to another ship (s 10(2)(a));
  • incineration of garbage (s 10(2)(b));
  • discharges into the sea in accordance with regulation 4, 5 or 6 of Annex V or Chapter 5 of Part II‑A of the Polar Code (s 10(2)(c));
  • accidental or exceptional discharge or loss of garbage (s 10(2)(d)).
• Ensure processes are in place to log these events contemporaneously and to retain the record book in accordance with the Pollution Prevention Act’s retention provisions (note to s 9 referencing s 26FB).

4. Prepare and keep a compliant garbage management plan

• Prepare a garbage management plan that includes the matters mentioned in section 4 of the 2012 Guidelines for the Development of Garbage Management Plans (s 12). That will include designating a person in charge and documented procedures for collecting, processing, storing and discharging garbage (note to s 12).
• Ensure the person designated as in charge is trained, has clear responsibilities, and knows the shipboard procedures set out in the plan.
• Keep the plan on board as required by the relevant Pollution Prevention Act provision and ensure it is available for inspection while in Australian waters where the plan is applied to foreign ships (s 11).

5. Control discharges of cargo residues, animal carcasses and cleaning agents

• For cargo residues: consult Appendix I to Annex V to identify whether a given cargo residue is “considered harmful to the marine environment” and treat such substances as prescribed for the Act’s purposes (s 6).
• For animal carcasses: before any discharge, ensure the carcass has been manually slit or cut to open thoracic and abdominal cavities, or processed through a comminuter/grinder/hogger/mincer or similar equipment (s 7(a)(i)-(ii)). Additionally, ensure discharge practices comply with section 2.12 of the 2017 Guidelines in MEPC.295(71) (s 7(b)). If the ship lacks the required equipment or cannot perform the required steps, retain the carcass and arrange for disposal ashore at a reception facility.
• For cleaning agents or additives: determine whether any wash water that contains cleaning agents came from cargo holds, decks or external surfaces (s 8(a)). If so, identify whether the agent is listed as harmful under Annex III criteria or contains components that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic (s 8(b)(i)-(ii)). If so, treat it as a prescribed substance subject to the Act’s discharge restrictions and plan accordingly.

6. Maintain documentary access to referenced IMO materials and AMSA guidance

• Keep up-to-date copies of: Annex V (and its Appendix I and II), the Appendix to Annex III, the 2017 Guidelines for the implementation of MARPOL Annex V (MEPC.295(71)), and the 2012 Guidelines for the Development of Garbage Management Plans (MEPC.220(63)) because the Order references those documents as the standards for compliance (ss 6, 7(b), 8(b)(i), 10(1), 12).
• Monitor AMSA’s website for delegation and updated guidance (note 3 to s 4) and the Federal Register of Legislation for the Order’s text and any subsequent instruments (final note).

7. Train crew and update onboard systems

• Train officers and crew responsible for waste handling, the person named in the garbage management plan, and those responsible for garbage record book entries in the technical and procedural obligations of the Order.
• Update shipboard procedures and checklists to reflect the requirements of the garbage management plan and the entries required in the prescribed garbage record book.

8. Plan for inspections and port interactions

• Prepare to present the garbage record book and garbage management plan to port or AMSA inspectors in Australian ports or territorial seas, given the foreign-ship extension of these obligations (ss 9 and 11).
• Ensure arrangements with reception facilities ashore are in place so that discharges to shore are recorded (s 10(2)(a)) and so that retention or transfer of prohibited materials can be practicably effected.

9. Seek legal and technical advice where necessary

• For borderline chemical classifications, cargo residues, or where Annex criteria are unclear, obtain technical advice or testing to determine whether a substance is “prescribed” under the Order (ss 6, 8(b)). For interpretive questions about the application of the Pollution Prevention Act, consult legal counsel because the Order interacts with statutory offence and enforcement provisions.

10. Record retention and documentation control

• Ensure that retention policies for the garbage record book follow the Pollution Prevention Act requirements (the Order references the Act’s retention provision s 26FB in the note to s 9). Do not rely solely on the Order for retention timelines; consult the Act.

In operational terms, compliance requires a documented garbage management plan, the prescribed garbage record book in the format of Annex V Appendix II, trained personnel to make and verify entries, technical controls for discharge operations (including equipment or manual procedures for animal carcasses), and ongoing monitoring of IMO and AMSA materials to ensure the ship follows the materials that the Order incorporates by reference.