In South Australia, the Department for Infrastructure and Transport has partnered with DECKEE, offering recreational boaties a new convenient way to stay safe on the water.
The mobile phone app is designed to provide South Australian boaties a smarter way to get information on safety alerts and rules specific to their location.
As well as providing access to weather forecasts, safety equipment requirements, warnings, and notices, the app also allows users to share their live location with family and friends – giving loved ones peace of mind when the user is out on the water.
The app will also feature a specific page dedicated to Marine Safety SA, providing links to key information relating to the state’s waterways. Real time maps will help boaties know about restricted areas, speed limits and port and harbor boundaries on the water.
Across the state, there are around 50,000 registered vessels and more than 300,000 residents with recreational boat licences. Between July 2020 and June 2025, tragically, there were 18 people who drowned while boating in powered and unpowered vessels on South Australian waters.
The app will make it easier for boaties to understand and comply with the current regulations with all the information they need in the one spot, right in the palm of their hand. The free app is already used by thousands of boaties nationwide, with South Australia the latest state to adopt this system.
Creating safer boating through technology was a key action identified in the state’s Recreational Boating Safety Strategy. The Strategy, released last year, found strong community support for partnering with a safety app to provide simple, easy and relevant safety information to boaties.
New web cameras are also being installed across the coast and the Riverland to help keep everyone up to date with information and conditions before they head out. This will also be available to view through the DECKEE app.
Signage at North Haven boat ramp has been revamped to remove confusion and integrate important safety and environmental messages onto one clear board. While educational electronic speed signage has been installed at St Kilda and North Haven to further improve safety across our waterways.
Unlike road vehicles, boats do not always have equipment which displays a vessel’s speed, leaving it open to interpretation. The new digital signs will display the boat’s speed to its operator, helping boaties keep to the speed limit in these busy areas.
Boaties can download the DECKEE app for free on any compatible Android and iOS device via the Marine Safety SA website.
Department Manager, Marine Safety and Compliance, Gordon Panton said: “Our mission is to make sure everyone who goes out on the water returns home safely, and by partnering with DECKEE we are helping achieve this.
“This collaboration allows us to deliver real-time safety alerts and data straight into the hands of boaties, ensuring our community is better informed and prepared.
“We are working hard to ensure that boaties continue to remain safe on our waters and are implementing several other initiatives to support this, including new signage, web cameras and educational electronic speed signage.”
