Comment by David Parmeter, AMWS Chair. August 28, 2026
There has recently been a debate in our industry about funding seafarers' welfare and whether it should be considered and treated as a charity cause or a fundamental right. This goes to questions about the "happiness" of seafarers and whether seafarers are typecast as chronically abused and destitute to help inspire people to give to support their needs.
These are issues of critical importance to AMWS because one of our primary functions is providing financial support to Mission to Seafarers, Apostleship of the Sea (Stella Maris) and other organisations delivering seafarer welfare services around Australia. This gives AMWS a direct view of both the value of Australia's welfare network and the financial pressures under which many providers operate.
AMWS agrees with those who say seafarers should be recognised as skilled professionals with dignity and agency – and from our experience, so do the welfare providers. Where we differ from some industry representatives is the suggestion that this somehow reduces the case for welfare support. Recognising seafarers as professionals should strengthen this argument, not weaken it.
Through our financial grants AMWS helps to ensure basic services are provided such as transport, connectivity and shore facilities so that the charities can give support when it is needed.
These aren't handouts given because AMWS believes all seafarers are poor or destitute. Rather they help to maintain the welfare infrastructure required because the nature of international seafaring creates needs that ordinary shore-based workers generally don't face. As Shipping Australia CEO, Capt Melwyn Noronha, said in his message via LinkedIn on the International Day of the Seafarer 2026: “Seafaring is now, always has been, and probably always will be a remarkably difficult job owing to the physical challenges, exposure to the marine environment, the high-risk nature, and, of course, separation from family, friends and culture.”
In this regard the Seafarer Help 2025 Annual Review compiled by ISWAN is very relevant. It found a 35.9 per cent increase in contacts relating to mental health concerns compared with 2024, reaching the highest level they had ever recorded. While helpline data cannot by itself measure the wellbeing of the entire global seafaring workforce, it demonstrates an ongoing need for welfare support. The Review offers a unique insight into the realities of life at sea through thousands of confidential helpline conversations. They reveal the sustained emotional toll from life at sea and the pressure of balancing responsibilities on board with concerns about family life at home.
It is timely therefore to consider the survey from the international organisation Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) that found a clear need for more secure seafarer welfare support in Australia. In its Briefing Note: Survey of Seafarer Welfare Provision in Australia (April 2026), it found that Australian seafarer welfare services continue to provide communication, transport, welfare centres, shopping assistance, pastoral care, emergency aid and rights-related information. These are rarely provided by the industry for seafarers. The survey responses from ports including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle, Port Pirie and Bell Bay indicated that while the services were valuable, they were not on a consistently secure footing, especially in regional areas which often relied on ageing infrastructure and dwindling numbers of volunteers.
For AMWS, the findings underline the importance of sustained and shared national support for the organisations and volunteers who help seafarers during Australian port calls.
It is heartening to recognise some positive recent developments. The NSW Seafarers Welfare Fund, and the recent announcement from Pilbara Ports of a two-year grant and in-kind support worth about $1.1 million are both practical examples of seafarer welfare being viewed, not as a charity, but as an essential component of a safe and efficient port operation. Pilbara Ports is also funding the construction of the new $21 million Port Hedland Seafarers Centre with the cost to be ultimately shared across major port users. Pilbara Ports itself describes this as a core part of safe port operation.
AMWS welcomes the Pilbara Ports investment because one of the recurring Australian welfare problems is that support varies dramatically between ports. The five-year, $2.5 million NSW Seafarers Welfare Fund has also made an excellent contribution to NSW maritime charities, but long-term and especially regional welfare access remains inconsistent, insecure and dependent on geography, coordination and funding appeals.
The provision of sustainable shore-based welfare requires shared participation from the organisations whose operations depend upon seafarers. AMWS agrees seafarers should be viewed as professionals — and we can do this by treating their welfare as part of the maritime infrastructure that the industry helps fund.
AMWS would be keen to hear our members’ thoughts on this issue – should we participate in a forum with other industry stakeholders? Or has there been enough talking and it's time for the industry to take action? Please email us at
[email protected] with your thoughts and we will share in the next newsletter.
These are issues of critical importance to AMWS because one of our primary functions is providing financial support to Mission to Seafarers, Apostleship of the Sea (Stella Maris) and other organisations delivering seafarer welfare services around Australia. This gives AMWS a direct view of both the value of Australia's welfare network and the financial pressures under which many providers operate.
AMWS agrees with those who say seafarers should be recognised as skilled professionals with dignity and agency – and from our experience, so do the welfare providers. Where we differ from some industry representatives is the suggestion that this somehow reduces the case for welfare support. Recognising seafarers as professionals should strengthen this argument, not weaken it.
Through our financial grants AMWS helps to ensure basic services are provided such as transport, connectivity and shore facilities so that the charities can give support when it is needed.
These aren't handouts given because AMWS believes all seafarers are poor or destitute. Rather they help to maintain the welfare infrastructure required because the nature of international seafaring creates needs that ordinary shore-based workers generally don't face. As Shipping Australia CEO, Capt Melwyn Noronha, said in his message via LinkedIn on the International Day of the Seafarer 2026: “Seafaring is now, always has been, and probably always will be a remarkably difficult job owing to the physical challenges, exposure to the marine environment, the high-risk nature, and, of course, separation from family, friends and culture.”
In this regard the Seafarer Help 2025 Annual Review compiled by ISWAN is very relevant. It found a 35.9 per cent increase in contacts relating to mental health concerns compared with 2024, reaching the highest level they had ever recorded. While helpline data cannot by itself measure the wellbeing of the entire global seafaring workforce, it demonstrates an ongoing need for welfare support. The Review offers a unique insight into the realities of life at sea through thousands of confidential helpline conversations. They reveal the sustained emotional toll from life at sea and the pressure of balancing responsibilities on board with concerns about family life at home.
It is timely therefore to consider the survey from the international organisation Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) that found a clear need for more secure seafarer welfare support in Australia. In its Briefing Note: Survey of Seafarer Welfare Provision in Australia (April 2026), it found that Australian seafarer welfare services continue to provide communication, transport, welfare centres, shopping assistance, pastoral care, emergency aid and rights-related information. These are rarely provided by the industry for seafarers. The survey responses from ports including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Fremantle, Port Pirie and Bell Bay indicated that while the services were valuable, they were not on a consistently secure footing, especially in regional areas which often relied on ageing infrastructure and dwindling numbers of volunteers.
For AMWS, the findings underline the importance of sustained and shared national support for the organisations and volunteers who help seafarers during Australian port calls.
It is heartening to recognise some positive recent developments. The NSW Seafarers Welfare Fund, and the recent announcement from Pilbara Ports of a two-year grant and in-kind support worth about $1.1 million are both practical examples of seafarer welfare being viewed, not as a charity, but as an essential component of a safe and efficient port operation. Pilbara Ports is also funding the construction of the new $21 million Port Hedland Seafarers Centre with the cost to be ultimately shared across major port users. Pilbara Ports itself describes this as a core part of safe port operation.
AMWS welcomes the Pilbara Ports investment because one of the recurring Australian welfare problems is that support varies dramatically between ports. The five-year, $2.5 million NSW Seafarers Welfare Fund has also made an excellent contribution to NSW maritime charities, but long-term and especially regional welfare access remains inconsistent, insecure and dependent on geography, coordination and funding appeals.
The provision of sustainable shore-based welfare requires shared participation from the organisations whose operations depend upon seafarers. AMWS agrees seafarers should be viewed as professionals — and we can do this by treating their welfare as part of the maritime infrastructure that the industry helps fund.
AMWS would be keen to hear our members’ thoughts on this issue – should we participate in a forum with other industry stakeholders? Or has there been enough talking and it's time for the industry to take action? Please email us at
[email protected] with your thoughts and we will share in the next newsletter.