NSW PWC Rules and Emergency Distances 2026 Explained

Minimum distances that keep people safe

A safe distance is best described as enough space to avoid a collision, injury to people or damage to things, and New South Wales sets specific minimum distances to give you that space. Powered vessels, including personal watercraft, must keep a minimum distance of 60m from people in the water, from swimming and surfing areas and from dive flags or floats. Once a powered vessel or PWC is travelling at 6 knots or more, it must also keep a minimum distance of 30m from other vessels, structures and the shore. Divers and spearfishers can be up to 100m from their float or flag, so you should take extra care whenever you are within 200m of one. There are listed exceptions, such as supporting swimmers or divers in the water, launching or removing your vessel, paddlecraft, small unpowered sailing vessels, and Surf Life Saving or lifeguard activities, but even when an exception applies, or the minimum distance is simply not possible, you must always keep a safe distance and travel at a safe speed.

• 60m from people in the water, swimming and surfing areas and dive flags or floats.
• 30m from other vessels, structures and the shore when at 6 knots or more.
• Take extra care within 200m of divers, who can be up to 100m from their float.

Swimming areas and naval vessel exclusion zones

Some areas carry their own protected distances. A swimming area extends 60m from the shore between the signs for swimmers, and a designated swimming area in a surf zone extends 500m from the shore between the surf patrol flags or signs, so the protected strip in the surf is much wider than in calm water. Naval vessels have exclusion zones too. When a naval vessel is underway, you must keep a minimum distance of 200m from its bow and 60m from its side, and when a naval vessel is at anchor the minimum distance is 60m. A sailing vessel up to 5.5m long without an engine, including a sailboard or kiteboard, is one of the listed exceptions to some of the specific minimum distance rules. As always, being inside a permitted exception does not remove your basic duty to keep a safe distance and a safe speed around other people and craft.

Rules that apply only to personal watercraft

Personal watercraft carry extra rules because of how they are ridden. You must not drive a PWC in an irregular manner, and irregular riding includes driving in a circle or other pattern, weaving or diverting the craft, and surfing down or jumping over or across a swell, wave or wash. Where this offence applies depends on the location. Within a PWC restriction zone, the irregular riding offence applies when you are within 200m of the shore. In all waterways, even outside a restriction zone, the offence applies within 200m of the shore when one or more dwellings are visible from the water and located within 200m of the shore. So the 200m from shore figure is the key trigger, with the extra dwellings test deciding whether it bites outside a marked restriction zone. Riding smoothly and predictably near the shore, and near homes, is the safest way to stay well inside these rules.

Responding to an emergency on the water

The test also expects you to know how to react when something goes wrong, and the official rules cover the main emergencies you could face: a person falling overboard, a vessel capsizing or being swamped, a fire on board, carbon monoxide or gas leaks, cold water and the risk of hypothermia, and propeller strikes, along with how to alert search and rescue services and respond to an incident. The common thread across all of these is to act calmly and quickly, keep everyone in lifejackets, and get help on the way early rather than waiting to see if a situation improves. Cold water in particular can bring on hypothermia faster than people expect, which is one more reason the lifejacket and safe distance rules matter. Because the detailed emergency procedures can change and depend on your exact situation, study the current Transport for NSW emergency guidance so you know the specific steps for each type of incident before you need them.