People interested in buying a second-hand vessel now have greater protection from buying a boat that is unsafe, or will harm the environment, with the launch of the Public Register of Vessel Statutory Notices.
Image: Transport for NSW
In the past, buyers could be misled about the condition of a vessel, with no way of checking whether it was subject to a statutory notice. Unsuspecting buyers could find themselves stuck with a vessel they could neither use nor afford to repair.
Statutory notices are legally binding notices served by Transport for NSW. These notices outline required actions such as making a vessel safe, carrying out specified repairs, or even removing a vessel from the water.
People who don’t comply with statutory notices in relation to unsafe vessels, or former vessels, can be prosecuted. Their vessels can be detained until repairs are carried out, or even removed from the water, destroyed or sold – and the cost is recovered from the person responsible for the vessel.
If a vessel has a statutory notice recorded against it, there may be restrictions on the transfer of ownership that mean vessel ownership can’t be transferred until transfer restrictions are lifted.
If you are looking at buying a vessel, search the Public Register using the vessel’s registration number, to check if statutory notices about a vessel’s safety or condition are currently in-force re:
- obstruction of navigation notices
- recreational vessel production notices
- unsafe vessel notices
- marine environment protection notices
- environment protection notices.
Searching the Public Register of Vessel Statutory Notices is free – there is no charge for public access.
Transport for NSW has also introduced additional benefits for prospective second-hand vessel buyers, including:
- a new system that sends automated messages internally from the Register to initiate Ownership Transfer Restrictions against vessels subject to statutory notices, and
- a collaboration with the Department of Customer Services, to warn of transfer restrictions associated with restricted vessels, via the Verify NSW vessel registration search function.
The requirement for the publication of the Public Register of Statutory Vessel Notices is a recent amendment to the Marine Safety Act 1998, to strengthen regulatory powers for the effective management of unsafe vessels and former vessels.
Publication of the Register of Vessel Statutory Notices contributes to Transport for NSW’s actions under the Marine Estate Management Strategy’s ‘Enabling safe and sustainable boating’ Initiative.
Article by NSW Marine Estate, (first published 12 August 2025)
