Product Overview

Summary: This Night Diving Guidelines Safe Operating Procedure provides a clear, step-by-step framework for planning and conducting night dives safely in Australian waters. It focuses on hazard identification, equipment requirements, communication protocols, and emergency response to protect divers, dive leaders, and businesses operating after dark.

Night diving introduces a unique set of risks that are not present, or are significantly increased, compared to daytime diving. Reduced visibility, disorientation, altered marine life behaviour and increased reliance on artificial lighting and signalling all raise the potential for incidents if not tightly controlled. This Night Diving Guidelines Safe Operating Procedure provides a robust, repeatable system for planning, briefing, conducting and closing out night dives in line with Australian WHS expectations and recognised diving standards. It helps dive businesses and organisations demonstrate due diligence by documenting how hazards are identified, controlled and monitored before, during and after every night dive.

The SOP is designed for both recreational and occupational diving environments, including charter operations, scientific research, underwater construction and inspection, and public aquarium work. It addresses practical issues such as diver selection and fitness, equipment checks specific to night work, buddy and team configurations, underwater navigation in low visibility, surface support requirements, and emergency procedures for lost divers, equipment failure and medical incidents at night. By implementing this procedure, organisations can improve diver safety, strengthen compliance with WHS legislation, and provide consistent training and operational guidance across all night diving activities.

Key Benefits

• Ensure night diving operations are conducted in line with Australian WHS obligations and recognised diving standards.
• Reduce the likelihood of disorientation, separation and lost diver incidents through structured planning and communication protocols.
• Improve diver safety by standardising equipment checks, lighting requirements and emergency signalling specific to night conditions.
• Support consistent training and competency assessment for dive leaders, surface support and participating divers.
• Demonstrate due diligence to regulators, clients and insurers through a documented, defensible approach to managing night diving risks.

Who is this for?

• Dive Instructors
• Dive Masters
• Commercial Divers
• Scientific Divers
• Recreational Dive Operators
• Charter Boat Skippers
• WHS Managers in Marine Operations
• Aquarium and Marine Park Operations Managers
• Underwater Construction Supervisors
• Emergency Response and Rescue Divers

Hazards Addressed

• Reduced visibility leading to disorientation and lost divers
• Increased risk of diver separation and communication failure
• Navigation errors and unintended depth or location changes
• Entrapment or entanglement with limited ability to see hazards
• Marine life interactions and bites/stings in low light conditions
• Equipment failure of primary or backup lights at depth
• Thermal stress and fatigue due to extended night exposure
• Slips, trips and falls on wet decks or shore entries in darkness
• Boat traffic and collision risks around dive sites at night
• Panic, anxiety and psychological stress associated with night conditions
• Delayed recognition of diver distress or medical emergencies
• Inadequate surface support, lookout and rescue capability after dark

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Terminology (Night Diving, Occupation vs Recreational Contexts)
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities (Dive Supervisor, Dive Leader, Surface Support, Skipper, Divers)
• 4.0 Competency, Training and Medical Fitness Requirements
• 5.0 Planning Night Dives (Site Selection, Environmental Conditions, Risk Assessment)
• 6.0 Pre-Dive Checks and Equipment Requirements (Lighting, Redundancy, Signalling Devices, PPE)
• 7.0 Briefing Requirements (Dive Plan, Buddy System, Communication, Lost Diver Procedures)
• 8.0 Entry, Descent and Underwater Navigation Procedures at Night
• 9.0 Communication Protocols (Light Signals, Hand Signals, Surface Communication)
• 10.0 Buddy and Team Management (Spacing, Positioning, Role Allocation)
• 11.0 Ascent, Exit and Post-Dive Procedures (Head Counts, Debrief, Incident Reporting)
• 12.0 Emergency and Contingency Procedures (Lost Diver, Light Failure, Medical Emergency, Marine Life Incident)
• 13.0 Surface Support and Vessel Operations at Night (Lookout, Lighting, Marking of Dive Site)
• 14.0 Environmental and Marine Life Considerations (Minimising Disturbance, Protected Species)
• 15.0 Documentation, Recordkeeping and WHS Reporting Requirements
• 16.0 Review, Audit and Continuous Improvement of Night Diving Operations

Legislation & References

• AS/NZS 2299.1: Occupational diving operations – Standard operational practice
• AS 4005.1: Training and certification of recreational divers – Part 1: Diver training
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and corresponding state and territory WHS Acts
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (Cth) and corresponding state and territory WHS Regulations
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: Managing the Work Environment and Facilities
• Safe Work Australia – Code of Practice: First Aid in the Workplace
• Marine Safety (state and territory maritime authority) requirements for vessel operations
• AS/NZS 2299.3: Occupational diving operations – Recreational industry diving and snorkelling operations (where applicable)