Training and workshops
The Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) Maritime Environmental Emergency Response (MEER) Team offers a variety of training opportunities to support maritime emergency preparedness and response in Western Australia.
What DTMI offer
Informal workshops
Practical, scenario-based sessions designed to build awareness and response capability.
Accredited training
Courses that include nationally recognised units of competency, suitable for individuals seeking formal qualifications.
AMSA National Plan training
In partnership with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), the MEER Team facilitates access to training delivered under the National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies. These include:
- Competency-based training courses
- Online learning modules
- In-person workshops for emergency responders
The MEER Team coordinates participation for Western Australian attendees in AMSA-facilitated training.
To view the current training offered, visit the AMSA website.
Contact Us
For all training enquiries or to express interest in upcoming sessions, please contact:
meer.training@transport.wa.gov.au
Exercises
The DTMI MEER Team coordinates and facilitates a range of maritime emergency response exercises to strengthen preparedness and inter-agency collaboration.
Exercise opportunities
- Annual WA State MEER Exercise
Delivered by DTMI, this large-scale exercise engages key stakeholders across government and industry. - National Plan Exercises
Facilitated in partnership with the AMSA under the National Plan for Maritime Environmental Emergencies, these exercises provide national-level training and coordination opportunities.
Participation is managed through registration links provided in exercise communications or via direct nomination by the MEER Team.
Upcoming: WA State Exercise 2026
Exercise Transit Challenge
16–20 March 2026
This major exercise forms part of the National Plan exercise regime and will be delivered in collaboration with:
- AMSA
- Fremantle Port Authority (FPA)
- DTMI – Hazard Management Authority (HMA) for Marine Oil Pollution in WA.
Get Involved
For more information or to express interest in upcoming exercises, please contact:
marine.pollution@transport.wa.gov.au
Previous State exercises
WA State Exercise Recovery Challenge 2024 Video
Maritime Environmental Emergency Response Exercise 2024, in collaboration with DFES, Shire of Esperance and Port of Esperance.
Transcript
[Music]
[Text on screen: Exercise Recovery Challenge.
Partnership between: Department of Transport, Department of Fire & Emergency Services, State Recovery, Southern Ports Authority.
Focused on building awareness of recovery requirements for maritime environmental emergencies and recovery arrangements for WA.]
[Visual: Participants from multiple government agencies work through the recovery challenge in meeting rooms]
[Text on screen: The challenge was a simulated shipping incident with a significant oil spill, whereby the ship itself blocked the entrance to the Port of Esperance.
The desktop-based exercise primarily focused on the recovery aspects of the vessel, port, and the town of Esperance.]
[Visual: Participants discuss exercise activities and collaborate in group sessions.]
[Text on screen: Conducted over a 3-day period with key locations across four geographic locations with multiple participants.
Day 3 included a workshop with agencies based in Australia, Singapore and the UK exploring available recovery funding options.]
[Visual: A participant presents information on a whiteboard while others observe.]
[Text on screen: Outcomes: Enhanced interagency coordination and capability, better resource allocation, consistent and clear communication and decision-making, use of modern technology and infrastructure, ongoing training and preparedness, consistent community engagement and public information.]
[Visual: Participants collaborate with colleagues via video conference.]
[Text on screen: Exercise Recovery Challenge. A valuable platform to test and refine the recovery process for maritime environmental emergencies. Underscored the importance of interagency coordination, efficient resource allocation, and clear communication during recoveries.
Highlighted the need for ongoing investment in technology, training and community engagement to ensure effective recovery operations.]
[Visual: Department of Transport logo]
End of Transcript
WA State Exercise Roebuck Challenge 2023 video
Maritime Environmental Emergency Response Exercise 2023, conducted in partnership with the Kimberley Ports Authority (KPA).
Transcript
[Music]
[Text on screen: Roebuck Challenge 2023]
[Visual: Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) Maritime representative, Glen McDermott, speaks to the camera.]
McDermott: Department of Transport is the hazard management agency for maritime environmental emergencies.
Every year, as part of that, we conduct a state exercise for those hazards. Port Authorities are one of the key stakeholders that we work with for the management of marine oil pollution. That's because shipping centres around ports and therefore ports are a big risk introducer.
[Visual: Various shots of staff and participants from different agencies preparing for and undertaking the oil spill exercise.]
McDermott: So, Exercise Roebuck Challenge has been based in Broome and has taken place over three days for the actual exercise. It's been a great week and our key response partner or exercise partner, in this case Kimberley Ports Authority, has shown that they've got some fantastic capability in terms of responding to spills.
One of the biggest challenges in exercising for oil spills is the fact that in an exercise there is no oil in the water and so we use a myriad of different techniques to try and create as much realism as we can. In this exercise in particular we've used things like fluorescein dye which is a non-toxic green dye we can put in the water to simulate an oil slick on water for various response teams and elements to work around.
[Visual: A pool of fluorescent green dye sits on top of the ocean and is visible from the skies above.]
McDermott: From a wildlife perspective we use fluffy toys and inflatable toys that look like wildlife, so they've got a bird or an animal to recover and wash.
[Visual: Workers simulate the rescue and transportation of a turtle by carrying an inflatable turtle on a stretcher.]
McDermott: So, for Western Australia, we're a unique jurisdiction, in particular for the Kimberley and Broome where this exercise was, there are significant challenges in the fact that it's got the second largest tidal range in the world. That means that there's strong water currents, there's also high temperatures which, when we're doing spill response clean up in chemical suits and on beaches, it can be quite challenging. And then there's also logistical and remote access limitations, significant cultural concerns from Indigenous heritage and then the other thing is that there are some dangerous flora and fauna that we need to consider.
So, the purpose of exercising is to learn. So, every exercise we do we get lessons and they add to our body of knowledge and help us to build our capability. For this exercise in particular we've had some good opportunities for different agencies that might not have been aware of what they can offer or what they can do to generate that improved understanding and build those networks so we're better prepared. And then more specifically we've been able to validate some of our response techniques in the unique conditions of the Kimberley.
In this case, we did focus on the Kimberley - it's the biggest exercise that the Kimberley Ports Authority has ever done and the biggest exercise we've ever done in this area and it's an important exercise in the regions and we are really thankful to the Kimberley Ports Authority for being a key exercise partner and giving us the opportunity to test ourselves in the most remote and challenging area of WA.
End of Transcript
WA State Exercise Zephyr 2022 video
2022 WA State Maritime Environmental Emergency Response Exercise and 2022 Australian Oil & Gas Industry / AMOSC Exercise.
Transcript
[Music]
[Text on screen: Exercise Zephyr 2022 State Meer Exercise]
[Visual: Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI) Maritime representative, Glen McDermott, speaks to the camera]
McDermott: The reality is that as much as we spend a lot of time and a lot of effort and a lot of companies and shipping operators work hard to make sure that these events don't occur, if they were to occur, they can have quite significant environmental and community impacts. And as a result, a prudent way to manage the hazard is to make sure, not only are we minimising the likelihood of it occurring but if it was to occur, we are prepared to minimise the impacts.
[Visual: DTMI staff and agency participants collaborate to complete the exercise.]
McDermott: So this exercise was focused on the industry collaboration and the cross-jurisdictional challenges between Commonwealth and State waters. The exercise started on Monday. It was a four-day exercise, and it was done free plan in real time, so it escalated from us receiving just our normal initial duty call all the way to us doing proactive response management and deploying significant resources in Dampier.
So the exercise was based on a scenario of an offshore platform in Commonwealth waters that had an issue that caused a release of hydrocarbons over about three days.
[Visual: An animation of hydrocarbons spreading across a map.]
McDermott: So our Incident Management team was based at our Maritime office in Fremantle. The industry side was based in Perth. The exercise actually touched in one way, shape or form upwards of 250 different people that participated as either a direct participant, an observer or a facilitator or an agency that was providing input into the consideration of the problem.
We were able to really apply a lot of the technology that we've built into our new office space in this exercise and that was really exciting. So, a lot of GIS [geographic information system] data, digital displays. We have a product called the Oil Spill Response Atlas that has a whole heap of sensitivity data. A lot of the normal specialist oil spill equipment that we deploy was utilised as well.
[Visual: An aerial shot of oil spill equipment that has been set up for the exercise.]
McDermott: There's always learnings and we'll take those learnings forward to make sure we're better prepared for maritime environmental emergencies in WA. But the most important thing from the exercise is it's a perfect example of how a whole of government effect can work in partnership with industry to make sure that the hazard of Maritime environmental emergencies is managed.
What we saw was everyone that was involved had a really good go at applying their skills and knowledge, taking on their roles and responsibilities and that means the exercise was a very great success so thank you to everyone that was involved and thank you to all the agencies and in particular our key partner in the exercise AMOSC.
End of Transcript
WA State Exercise Amity Challenge 2018
2018 WA State Maritime Environmental Emergency Response Exercise Amity Albany conducted by WA Department of Transport and Major Infrastructure (DTMI).
Transcript
[Music]
[Text on screen: Exercise Amity – Albany, 11-15 November 2018]
[Visual: An aerial shot of gazebos and specialised oil spill equipment being set up on the shore by a handful of people in hi-vis clothing]
[Text on screen: A Forward Operating Base (FOB) is established in the Albany Port Authority building. The FOB ensures assigned response resources are effectively deployed and supported in order to carry out the Incident Action Plan. The FOB also monitors progress of response activities and updates the Incident Management Team in Fremantle.]
[Visual: Staff field calls and work on their laptops from the FOB.]
[Text on screen: As responders arrive, they sign on and collect their medical and enrolment forms.]
[Visual: Responders line up and fill out their forms as they arrive.]
[Visual: Staging Coordinator, Dave Reid, stands up in front of responders and greets them.]
Dave: Welcome to Exercise Amity, my name is Dave Reid. I am the Staging Coordinator, and I’ll be running you through our Exercise Amity induction.
[Text on screen: As part of the induction process, all responders undergo a pre-deployment medical assessment. This ensures responders are fit to carry out their assigned duties. Results are confidential and kept in a secure location.]
[Visual: One responder gets their blood pressure checked, whilst another gets checked out with a stethoscope.]
[Text on screen: A daily operational briefing is conducted prior to deployment to ensure everyone understands the incident situation and the outcomes that need to be achieved for the next operational period.]
[Visual: A staff member briefs the responders on the situation.]
Staff member: So what you can see is that this is where we have located the oil. This particular place has been actually assessed and confirmed that we have oil. So, our mission today is that we need to establish a clean up zone in this particular sector, which has been called Sector 2.
[Text on screen: Team leaders are briefed on their specific tasks and requirements prior to deployment. This includes the issuing of formal field task assignments.]
[Visual: Team leaders are briefed ahead of the exercise.]
[Text on screen: Environmental Health Assessment Team officers from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation conduct specialised testing to ensure it is safe for responders to work in the spill area.]
[Visual: Officers put on safety masks and equipment and walk off to begin conducting their checks.]
[Text on screen: Once the Sector is declared safe for responders, a Sector Staging Area is established to coordinate and support the various response teams operating within that sector.]
[Visual: Gazebos are set up at the Sector Staging Area.]
[Text on screen: A specialist team conduct a detailed assessment of the sector to confirm the presence and extent of any oil. The team also report on any oiled wildlife and suitable access points.]
[Visual: The assessment team drive down the shore in their patrol vehicle.]
[Text on screen: A drone is available to send data and pictures directly to the IMT in Fremantle for situational awareness and planning purposes.]
[Visual: A drone takes flight as its operator watches below at the controls.]
[Text on screen: Where directed in the Incident Action Plan, a specialist booming team deploy boom to deflect oil into collection points or contain the oil to prevent remobilisation.]
[Visual: The inflatable boom is unfurled and inflated on shore.]
[Text on screen: Shoreline boom is readied and deployed as directed by the Sector Commander.]
[Text on screen: Shoreline clean up team arrives and establishes site controls to ensure a safe and effective clean up. This includes establishing HOT and COLD Zones.]
[Visual: The clean up team arrives via patrol vehicle at the beach.]
[Text on screen: A decontamination station is established at the edge of the HOT Zone. PPE must be worn beyond this point. All responders that enter the HOT Zone must be decontaminated on their return to the COLD Zone. Once entered, tools and machinery must remain in the HOT Zone until cleaned. Injured wildlife are received through this point. An entry port is established at the decontamination station to control and document workers entering the HOT Zone.]
[Visual: Gazebos and equipment are set up at the decontamination station.]
[Visual: The Sector Commander briefs the respondents.]
[Text on screen: The Sector Staging Area acts as a control point and headquarters for the Sector Commander. As teams arrive, they are recorded onto the T-card system and given a briefing about the site.]
Sector Commander: No dramas. Okay, so you’re all on the T-card?
Responders (multiple): Yep.
Sector Commander: Beautiful. Okay, so the situation is, we’ve got oil down there [points towards the shore] and obviously we’ve got some oiled wildlife that you guys are going to go and tidy up and stuff like that. So, the mission is just to remove them off the beach.]
[Text on screen: Oiled wildlife collection teams arrive to assess, capture and collect contaminated wildlife.]
[Visual: Wildlife collection staff, dressed in full-body protective clothing, arrive at the shore with their retrieval equipment.]
[Text on screen: Oiled wildlife are assessed by specialist trained responders. Wildlife deemed beyond treatment are euthanised.]
[Visual: A responder from the wildlife collection team attends to an injured dolphin that has washed up on shore. The dolphin is a plush toy that has been “dressed up” to make it appear as though it’s been affected by an oil spill.]
Responder: Pupil isn’t responding to touch. Euthanasia.
[Text on screen: Oiled wildlife is collected and placed into sturdy containers for transport to the Oiled Wildlife Treatment Centre for further assessment and treatment.]
[Visual: Responders carry a container with an injured turtle (plush toy). The injured turtle is then transported away from the beach on a patrol vehicle.]
[Text on screen: Upon arrival at the Oiled Wildlife Treatment Centre, the animals are recorded, triaged and treated.]
[Visual: A pelican (plush toy) is removed from a container and carefully cleaned by responders to remove the oil and treat any injuries.]
[Text on screen: Once treated, animals are placed into recovery holding tanks or cages for monitoring prior to eventual release.]
[Visual: The treated pelican is carried away after being cleaned.]
[Text on screen: Media are advised of the incident and briefed about the recovery operations. The public are advised of restrictions on access and requested to report sightings of oil to authorities, but to stay well clear.
[Visual: A Department of Transport representative conducts an interview with the media]
Representative: We had an incident in July that also resulted in no oil washing up, so WA has been incredibly fortunate, but we need to be prepared for that]
[Text on screen: Responders are fed, environmental conditions monitored and fluid intake is encouraged. Specialist Safety Representatives are onsite to ensure responder safety remains the highest priority.]
[Visual: Food is loaded into a bag, ready for transport to responders]
[Visual: A responder looks at a handheld weather meter to take a reading]
Responder: 22.8 degrees. Certainly feels a bit more like 30 when you’re in the sun.
[Text on screen: Shoreline clean up team enters the HOT Zone and begin cleaning the contaminated shoreline. Waste is raked into piles, bagged, collected and transported by Gator and Kanga to a collection site where it is removed for disposal by a licensed waste contractor.]
[Visual: Responders, in their full-body protective gear, rake the shoreline. They fill up bags; zip tie them shut and then load the bags into the back of a patrol vehicle]
[Text on screen: Contaminated responders exit through the decontamination station. Soiled PPE and other oiled waste is collected for disposal]
[Visual: Responders remove, and dispose of, their contaminated workwear at the decontamination station]
[Text on screen: Exercise Amity is declared complete and the demobilisation and clean up begins]
[Visual: Responders and participants pack their equipment away]
[Text on screen: Equipment is returned to the Divisional Staging Area. Machinery is washed and cleaned. A stock-take is carried out and trailers are re-packed for tasking in the next operational period.]
[Visual: Equipment is washed, organised and counted]
[Visual: A staff member stands in front of respondents to give a final address.
Man: I was absolutely wrapped with what I saw. It was the first time that the Department have been able to get that full spectrum of activity from strategic, the IMT back in Fremantle, the forward operating base, the Sector, all of wildlife, shoreline, booming teams, it was really great to see. And I don’t know how have been involved in exercises before, but certainly it was really comprehensive. So, thank you very much for all your efforts!
[Visual: Department of Transport logo]
End of Transcript