Do You Have to Wear a Lifejacket in NZ?
Right now, Maritime Rule Part 91 requires every recreational vessel to carry enough correctly sized, serviceable lifejackets for everyone on board. That's a carriage requirement, not a wearing requirement, in most situations. The skipper is legally responsible for making sure lifejackets are worn whenever the risk is heightened, such as crossing a bar, in rough water, or during an emergency.
Where it gets confusing is that many regional council bylaws already go further than the national rule, making lifejackets compulsory at all times on vessels 6 metres and under. The rule that applies to you depends on where you're launching from, which is exactly the kind of patchwork that catches visiting boaties and new owners out.
There's also a change in motion. The Life Jackets for Children and Young Persons Bill, which would make wearing a lifejacket compulsory nationally for everyone under 15, has been through public submissions and is currently before a parliamentary select committee. It is not yet law. Water Safety NZ and Coastguard are pushing for it to be extended to all ages, since adults, not children, account for most fatalities. Worth checking the current status before you assume either way.
What Maritime NZ's Numbers Actually Show
The Safer Boating Forum's position is plain: everyone on a recreational vessel of 6 metres or less should wear a personal flotation device at all times while underway. The figures explain why. In 2024, 20 of New Zealand's 74 drownings happened on a boat or craft, and 18 of those people weren't wearing a lifejacket. So far in 2025, 11 people have drowned on a boat or craft without one. Over the past 25 years, more than 440 people have died in craft-related fatalities in New Zealand waters.
Maritime NZ's research also shows the highest-risk zone isn't the open ocean. It's within 400 metres of shore, the exact spot where most boaties assume they're safe. Whatever the bylaw says where you launch from, the physics doesn't change: you can't put a lifejacket on once you're already in the water.
Lifejacket Types and NZ Standards Explained
Any lifejacket sold or used in New Zealand needs to meet NZS 5823:2005, the current New Zealand Standard under Maritime Rules Part 42A. You'll also see AS 4758.1 (the Australian standard) stamped on plenty of jackets sold here, since Maritime NZ accepts it as a substantially complying equivalent. Both are legitimate. What matters more day to day is the type and buoyancy rating, because that's what determines whether the jacket suits your kind of boating.
| Type | Buoyancy | Best Suited To |
|---|---|---|
| Type 401 | 150N+, holds an unconscious wearer face-up | Offshore work, bar crossings, rough water |
| Type 402 | 71N+, comfortable for continuous wear | Most recreational trailerboat and fishing use |
| Type 403 | 53N+, buoyancy vest, no collar | Dinghy sailing and similar active sports |
Type 401 jackets are designed to roll an unconscious person face-up, which is why offshore sailors and bar-crossing skippers favour them. Type 402 is the one most Bay of Plenty trailerboat owners and fishers will end up wearing, since it's comfortable enough to keep on all day but won't tip you forward of vertical. Type 403 trades buoyancy for freedom of movement, which suits dinghy sailing better than it suits a day on a launch.
One more number worth knowing: Maritime NZ recommends replacing a lifejacket once it's more than 10 years old, regardless of how it looks. Materials and inflation mechanisms degrade with UV, salt and handling, even if the jacket has never been used in anger.
Manual vs Automatic Inflation: Which Suits You
This is the decision that actually changes how a lifejacket behaves in an emergency, and it's worth more thought than the colour or the brand.
Manual Inflation
You pull a cord or activate a toggle to inflate the jacket yourself. It gives you full control, which kayakers and paddlers often prefer, since spray and waves can set off an automatic jacket unnecessarily mid-paddle. The catch is obvious: it only works if you're conscious and able to pull the cord.
Automatic Inflation
A water-sensitive bobbin or salt pill triggers inflation the moment the jacket hits water, no action required from you. This is the right default for most recreational boaties, because the scenarios that actually kill people, being knocked unconscious in a capsize, or going overboard at night, are exactly the situations where you can't reliably pull a cord yourself.
Hybrid Auto/Manual
Most jackets sold for recreational use now offer both: automatic as the default, with a manual override available if needed. Unless you have a specific reason to go manual-only, such as whitewater paddling, a hybrid auto/manual jacket is the sensible middle ground for fishing, cruising and family boating around the Bay of Plenty coast.
Servicing and Caring for an Inflatable Lifejacket
An inflatable lifejacket is a piece of safety equipment with moving parts, a gas cylinder and a firing mechanism. It needs more attention than a foam buoyancy vest, and skipping that attention is how people end up with a jacket that doesn't fire when it matters.
A few checks take less time than your weekly fuel run:
- Pull the straps hard. If any stretch or tear, the jacket needs replacing, not patching.
- Check the CO2 cylinder is sealed, undamaged, and within its expiry date.
- Check the auto-inflation bobbin or cartridge hasn't passed its replacement date.
- Look for tears, cuts or punctures in the bladder and outer shell.
- Check the inflation status indicator, if your jacket has one, shows it's still armed.
Recreational users can generally self-service following the manufacturer's instructions and a proper re-arming kit, and most jacket manufacturers sell these directly or through their NZ distributors. Commercial operators face stricter requirements and need servicing carried out by an approved service station. Either way, a jacket that's been inflated, even accidentally, needs re-arming before it goes back in the locker. Most manufacturers recommend a full service annually.
The Other Half of the Safety Equation: Two Forms of Communication
A lifejacket buys you time in the water. It doesn't tell anyone you're there. That's the gap the Safer Boating Forum is constantly trying to close, and it's why Maritime NZ's safety messaging always pairs "wear a lifejacket" with "carry two forms of waterproof communication that work when wet." This is genuinely where we come in.
For most recreational boats around the Bay of Plenty, that means a handheld VHF marine radio and a personal locator beacon (PLB) or EPIRB, with a cellphone in a waterproof pouch as a useful third option, never your only one. Here's real, current stock from our maritime range to put that into perspective:
A VHF radio is your first call in an emergency on coastal water. On Channel 16, a trained operator can begin coordinating a rescue within a minute, and a portable handheld can give you coverage of up to 50 kilometres. Operating one legally requires a VHF Radio Operator Certificate, except when you're transmitting in genuine distress.
An EPIRB stays mounted to the boat and is built for the marine environment specifically, which makes it the right call for the vessel itself. A PLB stays on you, clipped to your lifejacket or in a pocket, which is what matters if you end up in the water separated from the boat. Coastguard's specific advice for bar crossings is to carry a waterproof PLB on your person rather than relying on an EPIRB you may not have time to grab.
Seeing a PLB triggered for the first time makes the whole concept click. Coastguard's safety instructors filmed this demonstration at their Sea Survival Pool, and it's worth two minutes if you've never watched one activate.
Both EPIRBs and PLBs must be registered with the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand before you head out, free of charge, and it's a legal requirement. A registered beacon means rescuers know who they're looking for and can move straight to a targeted response rather than a blind search.
Building a Lifejacket-Plus-Comms Kit That Actually Works
Not every boatie needs the same setup. What matters is matching the gear to how and where you actually get on the water.
- Harbour and estuary trailerboat fishing: a Type 402 hybrid auto/manual lifejacket plus a handheld VHF radio. You're usually within range of help, but the close-to-shore stats above are exactly why the lifejacket still has to be worn.
- Offshore game fishing or bar crossings: a Type 401 jacket, a fixed VHF on the boat plus a handheld as backup, and an EPIRB mounted where it can float free if the boat goes down. Add a PLB clipped to your jacket for bar work specifically.
- Solo kayaking or paddling on rivers and lakes: a Type 402 or 403 jacket sized for the activity, and a waterproof PLB or satellite messenger carried on your body, not in a dry bag you might lose.
- Small dinghies and tenders: a properly fitted lifejacket worn at all times underway (dinghies have one of the highest fatality rates of any craft type) plus a basic floating handheld VHF or a PLB.
If you want the fuller checklist, including fire extinguishers, navigation lights and first aid, we've covered that ground already in our boat safety equipment guide. This article is deliberately narrower: get the lifejacket and the comms half right, and the rest of the checklist falls into place around them.
Coastguard's advice on packing a floating grab bag is worth following too: keep your beacon, a torch and a spare set of waterproof comms together somewhere you can reach in seconds, not buried under gear you'll have to dig through in a panic.
