Straight answers, including the uncomfortable ones.

It is the medical examination that establishes whether a seafarer is medically fit to perform their duties at sea. It is required under Marine Order 76, made under the Navigation Act 2012, which gives effect to the international STCW Convention and the Maritime Labour Convention.

The examination is recorded on AMSA form 232, the medical examination report. Where the assessment supports it, the examiner issues AMSA form 303, the Certificate of Medical Fitness.

No. Only an AMSA approved medical inspector can conduct an STCW seafarer medical and issue a Certificate of Medical Fitness. This is different from the near coastal domestic seafarer medical, which any registered medical practitioner may perform.

Getting this wrong is the most common and most expensive mistake in this area. An appointment with a general practice that is not approved cannot produce the certificate you need.

They are two separate AMSA schemes with different forms, different standards and different rules about who may examine you.

The STCW stream applies to seafarers on regulated Australian vessels and to licensed pilots. It uses form 232 and form 303, and only an AMSA approved medical inspector may perform it. The near coastal stream applies to domestic commercial vessel crew, uses a different form, and may be performed by any registered medical practitioner.

Marlu Health provides both. This website books the STCW medical only, so if it is the near coastal medical you need, ring the clinic rather than booking here. If you are unsure which one your role requires, check with your employer or your training provider before you book.

Under Marine Order 76 a Certificate of Medical Fitness may be issued for up to 24 months. It may be issued for up to 12 months if you are under 18, or aged 55 or over, at the date of assessment.

It may also be issued for a shorter period where a re-examination is needed to assess whether a treatment continues to be effective. The period is set by the examining medical inspector based on the assessment.

Marine Order 76 provides that where a certificate expires during a voyage, it continues in force until the earlier of the next port of destination where an examiner is available to assess you, or three months after the expiry date.

This happens automatically as a matter of law. It is not an extension you apply to AMSA for, and it is not something Marlu Health can grant.

No. An ENG1 is issued under the United Kingdom's regime and requires a doctor approved by the UK authority. An OGUK or OEUK medical is an offshore energy industry assessment, not a flag state certificate.

AMSA does not accept an ENG1 or an OGUK certificate in place of an AMSA Certificate of Medical Fitness. Marlu Health provides AMSA STCW medicals only.

No. AMSA requires that an initial STCW certificate be examined in Australia. Examination overseas is permitted only for a revalidation or an upgrade, and only where specific conditions are met.

No. AMSA states that a medical fitness certificate is not required to apply for or revalidate a Certificate of Safety Training.

Osborne Park, Murdoch and Wembley. Each clinic has its own page carrying the parking, the public transport route, which entrance to use and what to say at reception.

Wembley is opening soon and is not yet taking bookings, so choose Osborne Park or Murdoch when you book.

Yes. The examination and the fee are the same wherever you are seen. Osborne Park and Murdoch are taking bookings now, Wembley is opening soon, and which practitioner attends which location is not published, because it does not change the assessment.

What differs between them is which days they open and how hard the parking is.

Osborne Park is. Murdoch is Monday to Friday, Wembley is opening soon, and every location is closed on public holidays.

If taking a weekday off is difficult, ask for Osborne Park when you contact us.

It depends on the clinic, and it is worth checking before you set off rather than circling once you arrive.

Where a clinic shares its reception with another practice, say what you are there for so the desk can find your appointment. Each clinic page carries the exact wording along with which entrance to use.

Two. The Marlu Health combined consent and release of medical information form, which is a single document rather than separate consent and release forms. And the applicant section of the AMSA medical examination questionnaire, which is Part A of AMSA form 232.

Both must be completed before you attend. The examining medical inspector completes Part B of form 232 during the assessment.

You can read watermarked previews of both before you book, so you know what you will be asked. The version you complete is sent to you by secure link once your appointment is arranged.

Marlu Health may refuse to proceed, postpone or cancel your appointment, and you may not be entitled to a refund.

This is the single most common reason an appointment cannot go ahead. Completing the forms in advance is the one thing most within your control.

Staff on site may allow it, but this is entirely at their discretion and it is not guaranteed. The questionnaire asks about your full medical history, so it takes time and is not something to rush in a waiting room.

Treat completing the forms beforehand as a requirement, not a preference.

Bring an original current passport, or an original current Australian driver licence. It must be the original document, not a photograph or a photocopy.

No. An overseas driver licence is not accepted as primary identification. Bring an original current passport instead.

Bring your previous Certificate of Medical Fitness if you have one, even if it has expired. Bring any glasses or contact lenses you use, and any hearing aid, along with spare batteries. Bring a list of your current medications, and any recent reports from a treating specialist that relate to a condition the assessment will consider.

Marine Order 76 requires seafarers who need a vision or hearing aid to carry a spare, so bringing them to the assessment is also a good habit.

Do not fast unless Marlu Health specifically asks you to. If a fasting test is required for your assessment, the clinic will tell you when your appointment is arranged.

On the day of your medical. You leave with your Certificate of Medical Fitness rather than waiting for it to arrive later.

The certificate records the determination the examining inspector reaches, which may be fit, fit with restrictions, or unfit. Receiving it on the day is a commitment about speed, not about the finding.

Occasionally the inspector needs further information, a report or a test before a determination can be made. Where that happens you will be told on the day, along with what is needed and what happens next.

Three. AMSA form 303 gives the examining medical inspector exactly three declarations: fit, fit with restrictions as detailed on the certificate, or unfit with the details and the action taken shown on it.

There is no separate permanently unfit result, and no separate temporarily unfit result. Where an applicant is found unfit for a reason that can be treated or investigated, that is recorded as the action taken and the inspector sets when the assessment is reviewed again, rather than being a different kind of outcome.

An assessment may also identify that further information, a report or an investigation is needed before it can be completed at all. Where that happens you are told on the day, along with what is needed and what happens next.

No medical outcome can be promised in advance. The determination rests on the assessment against AMSA's standards.

The declaration on AMSA form 303 is fit with restrictions as detailed on the certificate. It means the assessment supports fitness for some duties but not others, and the restriction is written on the certificate itself rather than held somewhere else.

The form records restrictions under three headings: duties, location or vessel, and medical or other. It also carries tick boxes for wearing corrective lenses for distance vision and for near vision.

As an example, AMSA's standards provide that a seafarer who does not have normal colour vision cannot perform lookout duties.

You should already have one. You leave your appointment with a printed copy of your report, whether you booked the medical yourself or your company arranged it.

For a further copy, use the results channel on the Contact page, which is a separate address from bookings. Give your name and the date of your appointment. A digital copy is sent to you, and only to you.

Do not put clinical detail in the email itself, because email is not a secure channel. We will arrange a secure way to discuss it.

Contact the results channel on the Contact page and set out what you would like reviewed or clarified. Marlu Health will route your request appropriately.

Marine Order 76 provides a pathway for a person assessed as unfit, or fit for particular duties only, in consecutive assessments, to arrange an assessment by an expert panel. The panel must be approved by AMSA and the applicant bears the cost.

Marlu Health cannot promise that a determination will be changed. What we can do is make sure your request reaches the right people and that you understand the pathway.

Your report is released to you rather than to your employer, and that is the same whether you booked the medical yourself or your company arranged it.

You leave your appointment with a printed copy, and it is at your discretion how and to whom you pass it on. Handing it over is normally how an employer comes to see it.

An employer cannot complete your questionnaire or sign your consent for you either.