OPINION: New Zealand’s seafarer welfare funding model a benchmark for Australia

THE HEALTH, wellbeing and recuperation of seafarers depends on 21st Century funding for port welfare facilities. In Australia, the current institutional paralysis-by-analysis and lack of decisive action are preventing the logic and compassion of delivering this obvious evolution. 

Precedent model: New Zealand Seafarer Welfare Council

Meantime, across the Tasman, in what may be a world-first, the New Zealand Government and maritime operators whose ships operate in and around New Zealand have committed to funding seafarer welfare services through maritime levies.  

One of the recommendations from a 2023 NZ Government review of maritime levies was to use levy funding for seafarer welfare services. This followed legislative change in 2021, which made such use of levies possible. The recommendation was supported by industry, approved by government, and took effect on 1 July, 2024.  

This is an important change, confirming reliable, ongoing funding using maritime levies paid by ship operators instead of seafarer welfare services having to rely solely on charitable sources for their funding. New Zealand’s maritime authority, Maritime NZ, administers the system that allocates available funding through grants to providers of seafarer welfare services following a thorough application and assessment process. These services are made available to the crews of all ships covered by the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) across New Zealand ports, in a way that is appropriate to both their needs and the port they are visiting.  

The funding is used to provide services that help meet what is required under the MLC. This falls into the broad categories of communication services (Wi-Fi and telecommunications), information services, ship visits, shopping (for those crew not able to leave ship), money exchange, access and transport to welfare centres, transport services to and from town and support for mental and physical health, wellbeing and advocacy services.  

Historically, seafarer welfare services in New Zealand were provided almost exclusively by faith-based organisations, funded by charity. Since 1964 those organisations coordinated their work through the Seafarer Welfare Board (SWB). Government agencies have had a range of advisory roles with the SWB and helped it connect to the Government of the day but were not funders.  

The COVID-19 pandemic affected both the type of services and sources of charitable funding. As a result, from 2020, Crown funding was provided to the SWB. In 2021, a centralised government funding arrangement was put in place for the SWB to provide specified services under a contract with Maritime NZ. These measures were intended as a stopgap response to the pandemic and were replaced by the new funding system. 

In September 2023, Maritime NZ established the New Zealand Seafarer Welfare Council (NZSWC). The council is intended to be a collaborative body looking at seafarer welfare services as they are now and how they can be in the future. It focuses on strategy and policy and looks at how NZ represents itself on the international stage in relation to the welfare of seafarers. Terms of reference and membership have been developed in collaboration with an Advisory Group of representatives from across the maritime sector.  

The NZSWC currently comprises 12 members, including the chair, made up of representatives from welfare providers, industry, unions and Government. The council’s terms of reference set out its scope and responsibilities, including feedback on the grants process, but ultimately all funding decisions for grants are the responsibility of Maritime NZ. 

Legal opinion and lobbying in Australia: Human Rights at Sea (HRAS)

In 2022, HRAS published a legal opinion highlighting the risk of Australia breaching its welfare obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC) if it failed to secure sufficient long-term funding for shore-based welfare facilities. (Australia Maritime Levy Counsels Opinion Feb 2022.pdf (humanrightsatsea.org)) This opinion clearly emphasised ‘how + why’ updated legislation, favouring sustainable levy funding, could significantly improve welfare safeguards for the 340,000+ seafarers who annually arrive in Australian ports.  

Incisive advocacy by HRAS secured sustainable funding in New Zealand (Legislative Success: New Zealand Onshore Seafarer Welfare Services Sustained in Law | HRASi), but their three-year campaign to secure a similar model in Australia failed. Why? It is absolutely mystifying why such a modest and fully justifiable levy, so easily put in place, has not been realised. In essence, this issue CAN be accomplished through minimal legislative amendments (as was done in NZ). The solution lies in ring-fencing a small percentage of existing maritime levy funds, overseen by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.  

Proposed model: Australia Seafarer Welfare Council

The precedent set by the New Zealand Government in July 2021 in amending and enacting primary legislation, the 1994 Maritime Transport Act, resulted in a unique state-level pathway to assure that seafarer welfare needs and associated costs are now sourced from the existing maritime levy funding stream. 

It is unconscionable in 2025, with Australia’s multi-billion-dollar shipping industry, seafarer welfare providers in this country are still required to offer an invaluable service on the back of donations, gift shop sales, and limited volunteers. The amounts received are insufficient to employ young professionals (who might otherwise see this as a career path) and provide the services that seafarers really need. 

It is time - well past time - for a committed focus and political will to secure sustainable funding for seafarers’ welfare in Australia. Seafarers’ working lives, wellbeing and the upholding of a fair and reasonable recuperating environment ashore pivots on this much needed but simple development to use existing maritime levy funds for good. 

The re-elected Australian Labor government’s opportunity to assure long-term seafarer welfare funding and sustainability with minimal legislative amendment must not continue to be ignored, or side-stepped, through paralysis of internal decision-making. The source of funds to support ongoing seafarer welfare needs are available today. 

In preparing this article I wish to give my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the following individuals for their time, enthusiasm and encouragement: 

Sharyn Forsyth
Deputy Chief Executive Partnerships 
Maritime New Zealand 

Bridget Thompson  
Project Manager - Harm Prevention   
Partnerships Group 
Maritime New Zealand 

Jayshree Ranchhod 
Investment Advisor - Harm Prevention
Maritime New Zealand 

For more information on NZ seafarer welfare funding, please visit Seafarer Welfare - Maritime NZ.