Australian Government Listens to Superyacht Industry
May 28, 2015 – Press Release from Superyacht Australia
Superyacht Australia (SA) has made the announcement “Australia is open for business to Foreign Flagged Superyachts wishing to charter in Australia.”
Superyacht Australia has been working diligently over the past 12 months lobbying government to allow easier access to Foreign Flagged vessels to charter in Australia. Superyacht Australia CEO M Edwards said “We developed a working group of industry stakeholders to work alongside government to address this key issue.
Those in the working group have met with Australian government officials on several occasions to ensure the current temporary licencing system will work for foreign flagged superyachts wishing to charter here and more importantly will ensure a warm Australian welcome to these visiting superyachts.”
The process is a 2 pronged approach. Immediately vessels can charter in Australia under the temporary licence system issued under the Coastal Trading Act 2012 by the Department of infrastructure. Vessels operating under this licence can also undertake refits and repairs and are not required to fully import the vessel. By the end of the Australian parliamentary winter sitting it is expected the new simpler regime will be in place.
Superyacht Australia strongly recommend that any owners or captains wishing to charter in Australia using the current temporary licence system under the Coastal Trading Act 2012, engage the services of a professional superyacht agent. Superyacht Australia is ensuring their member agents are fully au fait with this temporary licence process and the Superyacht Australia members offering refit and repair facilities have also been fully informed as to how it works.
To ensure a seamless system it is important that the Australian agent you select is set up as a resident agent to allow the simple process of the Agent acting on the owner’s behalf for all matters including GST when the vessel is chartering in Australia. An Australian resident agent can apply for the permit and manage the GST on the vessels behalf. It is vital to the Australian industry that owners and captains who wish to visit and charter down under do not encounter barriers or problems because they have used agents or businesses that do not fully understand the temporary permit system and how it works.
In simple terms:
- Licence fee is $400
- 12 month charter is available currently voyage based
- Superyacht crew visa for 12 months
- 10% GST is payable on charters
- 4 month minimum lead time for applications that wish to charter in the GBR Marine Park
- 1 month minimum lead time for applicants that wish to operate in the rest of Australia
- A resident agent can establish all the permits required from various departments and arrange taxation collection for GST
- Vessel does not need to be imported and refit can be conducted during stay.
The Australian government is determined to ensure easy access and simplify regulations for foreign flagged vessels wishing to charter in Australia. The Hon Warren Truss MP, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development announced last week the current act will be amended to make it even easier for foreign flagged superyachts to charter in Australia and it is hoped this will occur by the end of the Parliamentary winter sitting. Australia is now open for business with the current coastal trading act allowing superyachts to charter in Australia under the temporary permit system. Whilst this is relatively straight forward Superyacht Australia CEO M Edwards reiterated” to ensure you get it right and don’t make any errors we strongly recommend using an Australian agent”.
The Superyacht Australia members involved in the working group are Bray Management, Ocean Alliance, Abell Point Marina, Ports North (Cairns Marlin Marina) and Aurora Logistics.
Superyacht Australia agents are currently listed on the Superyacht Australia website.
Read the original Press Release here – Australian Government Listens to Superyacht Industry