Lifejacket rules are going nationwide!: Nelson City Council

If you have been out on the water in Nelson in the last few years, you will know the rule. On a boat 6 metres or under, everyone wears a lifejacket. No exceptions.

That rule has been part of Nelson’s Navigation Safety Bylaw since 2019, and Tasman has the same one. Now the rest of Aotearoa New Zealand is catching up. Maritime NZ is updating the national Navigation Safety Rules (Part 91) so lifejackets must be worn on small craft everywhere in the country.

There is a good reason the rule focuses on smaller boats. Kayaks, dinghies, jet skis and small runabouts are where most boating deaths happen. Things go wrong fast, and a lifejacket you are already wearing buys you time. One stowed under a seat does not.

The national change did not happen on its own. Harbourmasters around the country, including our own team in Whakatū, have pushed for a consistent rule for years, working alongside Maritime NZ and water safety groups. As our Harbourmaster puts it: “We have seen first hand how a lifejacket changes the outcome when someone ends up in the water. A national rule means the same protection for people wherever they launch,” says Stu Whitehouse Nelson Harbourmaster.

For Nelson boaties, nothing changes. Keep doing what you are doing. Wear your lifejacket, make sure it fits, and check it before each trip. And if you head out of the region this summer, the rule now travels with you.

Find out more by visiting maritimenz.govt.nz