From today, anyone on board a recreational boat six metres or under must wear a properly fitted lifejacket while it is underway. The new national rule covers motorboats, dinghies, sailboats, kayaks, paddleboards and jet skis, with existing exceptions still applying.
It's a change the Safer Boating Forum has been pushing hard for, and the numbers behind it explain why. An average of 17 people die each year in recreational boating incidents, and around two-thirds of them were not wearing a properly fitted lifejacket.
Safer Boating Forum Chair Sharyn Forsyth says the message is simple. "Lifejackets save lives. From today, wearing one is not only the safe choice; it is required on recreational craft six metres or less while underway."
She says forum members worked together to support the change, and now want to see it bed in as habit. "We now want to see people make wearing a properly fitted lifejacket a normal part of every trip."
Coastguard Tautiaki Moana Chief Executive Carl McOnie points out what the gear actually does in a crisis. "Things can go wrong quickly on the water. Our volunteers see first-hand the difference a lifejacket makes. It keeps you afloat and visible, buying vital time for help to reach you."
Water Safety New Zealand Chief Executive Glen Scanlon frames it as a cultural shift as much as a legal one. "A lifejacket cannot save your life if you are not wearing it. Today's change will help make wearing a lifejacket as automatic in people's minds as putting on a seatbelt in their vehicle."
He's careful not to call it job done, though. "There's plenty of work ahead to get there."
Maritime NZ's Principal Advisor, Recreational Craft, Matt Wood, says the risk simply isn't worth taking a chance on. Before heading out, people should check they have enough lifejackets on their vessel, that they are the right size for everyone on board, and should only go out if there are enough for everyone.
"Maritime NZ and the rest of the Safer Boating Forum wants everyone to enjoy their time on the water and come home safely. Wearing a lifejacket is a simple action that saves lives," Wood says.
The new rule sits alongside requirements already in force: boats must still carry enough correctly sized lifejackets, wear them at times of heightened risk, and skippers remain responsible for safety on the water.
Standard advice before heading out still stands: wear a properly fitted lifejacket, carry two waterproof ways to call for help, and check the marine weather forecast.
For now, compliance will be managed through an educational approach over the coming months, supported by co-regulators such as harbourmasters and police.
