Members of the Society are regularly involved in a number of associated forums. The focus of these include peer assessment, professional committees and industry associated conferences. Currently these include the Australasian Hydrographic Surveying Certification Panel (AHSCP), the SSI Land and Hydrographic Commission and the Trans Tasman Hydrographic Commission (TTHC).

Details of these committees and others with which the AHS is currently involved are noted below:

AUSTRALASIAN HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYING CERTIFICATION PANEL

In May-June 1994, as a result of several years of representations by Hydrographic Society members, an election was carried out among the Hydrographic community, under the direction of the Institution of Surveyors Australia (ISA), to elect members of a national accreditation body. On 4 August 1994 the five members elected met for the first time under the ex-Officio Chairman, the Hydrographer, RAN. It was decided that the body be called the "Australian Hydrographic Surveyors Panel", (AHSP). In 1997 the panel was renamed the "Australian Hydrographic Surveyors Accreditation Panel", (AHSAP). In about 2003 the ISA was restructured as the Spatial Sciences Institute (SSI). Since April 2005, the Panel has been renamed as the Australasian Hydrographic Surveying Certification Panel (AHSCP) and it continues to assess qualifications but now under the joint auspices of the Surveying & Spatial Sciences Institute (SSSI) and the NZIS.

Certified Hydrographic Surveyors

The Australasian Hydrographic Surveyors Certification Panel (AHSCP) is jointly sponsored by the SSSI and NZIS and is the certification arm of the SSSI Hydrography Commission. It has been certifying hydrographic surveyor competency in Australia, New Zealand and internationally in accordance with FIG/IHO/ICA Standard S-5 Standards of Competence for Hydrographic Surveyors since 1994. AHSCP certification has become the de-facto standard for the assessment of hydrographic surveyor competency in the port and coastal zone management sectors of the maritime industry in Australia and New Zealand.

To review the current list of certified hydrographic surveyors, refer to the following link on the SSSI web page:

http://www.sssi.org.au/details/commission/4/cat/425.html

Offshore Surveying - Promotional DVD

A long term goal of the SSSI Hydrography Commission is for the offshore oil and gas industry (regulators, operators and survey contractors) to also adopt AHSCP certification as the fundamental competency standard for hydrographic surveyors working in that environment, given that hydrographic surveying is either at the forefront, or closely associated with many aspects, of offshore exploration and production. The production of a DVD is a step in that direction.

The DVD can be run from the following link:

http://www.sssi.org.au/details/commission/4/cat/233/sub/409.htmll

Further Information

Application Forms and details of the guidelines and certification requirements can be obtained from:

The Secretary (Jasbir Randhawa),
Australasian Hydrographic Surveying Certification Panel (AHSCP)
c/- Locked Bag 8801, South Coast Mail Centre, NSW 2521, Australia

Phone: +61 2 4221 8672;
Fax: +61 2 4221 8599;
E-mail: Jasbir.Randhawa@defence.gov.au