7 November 2019
Update: Australian Builders Plate Standard – Edition 5 now available
The Australian Builders Plate (ABP) Standard ensures recreational boaters are provided with essential safety guidance regarding their boats loading and passenger capacity, engine size, and buoyancy characteristics.
Maritime Safety Victoria has been working with national and state marine regulators to review the ABP Standard, which determines how calculations for the ABP are made.
With the intention of improving the safety outcomes of the ABP Standard, a new Standard is proposed, which is now open for public comment. The consultation, on the Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) website, closes 31 January 2020.
Key proposed changes include:
- further guidance for boat builders regarding how ABP values are determined;
- requiring floatation is fitted in accordance with nominated technical standards;
- making the “operational warning statement” a mandatory inclusion on the ABP; and
- generally restructuring the Standard to improve safety outcomes and ease-of-use.
