Legal News & Analysis – Asia Pacific – Australia – Shipping, Maritime & Aviation

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

• The Maritime Labour Convention came into force on 20 August 2013, and is implemented in Australia by Schedule 13 of Marine Order 11 with effect from 21 August 2013.
• It now operates to provide basic living and working conditions for seafarers whilst on board vessels at sea.

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

• Industry participants should review the new provisions as implemented in Marine Order 11 to assess whether these provisions might affect their business and to ensure that they are complying with these provisions as needed.

The Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) came into force on 20 August 2013 and has been implemented in Australia as of 21 August 2013. The MLC will now provide basic living and working conditions for seafarers whilst on board vessels at sea. The provisions of the MLC are implemented in Australia through Schedule 13 of Marine Order 11 (found here) which comes into effect as of 21 August 2013.

Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)

The MLC was adopted by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in 2006. Despite this, the minimum requirements for the MLC to enter into force were only met last year on 20 August 2012 when thenumber of countries who had ratified the MLC reached 30. As the provisions of the MLC state that it comes into effect 12 months after the minimum requirement has been reached, the MLC came into force on 20 August 2013. Notably, it will only enter into force for those 30 countries who have ratified the MLC, including Australia.

Marine Order 11

Australia has implemented the provisions of the MLC through Schedule 13 of Marine Order 11 which is effective as of 21 August 2013. For further information on Marine Order 11, please see the earlier updates: Final Marine Orders released and Proposed changes to Marine Orders 11 and 97.

Effect of the MLC

The MLC regulates working conditions for seafarers whilst on board vessels at sea.
In particular, the MLC regulates:

• seafarer requirements;
• seafarer’s employment and social rights;
• accommodation, facilities, food and catering;
• health, protection, medical care, welfare and social security protection; and
• compliance and enforcement.

Next steps

The MLC is now in force in Australia through Schedule 13 of Marine Order 11, commencing on 21 August 2013. Industry participants should review the new provisions as implemented in Marine Order 11, to ensure compliance with the new requirements.

For further information, please contact:

Shane Bosma, Ashurst
shane.bosma@ashurst.com

Paul Newman, Partner, Ashurst
paul.newman@ashurst.com

Adrian Morris, Partner, Ashurst
adrian.morris@ashurst.com

Bilal Rauf, Ashurst
bilal.rauf@ashurst.com

Richard Bunting, Partner, Ashurst
richard.bunting@ashurst.com

David Parker, Partner, Ashurst
david.parker@ashurst.com

Rob Lilburne, Partner, Ashurst
rob.lilburne@ashurst.com

Ian Humphreys, Partner, Ashurst
ian.humphreys@ashurst.com

Ashurst Shipping, Maritime & Aviation Practice Profile in Australia

Homegrown Shipping, Maritime & Aviation Law Firms in Australia