Backgrounders

As the 2021 IALA Heritage Lighthouse of the Year, Cape Byron is a special symbol of the outstanding heritage, architecture, social significance and conservation of lighthouses in Australia and around the world.

Crew changes during the COVID-19 pandemic have been challenging due to border closures, a lack of aviation services and quarantine arrangements around the world. 

Australia is a signatory to the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) which was developed by the International Labour Organisation. The MLC establishes and upholds modern living and working conditions for the estimated 1.4 million seafarers who keep the world’s flow of global trade moving. 

The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (DITRDC) authorises licenses for coastal trading in Australian waters. These licenses allow foreign-flagged ships to operate domestic shipping services such as freight or passenger services, in Australian waters under specific conditions and for a fixed time only.

AMSA provides a national aviation and maritime search and rescue coordination service for Australia through the AMSA Response Centre (ARC) which is based in Canberra. 

Australia takes a collaborative approach in responding to maritime environmental emergencies like oil spills and container losses from shipping. This approach is outlined under the National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies, referred to simply as the ‘National Plan’.