Scuba diving is great fun but there are important medical and fitness requirements that are in place for your safety, and the safety of others that may be diving with you. Please note that Queensland scuba diving medical requirements, for diving on the Great Barrier Reef, may differ to where you have dived in the past. There are differing requirements, pending your level of scuba certification and experience, particularly for those who are – Learning to Dive on a PADI Open Water course, taking a dive trip as a Certified Diver, continuing / enhancing existing certification with an PADI Advanced Dive course and Introductory (DSD) divers. We’re pleased to provide information surrounding all relevant rules and requirements for each of the aforementioned circumstances below. In addition, please see our COVID 19 page.
All divers with asthma or diabetes, including certified divers, are required to contact us prior to booking to dive. There are very strict requirements around diving with these conditions and we need to discuss this directly with you. If you currently have asthma, use an oral inhaler or have had asthma in the past, additional specialist medical testing and clearance will be required. Any prescription medication (excluding the oral contraceptive) must be cleared by a doctor. Final approval to dive is at the discretion of the dive supervisor and skipper onboard the boat. Concealment of any condition incompatible with safe diving might put your health or life at risk.
If you already have medical clearance and intend on bringing it along, then please note that it must be dated from within the last 12 months. Any medical clearance older than 12 months is not valid. If you need a medical we would strongly encourage you to get it in your country/city of origin well in advance of your dive trip. This helps to avoid any potential problems as we can check the medical clearance is valid and ensures we have a copy even if you forgot to bring along the original. Please download this PADI Medical Statement and have it completed by a doctor.
By Australian Law each Open Water student needs to complete a medical declaration that they are medically healthy or in several very important cases obtain written medical clearance from a physician. If you do not have any medical issues and can answer “No” to the 10 questions on the medical declaration linked below you DO NOT need a medical. If there are any “Yes” answers YOU WILL need a medical. There are instructions for your doctor at the end of the declaration.
All divers with asthma or diabetes, including certified divers, are required to contact us prior to booking to dive. There are very strict requirements around diving with these conditions and we need to discuss this directly with you.
PADI regulations require students completing Continuing Education courses such as the Advanced Open Water course, Rescue course or any Specialty dive course to complete a medical declaration that they are medically healthy or in some circumstances obtain written medical clearance from a qualified doctor. You will need a written clearance to dive from a doctor if you have any medical conditions mentioned in this PADI Continuing Education document. All divers with asthma or diabetes, including certified divers, are required to contact us prior to booking to dive. There are very strict requirements around diving with these conditions and we need to discuss to discuss this directly with you.
If you require medical clearance to dive please download the PADI Medical Statement and have it completed by a doctor. Please contact us prior to seeing your doctor so we can advise on any additional information we may require.
Everyone intending on completing introductory diving with Blue Dive is required to complete the PADI Discover Scuba Diving medical questionnaire. If any diver answers ‘YES’ to a question on the medical questionnaire then they will be required to have clearance to dive from a qualified doctor. All divers with asthma or diabetes, including certified divers, are required to contact us prior to booking to dive. There are very strict requirements around diving with these conditions and we need to discuss this directly with you. If you require medical clearance to dive please download the PADI Medical Statement and have it completed by a doctor. Please contact us prior to seeing your doctor so we can advise on any additional information we may require.
To avoid the disappointment of not being able to dive when here, you must be able to answer ‘NO’ to the following questions. If any diver answers ‘YES’ to any of the questions 1-8 you MUST bring “clearance to dive” stating the condition(s) and signed by your doctor and from within the year.
All divers with asthma or diabetes, including certified divers, are required to contact us prior to booking to dive. There are very strict requirements around diving with these conditions and we need to discuss to discuss this directly with you. If you require medical clearance to dive please download the PADI Medical Statement and have it completed by a doctor. Please contact us prior to seeing your doctor so we can advise on any additional information we may require.
FLYING AFTER DIVING: You need a pre-flight surface interval of 18 hours before you fly after you finish diving. This is a PADI safety regulation. You would end diving at 2.30pm so you can fly anytime after 8.30am the following day.
Queensland medical requirements are in place for your safety and the safety of those around you. In most circumstances we are unable to provide refunds for those who fail to provide signed medical clearance from a qualified doctor if required. If you are unsure if you require medical clearance to dive then please contact us for further information.
While privately guided dives with Blue Dive do cost more than diving with the boats’ crew, there are so many benefits. You’ll be diving as your own private group – just you and your friends or family – we take our own underwater route, without being bothered by other divers, and include a complimentary refresher session on the boat, as well as an underwater photo shoot. The Blue Dive privately guided trips are locally recognised as being the best Port Douglas scuba diving trips. Not Dived For A While? If you want to refresh your skills prior to being in the ocean, we can help with that too – check out our dive courses.
© Blue Dive Port Douglas 2024