AMSA oral exam preparation

The AMSA oral exam is part of the final assessment the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) requires before it issues some near coastal and STCW seafarer certificates of competency. Candidates often call it “the orals” or “the AMSA orals”.

This guide explains how the AMSA oral examination works, what AMSA publishes to help you prepare, how to study, and how to tell when you are ready to book. It covers the deck officer and domestic commercial vessel certificates that AMSA Examiner supports, from Watchkeeper deck (OOW) to Master (unlimited) and the near coastal Master certificates. Everything about how AMSA runs the exam comes from AMSA’s own pages, which are linked at the end.

Length

Scheduled for 2 hours

Format

Mostly online on Microsoft Teams; face-to-face on request, subject to examiner availability

Booking

Only after AMSA sends an invitation (near coastal) or a sea service assessment outcome notice (STCW)

What AMSA publishes

A syllabus, an examiner checklist and a study sheet for each certificate, plus an examiner video and an audio briefing

What is the AMSA oral examination?

In the oral exam an AMSA examiner asks you questions based on the knowledge and skills required for your certificate. AMSA says you may be asked to explain how you would respond to a situation, describe examples from your sea service, explain why you made particular decisions, and refer to relevant legislation, procedures or guidance.

AMSA says the examiner is assessing how you apply your knowledge, not whether you can memorise information. You need to show that you can apply knowledge safely in real situations, make sound decisions, explain what you would do and why, and use relevant legislation, procedures and guidance to support your answer.

Which certificates need an AMSA oral exam?

AMSA says you need to pass an oral exam if you are applying for:

• an STCW Certificate of Competency (Master, deck officer or engineer);
• one of these near coastal certificates of competency: Master <45m, Master <100m, Marine Engine Driver (MED) Grade 1 or Engineer Class 3;
• an STCW certificate of recognition; or
• a skilled migration assessment.

AMSA says you do not need an oral exam for STCW certificates of proficiency (ratings), or for near coastal certificates that are not listed above. The table below maps the common names candidates use for the deck certificates on this site to AMSA’s official certificate names, the AMSA checklist that applies, and our preparation guide for each.

“OOW” (Officer of the Watch) is the common name for AMSA’s Watchkeeper deck certificate. “Near coastal” certificates are AMSA’s domestic certificates for operating in Australian waters, which candidates often group under the domestic commercial vessel (DCV) system.

How the process works

1. Wait for your invitation or notice. AMSA first assesses your application. For near coastal certificates it then sends an invitation to sit an oral exam. For STCW certificates it sends a sea service assessment outcome notice. You cannot book an oral exam until you receive the relevant invitation or notice.
2. Choose how to sit the exam. Most oral exams are conducted online using Microsoft Teams. You can request a face-to-face exam when you book, subject to examiner availability. AMSA says exams are conducted Monday to Thursday, with sessions at 9am, 11am and 2pm, and that during busy periods you may need to wait up to 3 months for the next available appointment.
3. Book. You submit an oral exam booking request, which does not itself confirm the booking. AMSA sends available dates and payment instructions, you pay the exam fee, and AMSA then sends a booking confirmation with your exam date, time and time zone and a Microsoft Teams link or the exam location. You are asked to agree to AMSA’s oral examination terms and conditions.
4. Prepare. AMSA lists studying the examiner checklist, reviewing the syllabus, preparing examples from your sea service and practising answering questions aloud.
5. Sit the exam. The exam is scheduled for 2 hours. AMSA says to join your Teams meeting or arrive at the AMSA office before your start time, have your photo identification and provisional assessment letter ready, and follow the examiner’s instructions. Under AMSA’s terms you must complete the exam yourself, and for an online exam you need a computer or tablet with a camera and microphone, a private and quiet room, and you cannot use a mobile phone.
6. After the exam. The examiner gives you your result at the exam. If you are assessed as competent, AMSA continues processing a near coastal application, and for an STCW certificate you apply using Seafarer form 419. If you are assessed as not yet competent, AMSA gives you feedback and you can book again after the minimum waiting period.

Check AMSA’s own pages for current booking steps, fees and conditions: the AMSA booking page and the oral examination terms and conditions.

What AMSA publishes to help you prepare

On its Prepare for your oral exam page AMSA provides, for each certificate:

• An examiner checklist, which AMSA says shows the topics you need to understand and the level of knowledge expected for each topic. Topics carry ratings: A is safety-critical knowledge you must demonstrate to pass, B is thorough operational knowledge and C is general knowledge.
• A syllabus, which AMSA says lists the knowledge and skills you will be assessed against, including the standards examiners use to assess competence for your certificate.
• A study sheet, which AMSA lists alongside the checklist and syllabus for each certificate.

AMSA also provides a video of AMSA examiners describing what to expect and giving preparation tips, and an audio briefing on what makes a well-structured oral exam response. AMSA notes that the audio briefing uses AI-generated material.

All of this is on AMSA’s Prepare for your oral exam page. Near coastal syllabi are also listed on AMSA’s near coastal syllabus page.

How to prepare for the AMSA oral exam

This follows AMSA’s own preparation advice:

1. Use the checklist and syllabus to study

AMSA says to use the examiner checklist as your study plan and its ratings to decide how long to spend on each topic, spending the most time on A-rated topics. Work through the syllabus topic by topic and note anything you need to revise before you book. AMSA says your knowledge must match the level of certificate you are applying for.

2. Prepare examples from your sea service

Examiners may ask how you have applied your knowledge in real situations. AMSA suggests drawing examples from areas such as navigation, vessel operations, emergencies, passenger management, engineering operations, maintenance and watchkeeping. For each example, be ready to explain what happened, what you did, why you made those decisions, what happened as a result and what you learned.

3. Review topics you are not confident in

AMSA says you could revisit your course materials, contact your registered training organisation, speak with an experienced mentor, visit an operational vessel, or review relevant legislation and guidance.

4. Practise spoken answers

AMSA says practising aloud helps you structure a response and explain your reasoning. Explain what you would do, why you would do it, and what legislation, procedure or guidance supports your decision, which could include the vessel’s safety management system, Marine Orders, charts, operating manuals or manufacturer’s instructions. Practising with a colleague, mentor or trainer can help.

5. Check you are ready to book

AMSA says to book only when you are ready to show you can apply your knowledge safely in real situations, and not to treat the exam as a practice run. Before you book, make sure you can:

• explain the key topics in your syllabus;
• apply your knowledge to practical situations;
• give examples from your sea service;
• explain why you would take a particular action;
• refer to relevant legislation, procedures or guidance; and
• answer questions clearly out loud.

What questions are asked in the AMSA oral exam?

AMSA says the examiner asks questions based on the knowledge and skills required for your certificate. AMSA’s international syllabi (Appendices 1 to 3) describe themselves as lists of topics candidates are expected to know, provided for guidance, and not as fully detailed lists of orals questions. They add that the examiner may ask for answers in diagrammatic form or to complete simple calculations, and that candidates may be asked to demonstrate radar plotting and chart-work.

Collections of “typical AMSA oral questions” shared online are not AMSA publications and cannot tell you what you will be asked. If you use them for practice, check every answer against current legislation and your AMSA checklist.

Finding your weak topics

These are our own suggestions, not AMSA guidance. A few patterns can help you find where to spend extra time:

• Checklist topics rated A that you cannot yet explain without notes.
• Topics far from your daily work, such as a ship type, cargo or operation you have not handled.
• Regulations you rarely use, where you remember the idea but not what applies in which situation.
• Emergency situations, where your decisions are easy for an examiner to probe.

Choose your certificate

International (STCW) certificates

• Master Unlimited – Master (unlimited) (STCW II/2)
• Chief Mate Unlimited – Chief Mate (unlimited) (STCW II/2)
• AMSA OOW (Watchkeeper Deck) – Watchkeeper deck (STCW II/1)
• Chief Mate <3000 GT – Chief Mate less than 3000 GT (STCW II/1 and II/2)
• Master <500 GT – Master less than 500 GT (STCW II/1 and II/2)

Domestic commercial vessel (near coastal) certificates

• Master <45 m Near Coastal – Master less than 45 metres near coastal
• Master <100 m Near Coastal – Master less than 100 metres near coastal

How AMSA Examiner helps you prepare

AMSA Examiner is a study platform. After you register and enrol for a rank, it gives you these tools:

• Learning topics that you work through in order.
• A Quiz Bank for practice questions.
• Mind maps for revision.
• A study plan built around your exam date.
• Weak-area identification and a revision book.
• Exam readiness reports.

The content you see depends on the rank you enrol for and on what has been published for that rank. AMSA Examiner’s practice material is study material. It is not official AMSA examination content, and it cannot predict the questions you will be asked.