Australian Border Force (ABF) marine crew
The ABF marine crew conduct offshore maritime patrols including response, surveillance, deterrence and border enforcement activities that support civil maritime security operations
This work involves a roster cycle of 195 duty days per financial year. The working pattern depends on the type of vessel you are deployed to, with an approximate rotation of one month on and one month off. For example, our Cape Class vessels have a pattern of 28 days rostered on and 28 days rostered off, under a fly-in-fly-out arrangement. People interested in these types of roles must be:
- Able to perform duties in the maritime environment. This includes deployments on unstable platforms in uncertain and variable weather and sea conditions.
- Comfortable with sharing facilities, when living in the close constraints of a vessel.
- Able to deploy for at least 22 days (Bay Class), 28 days (Cape and Thaiyak) and 29 days (Ocean Class) at a time with no opportunity to return to port or home.
- Able to be flexible and use initiative, including assisting with work outside of assigned responsibilities.
Roles
The ABF has a variety of marine roles including:
- Commanding Officers (generally referred to as Master in maritime industry)
- Deputy Commanding Officers (Chief Mate)
- Marine engineers (Engineer Class 1 – 3)
- Navigation and Communication officers
- Enforcement officers (including Marine Tactical Officers)
- Marine cooks
Entry level - Marine Tactical Officer - Cadet (MTO-C) program
The MTO-C program is the entry level program for ABF marine crew. Marine Tactical Officers (MTOs) perform varied duties, including:
- Boarding operations
- Bridge and engine room watch keeping
- Deck and engine room tasks and maintenance
- Meal preparation
- Vessel cleaning tasks
You can find more information on the role of an MTO and what is involved in the MTO-C program in our MTO Candidate Information Pack.
