Port Campbell jetty sits on the eastern side of the small bay that gives the town its sheltered harbour, and it is the Shipwreck Coast's one true pier dive. The bay is a 200 m wide drowned valley with a narrow entrance, and its protection means the jetty can often be dived when everything else on this coast is a wall of white water. Under the pier the pylons carry anemones, sponges and ascidians, and the sand between them is worked by smooth rays and eagle rays that lie half-buried waiting for the tide. Between the jetty and the beach the bottom is a mix of reef gutters, rock and weed that the Scuba Doctor describes as having prolific life: abalone, small crayfish under the ledges, juvenile fish of many species in the weed, wrasse, herring cale, sea sweep and leatherjackets. Old moorings, engine blocks and gearboxes overgrown with kelp lie around the bay and, beneath the cliffs 180 m to the west, the frames of the Napier, the steamer lost in 1878 while salvaging the Loch Ard.

Depths run from 2 m at the beach to about 8 m off the end of the pier, and the dive is a simple shallow circuit that suits Open Water divers and snorkellers. The hazards are those of a working harbour: the jetty crane launches the cray boats, boats come and go overhead so a flag and float are essential, anglers cast from the pier, and commercial fishers store lobsters in sea cages moored nearby which must not be approached. For visiting divers touring the Great Ocean Road it is the most reliable dive between Apollo Bay and Warrnambool, a good night dive, and a sensible place to check conditions and equipment before committing to the exposed sites outside. Combined with the Port Campbell Bay beach dive and the Napier it makes an easy morning with the cafes of Lord Street a hundred metres away.

Port Campbell is 66 km east of Warrnambool and 12 km west of the Twelve Apostles on the Great Ocean Road. Turn down Lord Street to the foreshore; there is street parking beside the jetty and a boat-trailer parking area, all within 50 m of the water. Enter by giant stride from the jetty's lower landing (mind the crane and any boats being launched) or walk in from the beach 100 m north and swim along the eastern reef wall to the pylons.

Exit up the jetty ladder or back at the beach. The jetty crane launches boats for licensed permit holders only (Parks Victoria 13 1963).

The Scuba Doctor's rule is that the jetty is best dived on a low swell with any wind except a moderate to strong southerly. The bay's narrow entrance takes the sting out of the south-west swell, but the eastern side under the jetty is prone to surge and, in a large swell, to breaking seas, so keep to days under about 1 m. Visibility runs from 3 m after rough weather to 20 m in settled autumn conditions.

Low tide exposes more of the reef gutters between beach and jetty; high tide gives more water under the pylons. Watch the weather – the Great South West Coast changes quickly.

Descend at the jetty in 4–6 m and work the pylons for anemones and small life, then swim under the pier to the outer end in 8 m looking for rays in the sand. Return along the reef gutters and rock formations between the jetty and the beach in 2–5 m, where abalone, small crayfish and juvenile fish shelter, and exit at the beach or the ladder. Stay well clear of the lobster coffs (sea cages) moored near the jetty.

No operator in Port Campbell; Warrnambool Diving runs occasional guided shore dives here and visiting clubs use it as a sheltered dive when the coast is blown out.