Scuba diving does involve some risk and some medical conditions can make the risk of death while diving much higher. As a result, the regulations, requirements and medical standards relating to diving in Australia are amongst the strictest in the world, in order to ensure that Australia continues to be one of the safest places to dive in the world.

Australian Government sources suggest that only 1 in 430,000 Queensland dives results in a fatality, compared to 1 per 120,000 dives in the rest of Australia, 1 death per 100,000 dives in the United States, and 6.5 deaths per 100,000 dives in Japan.

This strict adherence to dive safety standards, including the Dive Medical, by Australian dive operators, and Queensland dive operators in particular, shows the safety benefit of this approach to personal safety and risk management.

The requirement for a Dive Medical is ultimately for your own safety.

Australian Standard AS4005.1 Compliance

Because of the strict requirements of these standards, and the consequences of not adhering to them, all recreational diving operators in Queensland require that certain types of divers have an AS 4005.1 compliant dive medical carried out before diving with them. This is particularly the case for Open Water dive courses, advnaced dive courses, and situations where a diver has indicated in their Medical Questionnaire that they have a medical issue that is contraindicative to diving

Overseas dive medicals or diver fitness certificates will NOT be accepted unless the assessment certificate clearly and specifically states that the Dive Medical was carried out to the Australian Standard AS4005.1.

Dive Medicals have an expiry date, and must be dated less than 12 months prior to diving.

» When Is A Dive Medical Required...

What Is A Dive Medical?

The Australian Dive Medical assesses the fitness and suitability of prospective scuba divers and ensures that the medical standards for diver fitness meet the standards of Australian Standards AS 4005.1 for recreational divers, and AS/NZS 2299.1 for occupational divers. It is a legal requirement for medical practitioners who perform diving examinations to adhere to these standards and to have had a level of training approved under the Standard.

Developed largely by the South Pacific Underwater Medical Society (SPUMS), the Standards for dive medical examinations in Australia are closely modelled on the SPUMS dive medical examination.

» About The Medical Questionnaire...    » About The Dive Medical Examination...

What Is The Purpose Of A Dive Medical?

The Dive Medical focuses principally on cardiac, pulmonary and neurological conditions, and general health issues, that may put a diver at increased risk for decompression sickness, pulmonary overinflation syndrome with subsequent arterial gas embolization, and other conditions such as loss of consciousness, which could lead to drowning.

At a more mundane level, the most common condition that will cause people to be declared medically unfit to dive is asthma. Studies have shown that asthma increases the risk of death during diving by 10-20 times. In Australia, it is standard practice to exclude asthmatics from diving even though some people may wish to voluntarily take this risk.

Other common conditions that can affect fitness to dive are problems with hearing, sinus infections and ear infections. These can be temporary and do not place the diver at increased risk of death, so generally a warning is made of the risks involved, including permanent hearing loss, after which the diver can make the final decision on whether to dive or not.