BIA calls on NSW Transport Minister to review boat, jet ski fee hikes

The Boating Industry Association (BIA), which represents the recreational marine industry in the state, wants Transport for NSW (TfNSW) to abandon “its surprise plan to tax the boating public extra millions of dollars” at a time when most people are struggling.

Under the proposed changes, the price of a 10-year NSW jet ski licence will almost double to just shy of $2000. Meanwhile, other fees rise much higher than the benchmark consumer price index (CPI), with TfNSW claiming the extra revenue will help it improve the safety of boaters and jet ski riders in the state.

BIA government and public relations general manager Neil Patchett said the industry group had concerns over the way that TfNSW had claimed the recreational boating fees would have a minimal impact on most boat and jet ski owners.

“Transport for NSW already charges the highest fees in the nation for people to go recreational boating,” Patchett said. 

“Claims increases are mostly no more than $35 masks the fact that, as an example, a three-year general boat driver's licence will go up by 19.0 percent. 

This is more than triple what the CPI figure should be and some of the fee increases go as high as 88.0 percent.”

According to Patchett, a lack of appropriate consultation has compounded the BIA’s concerns.

“For the first time in more than 20 years, Transport for NSW has gone against its own policy which is to adjust fees in line with CPI (5.89 percent),” he said. 

“The new fees will result in tens of millions of dollars in extra revenue from the boating public, made up of everyday Australian families trying to make ends meet in a cost-of-living crisis.”

According to the BIA, if the state’s boaters and jet ski riders all took up a three-year general boat and personal watercraft licence – just two of the schedule of 13 fee increases – the extra revenue alone would be worth a claimed $53 million a year to TfNSW.

The BIA said the fee increases would likely result in people being pushed off the water, putting jobs at risk across the 30,000-strong workforce servicing the NSW recreational boating sector.

TfNSW quietly announced the fee changes last month, covering everything from marine licencing to public moorings. The changes are not due to come into force until July 1.

According to the department, the money raised by the fees will be “re-invested into vital activities carried out by the NSW Maritime team.

NSW Maritime executive director Mark Hutchings said while the department understood that no-one liked a fee increase, the new fee structure was “a necessary change to ensure NSW Maritime can continue conducting safety-critical activities on our waterways.”

“We want to make our waterways safer and more enjoyable for all users, whether you’re a boater, yachtie, jet ski rider or kayaker,” Hutchings said.

Under the proposed changes, jet ski riders are hit the hardest, with the department saying the massive jump in fees was due to a “significant increase in the number of PWC riders on NSW waterways, with PWC licences and registrations up by more than 40 per cent since 2018”.

“With the significant increase in the number of PWC riders on our waterways, it requires more funding and resources to regulate and educate this growing community of waterway users,” Hutchings said 

“Safety is always our number one priority, and these fee changes will allow us to keep doing what we do best.”