The defendant worked as a vessel master for a company that provided recreational diving activities. 

On 30 January 2022, the defendant left ten divers and a dive instructor unattended in the ocean, approximately three nautical miles from shore, at the ex-HMAS Brisbane dive site. The defendant took the divers’ surface support vessel back to shore because another diver was suffering from a serious medical issue, and in doing so the defendant left the other divers at sea unattended for a period of around 30 minutes.

On 17 January 2024, the defendant was charged with an offence contrary to section 22 of the Safety in Recreational Water Activities Act 2011 (Qld) ('the Act'). The defendant failed to discharge his duty pursuant to section 18(a) of that Act, to take reasonable care that his acts or omissions did not adversely affect the health and safety of persons for whom recreational water activities were provided.

The essence of the offending was that the defendant failed to take reasonable care by his act of leaving the dive site without first recalling all divers back to his vessel and counting all persons on board. In doing so, he exposed the divers who were left behind at sea to a risk of death or serious injury or illness. 

On 3 April 2025, the defendant pleaded guilty (in a timely way) to the offending and appeared before the Maroochydore Magistrates Court to be sentenced. Magistrate Madsen considered all of the circumstances of the matter and ultimately imposed a $10,000 fine. A conviction was not recorded. Costs of $1,500 (and a $101.40) filing fee were also ordered to be paid. The fine and the costs were referred to SPER. 

Magistrate Madsen considered that the matter involved a difficult situation for the defendant but ultimately stated that “at the end of the day [the defendant] did not get it right” and in doing so exposed the divers who were left at sea to serious risks.

OWHSP contact: enquiries@owhsp.qld.gov.au