Dive planning guides
The practical questions divers ask before an Australian trip, answered from the data in this directory and the rules that apply on the ground.
Planning guides
Wetsuit guide
What Wetsuit Do You Need in Australia? A State-by-State, Month-by-Month Guide
Water temperatures and exposure-suit recommendations for every Australian state and season, from 3 mm shorties on the Great Barrier Reef to drysuits in Tasmania.
When to dive
When to Dive Australia: The Best Time to Visit Each Coast
Season-by-season guide to Australian diving: the dry season on the Great Barrier Reef, whale sharks at Ningaloo, grey nurse aggregations in NSW and the calm windows in the south.
Certification
Scuba Certification Requirements in Australia: What Operators Actually Ask For
What certification, logbook, medical and recency Australian dive operators require, how the Queensland Code of Practice differs, and what each site's 'recommended certification' means in this directory.
Independent diving
Solo & Independent Shore Diving in Australia: Rules, Norms and How to Do It Safely
Whether you can shore dive without a dive centre in each Australian state, dive flag laws, marine park rules, and how to plan an independent dive on an unfamiliar coast.
Swell forecasts
How to Read a Swell Forecast for Shore Diving in Australia
Swell height, period and direction explained for divers: how to tell whether a NSW headland, a Victorian back beach or a Perth reef will be diveable tomorrow morning.
Grey nurse sharks
Diving with Grey Nurse Sharks in Australia: Sites, Seasons and the Rules
Where to dive with grey nurse sharks on the east coast, when they aggregate at each site, and the approach rules that protect a critically endangered population.
Permits & marine parks
Marine Parks, Permits and Protected Wrecks: What Divers Need to Know
The permits, bookings and protected zones that apply to Australian dive sites: Great Barrier Reef Marine Park rules, historic shipwreck protection, war graves, CDAA cave access, Nullarbor permits and Aboriginal land.
Safety & chambers
Dive Safety in Australia: Emergency Numbers, Recompression Chambers and Evacuation Times
What to do in a diving emergency in Australia, where every hyperbaric chamber is, how far each dive region is from treatment, and the DAN and 000 procedure.
New to diving? Your first dives after Open Water
One guide per state: the five easiest, most rewarding sites for a newly certified diver, what a first boat day is like, what to hire, when to go and the next course.
First dives · NSW
Your First Dives After Open Water in New South Wales
First dives · QLD
Your First Dives After Open Water in Queensland
First dives · VIC
Your First Dives After Open Water in Victoria
First dives · WA
Your First Dives After Open Water in Western Australia
First dives · SA
Your First Dives After Open Water in South Australia
First dives · TAS
Your First Dives After Open Water in Tasmania
First dives · NT
Your First Dives After Open Water in Northern Territory
Compilations: top tens, deepest, most remote, near each city
By maximum depth
The 25 Deepest Dive Sites in Australia
Expedition only
Australia's Most Remote Dive Sites
Worth the trip
The Longest Boat Rides to a Day Dive
Tropical
The Warmest Dive Sites in Australia
Drysuit territory
The Coldest Dive Sites in Australia
By visibility
Australia's Clearest-Water Dive Sites
By recorded marine life
The Most Biodiverse Dive Sites in Australia
Colonial era and before
The Oldest Shipwrecks You Can Dive in Australia
1939–1945
WWII and Wartime Wrecks You Can Dive in Australia
The artificial-reef fleet
Every Scuttled Warship You Can Dive in Australia
Well documented, rarely dived
20 Under-the-Radar Dive Sites Worth the Drive
Everyone in the water
The Best Dive Sites for Families and Snorkelling Companions
Small subjects, big lenses
The Best Macro Photography Dive Sites in Australia
Big scenes
The Best Wide-Angle Photography Dive Sites in Australia
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in New South Wales
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in Queensland
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in Victoria
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in Western Australia
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in South Australia
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in Tasmania
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in the Northern Territory
State top ten
The Top 10 Dive Sites in Australia's External Territories
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Sydney
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Melbourne
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Brisbane
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Perth
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Adelaide
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Hobart
Weekend range
The Best Dive Sites Within Two Hours of Cairns
Trip planning, gear and skills
How to Choose a Dive Centre
The most useful question is not which centre is best — it is which centre suits what you actually want to do.
Types of Dive Businesses
Full-service centres, training schools, destination operators, charters, resorts and technical facilities are different things.
Cold-Water Diving in Australia
Why a diver certified in 27°C water needs more than a thicker suit to dive Victoria or Tasmania.
How to Plan Your First Australian Dive Trip
A practical sequence for choosing the region, season, operator, equipment and backup days for an Australian diving holiday.
Wreck Diving in Australia
From the SS Yongala and HMAS Brisbane to Port Phillip's ships' graveyard: how Australia's wreck regions differ and what training each kind of dive requires.
Shark Diving in Australia
A practical guide to grey nurse sharks, whale sharks, wobbegongs and leopard sharks — including the regions, seasons and encounter styles that differ.
Liveaboard Diving in Australia
How Great Barrier Reef, Coral Sea and remote Australian liveaboards differ — and what to compare beyond the advertised number of dives.
Night Diving in Australia
Where night diving works especially well in Australia, what changes after dark and how to plan shore, pier and liveaboard night dives.
Macro and Muck Diving in Australia
The bays, piers and sheltered sites where small Australian marine life rewards slow diving, careful buoyancy and a very different idea of a good site.
Australian Dive Itineraries
Realistic three-, five- and seven-day diving plans that keep travel time under control and leave room for weather.
Returning to Diving After a Break
A practical way to rebuild comfort, buoyancy and equipment familiarity before making the destination dive the checkout dive.
Australian Dive Trip Packing List
What to bring, what to rent and what to confirm for tropical, temperate, shore and liveaboard diving in Australia.
What Scuba Diving Costs in Australia
How to compare course, charter, rental and liveaboard prices without relying on a headline that excludes the parts you need.
Scuba Medicals and Fitness to Dive in Australia
When a medical assessment may be required, what a dive operator needs to know and how to discuss health changes without guessing at medical clearance.
Dive Insurance for Australian Trips
How to compare emergency assistance, evacuation and equipment cover for local, interstate and overseas dive travel.
Flying After Diving in Australia
How to build conservative surface time into reef, liveaboard and remote-island itineraries without turning the final dive into a travel deadline.
Boat Diving in Australia: A Practical Guide
Entries, exits, seasickness, briefings and equipment routines for day boats, RIBs and liveaboards around Australia.
Shore Dive Entries and Exits
A planning framework for beaches, rocks, jetties and tide-dependent Australian shore dives.
The Australian Dive Buddy Checklist
A concise pre-dive conversation covering equipment, separation, gas, navigation and the point at which either diver turns the dive.
Underwater Photography Etiquette
How to make better images without damaging habitat, crowding wildlife or turning a group dive into a private photo session.
Responsible Diving in Australian Marine Parks
A practical code for wildlife distance, anchoring, collecting, photography and local rules across protected Australian waters.
How to Choose a Divemaster Internship
Compare mentoring, real course involvement, workload, total cost and employment claims before committing weeks or months to a professional programme.
How to Choose a Technical Diving Instructor
Evaluate current diving, configuration, failure standards, mentoring and local support before comparing agency logos.
Dive Computers: Planning, Settings and Shared Decisions
Use a dive computer as a personal exposure model and information tool—not as permission to outsource the dive plan.
Emergency Planning for Remote Australian Dive Trips
Build communications, oxygen, evacuation, medical and weather contingencies into trips where outside help may be hours away.
How to Read Australian Dive Conditions
Translate swell, wind, tide, current, rainfall and visibility forecasts into better questions for the local operator.
State diving guides
Each state page opens with a written guide: how the coast is organised, when to go, water temperatures and suits, the dives to do first, and the safety notes that matter locally.
Diving in Queensland
The Great Barrier Reef, the SS Yongala and warm water twelve months a year.
Diving in New South Wales
Temperate reefs, grey nurse sharks and Australia's densest cluster of city shore dives.
Diving in Victoria
Pier macro life, Port Phillip Heads walls and the biggest concentration of wrecks in the country.
Diving in Tasmania
Giant kelp, sea caves, the deepest sea cliffs in the southern hemisphere and water as clear as it is cold.
Diving in South Australia
Leafy seadragons, giant cuttlefish, the Mount Gambier sinkholes and great white cage diving.
Diving in Western Australia
Ningaloo, Rottnest, the Rowley Shoals and 12,000 km of coast with almost no one on it.
Diving in Northern Territory
WWII wrecks in Darwin Harbour, dived on neap tides in the dry season.
Diving in External Territories
Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling), Norfolk Island and the Coral Sea: Australia's remote oceanic diving.