Australia has its own professional diving certification scheme, ADAS, internationally recognised and aligned with the industry's ISO standards. Offshore activity is concentrated in the country's major gas projects in the north-west, with a rotational campaign work model and strict visa requirements.
Australia is one of the most interesting and least understood commercial diving markets from a European point of view. It has its own certification scheme with a good reputation, an offshore industry concentrated in natural gas, and working conditions that make it a sought-after destination. It also has some very real entry barriers.
What ADAS is
ADAS stands for Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme, Australia's national accreditation scheme for professional divers. It works as a certification system with different parts or levels, ranging from surface-supplied diving in restricted waters up to the higher levels covering closed bell diving and saturation.
Its distinctive feature is its alignment with the international ISO standards for commercial diver training, which gives it wide recognition outside the country. An ADAS certificate isn't a local document: it's an accreditation that's accepted or recognised relatively easily in many markets. That's its main advantage over schemes with a more national scope.
The comparison between the world's major schemes —the British, the American, the Canadian, the Australian and the IMCA framework— is in which certification to choose, and the full map is in certifications.
How the training is structured
ADAS progression is staged. It starts with the surface-supplied diving levels in restricted and unrestricted waters, which give access to inshore, harbour, aquaculture and marine construction work. After that come the levels that qualify for offshore surface-supplied work, and at the top the closed bell levels.
Each level requires training at an accredited centre, passing the relevant assessment and keeping the medical certificate current. As everywhere else, certification is a necessary but not sufficient condition: what opens doors is the combination of certificate, logged hours and references.
Where the offshore work is
Australia's offshore industry is dominated by natural gas, not oil, and is concentrated mainly on the country's north-west coast. The region known as the North West Shelf, off Western Australia, has held one of the largest concentrations of gas production and liquefaction infrastructure in the southern hemisphere for decades.
On top of that historical base came the major liquefied natural gas projects developed in the area, with fixed platforms, floating units, large-diameter pipelines coming ashore and onshore process facilities. All of that generates ongoing underwater inspection, maintenance and repair work. The inventory of facilities is in plataformas offshore.
There are also other pockets of activity: the Bass Strait and the Victoria coast, with mature fields; the north-west mining ports, which move enormous volumes of ore and need constant maintenance of quays and structures; and a significant aquaculture industry, especially in Tasmania, that employs professional divers on an ongoing basis.
The work model
What dominates in Australian offshore work is campaign work with rotations, in a scheme known locally as FIFO, fly-in fly-out: the company flies you to the installation or the embarkation port, you work a rotation of several weeks and go home. It's the same model that dominates mining in Western Australia and is deeply embedded culturally.
Australian working conditions are, broadly speaking, good: there's well-developed labour and health and safety regulation, and pay levels in the offshore sector are high. The cost of living is high too, especially in Perth and the mining areas, so raw comparisons are misleading. The reference picture is in how much a diver earns.
The real barrier: the visa
This is the point to understand before making any plans. Australia has an immigration system based on occupation lists and employer sponsorship. To work there as a foreigner you need a visa with work rights, and the usual route is being sponsored by an Australian company.
That means the order matters: the job offer first, the visa afterwards. You don't turn up with a suitcase and go looking for work. And companies sponsor when they can't find the profile locally, which again pushes things towards experienced, specialised candidates.
Other routes in exist —working holiday visas for certain nationalities and age brackets, or skilled residency routes— but the conditions change frequently and are a matter for immigration advice, not a blog post. Always check the official source at the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
Training in Australia
There are several accredited centres delivering ADAS training around the country. Well-known ones in the industry include Commercial Dive Academy and Underwater Technology Consultants, both with professional diving programmes under the scheme. The complete, up-to-date list of accredited centres is published by the scheme's own governing body, which is the source worth checking before enrolling.
Training in Australia as a foreigner requires a student visa and doesn't in itself grant the right to stay and work, so it's a decision to make with your eyes open: you get an internationally recognised accreditation, not a route into the Australian labour market. You can compare schools worldwide in the school directory, and the general roadmap is in how to train as a commercial diver.
Saturation in Australia
It's worth being precise here: saturation work in Australian waters exists but doesn't have the continuous volume of the North Sea or Brazil. Much of the gas infrastructure sits at depths covered by surface-supplied diving or directly by ROV, and saturation projects arrive tied to specific campaigns, with vessels mobilised in from other regions.
The practical reading is that Australia is a solid market for offshore commercial diving and inshore work, and an occasional market for saturation. For a pure saturation career, the reference basins remain elsewhere: see where saturation diving work is.
Australian inshore work
Not much is said about it, and it's where a good part of the country's real employment is. Three areas stand out.
Ports and maritime infrastructure. Australia exports enormous volumes of ore and gas, and that means quays, piles, fenders, dredging and loading structures that need continuous inspection and repair. It's surface-supplied diving work, stable and less tied to the oil cycle.
Aquaculture. The salmon industry in Tasmania and other species in various states employ divers regularly for maintaining cages, nets and moorings. It's a niche little known outside the country, with steady demand.
Marine civil works and renewable energy. Port expansions, outfalls, coastal protection and the first offshore wind developments generate diving campaigns with a construction profile.
For anyone who lives in Australia or has the right to work there, this segment is usually the most realistic way into the trade, and from there you build towards offshore.
What to get in writing before accepting a contract
If you get an offer to work in Australia as a foreigner, there are points worth pinning down before moving anything.
Exactly which visa will be processed, who's sponsoring it and who covers the cost and timelines. What certifications you'll be required to hold and whether your current qualification is accepted directly or needs some conversion. What offshore safety training is required and whether the company funds it. Who covers flights, accommodation and medical insurance during the rotation, an important point because the Australian healthcare system doesn't cover all visitors equally. And what tax regime you fall under, which in a scheme of international rotations is never a minor detail.
None of this is about distrust: these are the normal questions for an international contract, and a serious company answers them in writing without any trouble. The list of industry contractors is in the company directory.
Summary for anyone considering it
Australia offers a quality certification scheme recognised abroad, a stable offshore industry tied to gas, good working conditions and a well-oiled rotation model. In exchange it demands a visa that depends on a company wanting you, a high cost of living, and accepting that saturation work is intermittent.
If you already have experience and are looking for a market with high standards, it's a destination worth serious consideration. If you're starting from scratch and aren't a resident, it's more realistic to build hours in an accessible market first and look towards Australia once you have something a company would want to sponsor. That first phase is covered in how to get your first offshore job.
Frequently asked questions
What is ADAS certification?
ADAS stands for Australian Diver Accreditation Scheme, Australia's national accreditation scheme for professional divers. It has different levels, from surface-supplied diving in restricted waters up to closed bell, and it's aligned with the international ISO standards for commercial diver training, which gives it wide recognition outside Australia.
Is the ADAS certificate valid outside Australia?
Generally, yes. Its alignment with the industry's ISO standards means it's accepted or recognised relatively easily in many markets, which is its main advantage over schemes with a more national scope. Even so, every market has its own entry requirements, so it's worth checking the specific equivalence before planning a move.
Where is commercial diving work in Australia?
Offshore activity is concentrated on the north-west coast, in the North West Shelf region and the major liquefied natural gas projects of Western Australia. There are also pockets of activity in the Bass Strait and the Victoria coast, constant maintenance work at the north-west mining ports, and a significant aquaculture industry, especially in Tasmania.
Can you go to Australia to look for diving work?
It isn't realistic. The Australian immigration system is based on occupation lists and employer sponsorship, so the order is the job offer first and the visa afterwards. Companies sponsor when they can't find the profile locally, which pushes things towards experienced, specialised candidates rather than recent graduates.
Is there saturation diving in Australia?
It exists, but without the continuous volume of the North Sea or Brazil. Much of the gas infrastructure sits at depths covered by surface-supplied diving or ROV, and saturation projects arrive tied to specific campaigns with vessels mobilised in from other regions. It's a solid market for offshore diving and an occasional one for saturation.
Published 21 August 2026 · By Arthur More, professional saturation diver
Photo: PiktourUK · CC BY via Openverse