The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is still asking for feedback on proposed changes to the National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) Part C4 – Fire safety.
The consultation focuses on a range of proposed changes that aim to make the standard clearer, more practical, and better suited to today’s risks and technologies.
Surveyors, designers, vessel DCV owners and operators have until Friday 6 February 2026 to the draft and to give their feedback on the proposed changes.
Key changes include:
- Fire safety requirements for lithium battery technology
- Introduction of a “medium machinery space” category for machinery spaces over 10 m³.
- Expanding vessel spaces to explicitly include toys, tenders and equipment with petrol engines and lithium batteries
- Requiring interconnected photoelectric smoke alarms in accommodation and other relevant spaces on some vessels
- Providing alternative replacements for selected fire extinguishers
- Clarify fire resisting division standards and fuel tank boundary requirements
- Fire performance benchmarks for certain vessel fittings
- Clarify regulation of wood-fired heaters
- Editorial amendments resolving outdated references and providing clarity where required.
Have your say: AMSA consultation – National Standard for Commercial Vessels (NSCV) Part C4 – Fire Safety
