Getting a Boat Licence in Western Australia
Any recreational boat in Western Australia with a motor over 6 horsepower (4.5 kW) needs a driver holding a Recreational Skipper's Ticket (RST), and that includes jet skis. The ticket is one requirement. Registering the boat itself is a separate one, with its own paperwork and its own fee. Here is what each actually involves.
Do You Need an RST?
Transport WA's threshold is straightforward: you need an RST to operate a powered recreational vessel with a motor over 6 hp (4.5 kW). Anything at or under that, plus an unpowered vessel such as a sailing dinghy or a paddle craft, does not require the ticket. You also do not need one just to own a boat that is docked or on land and is not being driven.
There is an exemption for hire-and-drive vessels, though it comes with conditions rather than a blanket pass. A hire operator can let a customer without an RST drive as part of a tour led by a competent guide, or within a well-defined area and within line of sight of the owner with rescue cover and a safety briefing in place, or on an inland waterway with communication devices and a response plan even when the owner cannot see the vessel. If the hired vessel is a PWC, the owner also has to fit it with a kill switch lanyard and a remotely operated cut-out switch covering the whole operating area. Outside those specific conditions, the driver needs the ticket like anyone else.
What an RST Costs, and What It Does Not Cover
Transport WA charges $36.90 to record a new Recreational Skipper's Ticket application, and $26.75 to replace a card. There is no renewal fee, and once issued an RST does not expire.
That $36.90 is the government recording fee only. It does not cover what an authorised assessor or training provider charges for the assessment itself, and the Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure does not regulate that pricing. You can retake the assessment as many times as you need to pass, but a provider may charge again for each attempt, so it pays to ask about retest costs before you book.
Applying and Getting Assessed
To apply you need proof of identity and eyesight, most commonly a WA driver's licence, plus a declaration of medical fitness. If you are under 18, you also need a letter of consent signed by a parent or guardian.
From there, most applicants either self-study from the RST Workbook and Transport WA's practice quizzes, or go through a commercial training provider that runs a course covering the same material. DTMI does not regulate these providers, so format and price vary between them. Someone who already holds a relevant interstate, overseas or commercial marine qualification may instead qualify through skills recognition, covered below, rather than sitting a standard assessment at all.
For a standard application, the theory assessment is 40 multiple-choice questions, and you need 34 correct to pass. Transport WA says it takes about an hour and the syllabus spans boating and collision rules, navigation aids and lights, safety equipment, vessel maintenance, trip planning and emergency response. If you just want the exam mechanics on their own, Boattrader has already broken down how WA's pass marks compare with every other state.
The practical assessment also runs about an hour, though Transport WA notes it varies by boat type, location and conditions on the day. It covers 11 tasks: vessel checks, a safety briefing, starting and operating the motor, keeping a voyage log, leaving and returning to a berth, a man overboard drill, steering a course and coming to a controlled stop. Transport WA's own pass standard is "at least 56 out of the 62 criteria (fewer than 6 wrong)".
Pass and you get an interim certificate straight away, valid for three months while the physical card is produced. Once you hold the RST, you have to carry it with you whenever you are operating a vessel.
Driving Before You Are Ticketed
You do not need to wait for assessment day to get behind the wheel. Transport WA's self-study path assumes you will "learn to drive a vessel with a supervising skipper" while you work through the workbook. There is no separate learner permit for this: Transport WA says the supervising skipper "can be a parent, relative or friend but they must hold a RST and be at least 18 years of age."
Your RST Also Covers Jet Skis
Unlike NSW, where you need a general boat licence plus a separate PWC knowledge test before you can ride a jet ski, Western Australia does not issue a separate personal watercraft licence at all. Transport WA states it plainly: "You must hold a Recreational Skipper's Ticket to operate a PWC." If you have moved from NSW or another state with a separate PWC endorsement, there is no extra licence to add once you hold the RST here, though the usual PWC-specific safety rules still apply on the water.
Everyone on board a PWC has to wear a lifejacket rated at least level 50S from the moment it launches until it is retrieved, which covers the walk to a tie-up spot or a beach landing too, not just the instant it comes back onto the trailer.
Minimum Age and What Younger Skippers Can Do
You need to be at least 14 to get an RST. Holding the ticket at 14 or 15 comes with limits: daylight operation only, and a maximum speed of 8 knots. Those restrictions lift at 16.
Moving to WA or Visiting With an Interstate Ticket
A valid and current interstate or overseas skipper's ticket covers you in WA for up to three months. Transport WA's own wording is direct: "If you intend to stay longer than 3 months, you will need to get an RST." Past that window, if your qualification is on Transport WA's recognised list, it is a skills-recognition application rather than starting again from scratch: you present it and proof of identity to an authorised assessor, and DTMI verifies and issues an RST. Transport WA publishes which interstate and overseas qualifications it recognises, and it is a long list with plenty marked as not recognised, so check your specific ticket rather than assuming it carries straight across. Boattrader has covered the licensing side of NSW and Victoria separately, if you are comparing what you left behind.
Before You Buy a Boat: Registering It Is Separate
The RST is the skipper's own certificate of competency. It says nothing about the boat, and you do not need one to buy or register a vessel, only to drive one over 6 hp. Registration is Transport WA's separate process for the boat itself, and it applies to any vessel that is or can be propelled by mechanical power, including a sailing boat carrying an auxiliary motor. The only real exemption is a small tender: no more than 3.1 metres, a motor no bigger than 5 hp (3.73 kW), used solely as a lifeboat or for ship-to-shore transport.
To register, you need a Hull Identification Number certificate, proof of identity, and proof of acquisition such as a sales invoice, a signed receipt naming both parties, interstate registration papers, or a Statutory Declaration of Boat Ownership. Registration runs for 12 months and is renewed annually rather than issued once like the RST. The annual fee scales with length: $170.65 under 5 metres, $362.40 from 5 to 9.99 metres, $726.95 from 10 to 19.99 metres, and $1,063.15 at 20 metres and over, on top of a $36.90 fee to record a new registration. If you are bringing a boat over from interstate, it needs to be registered in WA within three months of first being used here, or within 30 days if it is coming from the Northern Territory.
Sort out the RST and know what registering your size of boat will cost before you go looking, and browse what's currently listed for sale on Boattrader with both numbers already in mind.
