What and who is the ADAS Board?

Organisation Structure

Governance Arrangements

ADAS Board Members

Vision, Role, Mission & Scope

Organisational Structure

ADAS operates as a not-for-profit incorporated association on a cost-recovery basis. ADAS receives no government funding and has no paying members or shareholders.

The Scheme, particularly in relation to offshore oil and gas activities, operates under the general direction of the Federal Government Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism (RET) and responsibility for the specific corporate governance and strategic oversight of the Scheme is vested in the independent ADAS Board.  

Governance Arrangements

The ADAS Board acts in a policy governance role and the day-to-day administration and operations are undertaken by a full time staff under the direction of an Executive Director.

The ADAS Board comprises nine independent non-executive Directors from various sectors of the occupational diving industry, each offering particular expertise and industry experience to the Board.

These Directors are independent of management and free from any business relationship or other circumstance that could materially interfere with their exercise of objective, unfettered or independent judgement. The Board Directors perform their duties on a strictly voluntary basis.

The Board’s role is fundamentally to create and deliver value through the effective governance of the organisation and its nominee members also undertake to act as a conduit between their organisations and ADAS.

Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding with RET, the Board is required to ensure that ADAS:

• delivers and continues to deliver its full range of diver certification functions;
• is conducted so that its administrative, operational, training, assessment and diver certification standards, policies, procedures and practices are, and remain, at the level of best practice and result in a standard of diver certification acceptable to the Department and that enables the maintenance of the ADAS international recognition agreements.
  
  

The Board is required to report to the Department on an annual basis with respect to the finances, fees and the administration of the Scheme.

The ADAS Board Members

Government Diving Inspectors

Maurie Vierow (Chair) Principal Inspector in the OH&S Division for WorkCover NSW. Maurie has had over 30 years diving industry experience & has been an inspector with WorkCover NSW for over 10 years. Maurie is a member of Standards Australia: SF-017 Occupational Diving Operations & Training Committee, the CS-083 Recreational Diving Training Committee & the SF-046 Non-Diving Work in Compressed Air & Hyperbaric Treatment Facilities Committee.

Geoff Cooper Health and Safety Inspector & National Diving Co-ordinator, Department of Labour New Zealand Geoff has 20 years diving experience including underwater Power Station maintenance and other onshore construction. He is a member of the Occupational Diving Medical Review Committee (NZ) and the SF-017 Standards Review Committee.

Diver Representatives

Michael Doleman Assistant National Secretary, Maritime Union of Australia Michael has over 38 years experience in the maritime industry. He has extensive training in Corporate Governance and Financial Planning and is a Director of the Seafarers Retirement Fund (SERF) and a Director of Maritime Mining & Power Credit Union.

Industry Representatives

Bob Mason Company Director, MeBob Investment Co. Ltd. Bob has over 35 years experience in the occupational diving industry mainly in the NZ Navy Diving Team. His experience includes NZ National Moderator for Diving Training, NZ Qualification Authority Diving (NZQA) Advisor and auditor of NZQA accredited diving training establishments. Bob currently serves on the board of the Association of Diving Contractors NZ.

Robert Pennington Company Director, RT Pennington Fishing Pty Ltd Robert has a background in civil engineering, secondary school teaching and the fishing industry. Robert presently serves on numerous boards, committees and councils related to the fishing industry and is a member of the Standards Australia SF-017 Committee.

Diver Training Establishments

Stephen Clark Managing Director, The Underwater Centre Tasmania (TUCT) Stephen worked in the U.K in conjunction with The Underwater Centre, Fort William before taking on duties of Dive Supervisor and Trainer at TUCT. Stephen has maintained TUCT as an ADAS accredited and IMCA recognised training organisation providing Trainee Air and Bell Offshore Supervisor, and ALST courses.

Independent Experts

Dr Ian Millar Director of Hyperbaric Medicine, The Alfred Hospital Ian has over 25 years experience in Diving and Hyperbaric Medicine in the capacity of occupational physician and trainer in emergency services paramedical and first aid training. He is the Medical Advisor to Melbourne’s Metropolitan Fire Brigade, Emergency Medical Services and is the Chair of the Standards Australia Committees responsible for Occupational and Recreational Diving.

Executive Director

Paul Butler Executive Director ADAS Paul started his diving career in 1961 as a Military Assault Swimmer. He then spent 17 years as a police diver, instructor and team leader. On leaving the police force in 1980, he spent 10 years leading Australian Government Antarctic expeditions and dived actively as a commercial diver and commercial diving instructor. Paul has held the role of Executive Director of ADAS since the creation of the ADAS Board in 2003.

Vision, Role, Mission & Scope

ADAS Vision

The ADAS vision is:

• to be the most creative, effective and comprehensive international training and certification body, setting the benchmark for safe, efficient and innovative service to personnel in the underwater and hyperbaric sectors.
  
  

ADAS mission

The ADAS mission is:

• to provide leading edge training, a global licence to work and access to wide-ranging careers in the underwater and hyperbaric sectors.
  
  

Role of the ADAS Board

•  Ensure that the ADAS competencies and standards of training and education, diving practice, assessment and administration are relevant to industry and remain at the level of world best practice;

•  Ensure that ADAS has the financial, human and physical resources necessary to undertake its activities;

•  Oversight the administration of ADAS to ensure that all of its operations are conducted in an ethical manner and that it complies with all legal and financial requirements;

•  Ensure that the credibility and quality of ADAS training and assessment continues to meet the needs of industry and ensure the continuance of the existing international recognition agreements.
  
  

Scope

ADAS is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to enhancing the occupational diving industry. Our service extends not only to occupational divers but also to personnel in associated technical and support roles and to ADAS-accredited DTEs and industry stakeholders. Our service encompasses:

• the development of training courses to meet industry needs;
• the certification of divers;
• the accreditation of Diver Training Establishments;
• ongoing national and international lobbying for the improved safety of divers;
• active engagement in international forums to promote the mobility of ADAS licence holders around the world through increased recognition and acceptance of the ADAS licence.