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Commonwealth legislation
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
These regulations impose mandatory radio-communications safety standards for Australian-registered, coastal trading and passenger ships to ensure distress alerting and continuous contact at sea. They require appropriate radio equipment and watchkeeping, lifeboat radios capable of independent distress transmission, radio log‑keeping and technical manuals, and strict technical and testing standards for transmitters, antennas and power systems. Breaches carry fines, and a phased transition period (1959–1963) allowed existing vessels time to upgrade to the new requirements.
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Direct links to the current provisions in Navigation (Radio) Regulations.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
STATUTORY RULES.
1959. No. 57.
REGULATIONS UNDER THE NAVIGATION ACT 1912-1956.*
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL in and over the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Regulations under the Navigation Act 1912-1956.
Dated this twenty-sixth
day of June , 1959
W.J. Slim
Governor-General.
By His Excellency’s Command,
Minister of State for Shipping and Transport.
NAVIGATION (RADIO) REGULATIONS.
Part I.—Preliminary.
Citation.
Repeal.
Parts.
Part I.—Preliminary (Regulations 1-5).
Part II.—General Provisions (Regulations 6-13).
Part III.—Radiotelegraph Ships (Regulations 14-30).
Part IV.—Radiotelegraphy Equipment in or for Lifeboats (Regulations 31-33).
Part V—Radiotelephone Ships (Regulations 34-44).
Part VI.—Transitional Provisions (Regulations 45-57).
Interpretation.
4.—(1.) In these Regulations, unless the contrary intention appears—
“approved” means approved by the Minister, the Postmaster-General or an authorized officer;
“at sea”, in relation to radio watch-keeping, means the period occupied in a voyage between the berth at one port of call and the berth at the next port of call;
“authorized officer” means a person who is an authorized officer for the purposes of regulation 26 of the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations;
* Notified in the Commonwealth Gazette on 26 June, 1959.
4324/58.—Price 2s. 3d. 6/28.5.1959.
“auto-alarm” means an apparatus of an approved type for automatically receiving and registering an alarm signal, being apparatus that complies with the requirements specified in the Fifth Schedule;
“Class I. ship” means a passenger ship carrying, or authorized to carry, more than two hundred and fifty passengers;
“Class II. (a) ship” means a passenger ship that is not a Class I. ship;
“Class II. (b) ship” means a cargo ship of not less than one thousand six hundred tons;
“Class III. ship” means a cargo ship of less than one thousand six hundred tons but of not less than seven hundred and fifty tons;
“Class IV. (a) ship” means a cargo ship of less than seven hundred and fifty tons that is not a Class IV. (b) ship;
“Class IV. (b) ship” means a sailing ship equipped with auxiliary power;
“connected” means electrically connected;
“equipment” means equipment forming part of a radio installation;
“existing installation” means—
(a) an installation wholly installed before the commencement of these Regulations; or
(b) an installation part of which was installed before the commencement of these Regulations and the remainder of which consists either of—
(i) parts installed in replacement of identical parts;
or
(ii) parts which comply with the requirements of these Regulations;
“existing ship” means a ship the keel of which was laid before the commencement of these Regulations;
“mile” means nautical mile;
“new installation” means an installation installed on a ship after the commencement of these Regulations and includes an installation which replaces an existing installation;
“new ship” means a ship the keel of which was laid after the commencement of these Regulations;
“operating position”, in relation to any equipment, means the position normally occupied by a person when operating that equipment;
“radio surveyor” means a person, being a person skilled with regard to radio installations, appointed under section 190 of the Act to be a surveyor;
“radiotelegraph room” means a room or rooms exclusively appropriated for the operation of radio equipment;
“radiotelegraph ship” means a ship equipped with a radiotelegraphy installation;
“radiotelephony distress frequency” means the frequency of two thousand one hundred and eighty-two kilocycles per second;
“radiotelephone ship” means a ship equipped with a radiotelephony installation;
“radio watch” means, in the case of a radiotelegraph ship, listening on the frequency of five hundred kilocycles per second and, in the case of a radiotelephone ship, listening on the frequency of two thousand one hundred and eighty-two kilocycles per second;
“ship” means a ship which is—
(a) registered in Australia;
(b) engaged in the coasting trade; or
(c) engaged in the carriage of passengers from a port in Australia to a port outside Australia,
but does not include—
(d) a Safety Convention ship in respect of which there is in force a valid Safety Convention certificate showing that the ship—
(i) complies with such of the requirements of the Safety Convention as relate to radio installations and radio navigational aids; or
(ii) is wholly exempt from those requirements or is partly exempt and complies with those requirements to the extent to which she is not exempt;
(e) a ship trading exclusively between ports not more than twenty-five miles apart;
(f) a ship being towed by another ship where that other ship is provided with a radiotelegraphy or radiotelephony installation that complies with these Regulations;
(g) a river and bay ship; or
(h) a sailing ship not equipped with auxiliary power.
“silence periods” means—
(a) in the case of a radiotelegraph ship—periods of three minutes beginning at the expiration of fifteen minutes and forty-five minutes, respectively, after each hour of each day reckoned according to Greenwich Mean Time; and
(b) in the case of a radiotelephone ship—periods of three minutes beginning at each hour, and at the expiration of thirty minutes after each hour, of each day reckoned according to Greenwich Mean Time;
“the Act” means the Navigation Act 1912-1956;
“the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations” means the Wireless Telegraphy Regulations in force from time to time under the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1905-1950.
(2.) Where a word or phrase used in these Regulations is defined in section 187a of the Act, that word or phrase as so used shall, unless the contrary intention appears, have the meaning given to it in that section.
(3.) In these Regulations—
(a) a reference to the tonnage of a ship shall be read as a reference to the gross registered tonnage of the ship;
(b) a reference to a Schedule shall be read as a reference to a Schedule to these Regulations;
(c) a reference to a wave or signal of type A1 shall be read as a reference to radiotelegraphy by the keying of a continuous wave on and off;
(d) a reference to a wave or signal of type A2 shall be read as a reference to amplitude modulated radiotelegraphy by the keying of a modulating audio-frequency or of an emission continuously modulated by an audio-frequency;
(e) a reference to a wave or signal of type A3 shall be read as a reference to double sideband amplitude modulated radio-telephony; and
(f) a reference to type B waves shall be read as a reference to damped waves.
(4.) Parts II. to V. (inclusive) of these Regulations shall be read and construed subject to Part VI. of these Regulations.
Exemptions.
5.—(1.) The Minister may—
(a) exempt a Class III. ship from all or any of the requirements of Part III. of these Regulations;
(b) exempt a Class IV. (a) ship or a Class IV. (b) ship from all or any of the requirements of Part V. of these Regulations; and
(c) exempt a ship registered in a country to which the Safety Convention does not apply from all or any of the requirements of Division 6a of Part IV. of the Act and of these Regulations.
(2.) Any such exemption may be unconditional or subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit.
Part II.—General Provisions.
Provision of radio installation.
6.—(1.) Subject to these Regulations, a Class I. ship, a Class II. (a) ship, a Class II. (b) ship, or a Class III. ship shall be equipped with a radiotelegraphy installation which complies with the requirements specified in the First Schedule.
(2.) Subject to these Regulations, a Class IV. (a) ship or a Class IV. (b) ship shall be equipped with a radiotelephony installation which complies with the requirements specified in the Second Schedule.
(3.) The main and emergency radiotelegraphy transmitters in a Class HI. ship may be combined in a single instrument, if that instrument complies with the requirements of the First Schedule in relation to those transmitters.
Climatic and durability tests.
7.—(1.) Equipment forming part of a radio installation (including equipment required by these Regulations to be provided in, or for use in, lifeboats) shall be such that it is free from mechanical defects and complies with the requirements of these Regulations—
(a) when undergoing the vibration, dry heat and low temperature tests in accordance with the Third Schedule;
(b) when subjected to the damp heat test in accordance with that Schedule; and
(c) immediately after undergoing, in accordance with that Schedule, such other tests specified in that Schedule as are applicable to the equipment.
(2.) Equipment for use in the open, or in an open boat, shall be such that, after undergoing the mould growth test specified in the Third Schedule, mould growth is not present on it.
Interference, &c.
Maintenance of radio installation.
High voltage parts.
10.—(1.) This regulation applies to parts and wiring of equipment which at any time are at an instantaneous voltage (other than radio-frequency voltage) exceeding—
(a) in the case of equipment specified in the Fourth Schedule—fifty volts; or
(b) in the case of other equipment—two hundred and fifty volts.
(2.) Parts and wiring to which this regulation applies shall be protected from accidental access and, except in the case of a generator or converter, shall be isolated automatically from all sources of electrical energy when the means of protection are removed.
(3.) Capacitors in a transmitter shall be capable of being discharged.
Batteries.
11.—(1.) Batteries provided as a source of electrical energy for any equipment shall, as far as practicable, be so placed as to secure the greatest degree of safety and protection.
(2.) Means shall be provided for the charging from the ship’s main source of electrical energy of batteries provided as a source of electrical energy for any equipment.
(3.) In the case of a new installation, if the means of charging the batteries is a rotary converter, an alternative means of charging the batteries shall be provided.
Exemption of certain ships from requirement to keep radio log-book.
Radio log-book.
13.—(1.) The radio log-book required by section 231e of the Act to be kept shall be in accordance with the form set out in the Sixth Schedule.
(2.) The master of a ship equipped with a radio installation shall—
(a) cause the radio log-book of the ship to be kept in the room or place from which the radio installation is operated; and
(b) upon request by a radio surveyor, cause the radio log-book to be made available for inspection by the radio surveyor.
(3.) The master of a ship equipped with a radio installation and, if the ship carries more than one radio officer as part of her crew, the first radio officer shall inspect and sign the radio log-book once each day.
(4.) On the expiration of the articles of agreement of a ship equipped with a radio installation, the master of the ship shall cause the radio log-book to be delivered to the superintendent at the port at which the articles expire.
Penalty: Fifty pounds.
Part III.—Radiotelegraph Ships.
Electrical independence of main and emergency equipment.
Radiotelegraph room.
15.—(1.) A radiotelegraphy installation provided on a new ship that is a Class I. ship, a Class II. (a) ship, a Class II. (b) ship or a Class III. ship shall be installed in a radiotelegraph room.
(2.) The radiotelegraph room shall be situated as high as practicable in the ship.
(3.) A radiotelegraphy installation shall be installed in a position where—
(a) it will be protected against disturbance of its effectiveness by water or by extremes of temperature; and
(b) it will not affect a ship’s compass,
being a position, in the case of a Class III. ship, approved by a radio surveyor.
(4.) A room or place from which a radiotelegraphy installation is operated shall be provided with—
(a) an efficient two-way means of calling and voice communication with the bridge and any other place from which the ship is normally navigated, the method of communication being—
(i) by a voicepipe or a telephone, or by other means which, in the opinion of a radio surveyor, is equally efficient; and
(ii) independent of the main communication system of the ship and of the ship’s main source of electrical energy;
(b) a reliable clock, equipped with a dial not less than five inches in diameter and a centre second-hand, securely mounted in such a position that the entire dial can be easily and accurately observed from the operating position and, if the ship is provided with an auto-alarm, from the position normally occupied by a person testing the auto-alarm;
(c) an electric lamp—
(i) operated from the source of electrical energy required by sub-regulation (5.) of regulation 18 of these Regulations;
(ii) permanently arranged so as to be capable of providing adequate illumination of the operating controls of the main and emergency radiotelegraphy installations and of the clock referred to in the last preceding paragraph; and
(iii) controlled by two-way switches placed respectively near the entrance to the room or place from which the installation is operated and at the operating position;
(d) an additional electric lamp, for use as an inspection lamp, operated from the source of energy referred to in the last preceding paragraph, and provided with a flexible lead of sufficient length to enable all parts of the radiotelegraphy installation to be illuminated; and
(e) a chair capable of being fixed at the operating position.
(5.) A complete list of equipment and spare parts carried on board a ship for the maintenance of the radiotelegraphy installation, being a list indicating where the equipment and spare parts are kept, shall be provided in each room or place on the ship from which the installation is operated.
(6.) A calibration table or calibration curve for each transmitter and receiver forming part of the radiotelegraphy installation on a ship shall, unless the transmitter or receiver, as the case may be, is directly calibrated, be provided in each room or place on the ship from which the installation is operated.
(7.) In the case of a new installation, a complete diagram of the installation as wired shall be provided in each room or place from which the installation is operated.
Aerials.
16.—(1.) Subject to the next succeeding sub-regulation, a radiotelegraph ship shall be fitted wit
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.