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Australia · Boat licence

The boat licence handbook for each state

Your test is written from your state’s boat licence handbook, so read that one rather than another state’s. NSW says everything you need for both its boat and PWC tests is in its Boating Handbook. Victoria bases its questions on every chapter of its safety handbook, and WA’s RST Workbook covers both parts of its assessment.

  • FreeEvery handbook here, as a PDF
  • $5Printed Tasmanian handbook
  • July 2026Latest RST Workbook from WA
Where to study

Updated October 2026 · Written from official sources, listed at the bottom of this page

Which boat licence handbook do you need?

StateHandbookEdition
NSWBoating Handbook2026
NSW, jet skisPersonal Watercraft HandbookDecember 2021
VictoriaVictorian Recreational Boating Safety HandbookDecember 2024
WARecreational Skipper’s Ticket WorkbookJuly 2026
TasmaniaTasmanian Safe Boating HandbookJune 2024

The editions are the dates printed in each document or on its download link.

NSW Boating Handbook (PDF) ↗NSW Personal Watercraft Handbook (PDF) ↗Victorian Boating Safety Handbook (PDF) ↗WA RST Workbook download page ↗Tasmanian Safe Boating Handbook (PDF) ↗

NSW Boating Handbook

It covers licences and registration, lifejackets and safety equipment, preparing for a trip, the rules on the water, navigation marks, lights and sound signals, towing and emergencies. It’s free from service centres as well as online. Transport for NSW says the legislation wins wherever the handbook and the law differ, and the jet ski test also draws on the separate Personal Watercraft Handbook.

Victoria’s Boating Safety Handbook

Safe Transport Victoria says the handbook holds the latest maritime regulations, and the test questions come from all of its chapters. Chapter 4 covers licensing and registration. Accredited training providers can also get a print-ready file to print it professionally.

How the Victorian test works →

WA’s RST Workbook

The workbook has chapters on rules and regulations, collision avoidance, maintenance, safety equipment, trip planning, emergency situations and the practical assessment. Each chapter ends with self-test questions, with the answers at the back, and WA says they’re similar to the theory assessment. It also has drawings and pace notes for the practical skills.

How the RST assessment works →

Tasmania’s Safe Boating Handbook

MAST recommends studying it before the licence test. You can download it free, or buy a printed copy for $5 at a Service Tasmania shop or MAST’s office. It covers the theory part of the BoatSafe course and has seven short boating knowledge tests through the book.

Sources: Transport for NSW · Safe Transport Victoria · TransportWA and 5 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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